Let’s face it, now seems like the worst time to be getting into the real estate business. The lending standards have tightened up, fewer loans are being made, and you actually have to show proof of income before a bank will give you a mortgage. The days of an easy sale are gone, probably never to return, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t make a living as a real estate broker. Even if you have another full time job, obtaining your real estate license and becoming an active Realtor can make you money on the side.
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Today, consumer attitudes and preferences are increasingly favoring credit cards when paying for their everyday purchases. Expanding your businesses payment options to include credit card processing can improve ROI, increase competitiveness, as well as increase customer loyalty and satisfaction. Having credit card processing in place is a great decision for pretty much any small business no matter what industry or sector you operate within. The first step in processing credit cards is getting your business set up with a merchant account.

A merchant account allows a business to accept payments made by either debit or credit cards. Since credit card companies rarely directly transfer funds into a business’s bank account, a merchant account provider acts an intermediary between credit card providers and the business.

The initial step that you need to take when getting a merchant account is determine the type that best suits the needs and nature of your business. There are a couple varieties of merchant accounts currently available on the market, all designed towards different types of businesses. For example, there is the retail account, which is the most common type of merchant account in use today. These are geared more towards brick and mortar shops and businesses that operate traditional storefront operations. Another type- internet merchant accounts, allows a business to accept credit card payments through their website via a virtual terminal. There are MTO’s(mail order, telephone order), mobile accounts, wireless accounts and other various niche accounts that round out the rest of the market.

Determining the type that will best fit your business will help you figure out what lenders to apply to as well as what services your store will best benefit from. Remember, that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to merchant accounts. In making your decision, some factors to take into consideration are the types of products/services your business sells, size of the business, business strength, a provider’s prices and fees, as well as the services they provide. Many of the large merchant account providers offer a range of ancillary products and services including check conversion, fraud protection, and gift & loyalty card solutions.

Prices and fees associated with a merchant account can vary depending on the provider and type. Typically, providers charge a fixed fee for every transaction in addition to taking a percentage. There are also associated setup fees, monthly fees, and some vendors require a monthly minimum amount of orders. For businesses that conduct business on or over the internet (card not present transactions) lenders will apply slightly higher rates and fees. For example, many major merchant account providers like North American Bancard and Pay Pal charge more for “card not present transactions” especially if a business only accepts certain cards.
Below is a list of common fees that providers typically charge:

· Chargeback fees
· Transaction fees
· Discount rate
· Address Verification fee
· Monthly minimum fee
· Statement fee
· Internet Gateway Fee
· Annual fee
· Cancellation fee
· Hidden Fees

Be sure to shop around in order to find the best contract because the costs can vary greatly. While there are a lot of reliable lenders out there offering good deals, there are also plenty looking to take advantage of naïve owners. For more information pertaining to merchant accounts look here: Understanding the basics of a merchant account can help you to select the best option for your business. Take the extra time and conduct proper due diligence when shopping for a merchant account to make the most from your hard-earned dollar.

Many of you will be familiar with this business triangle, and you may use different words, but for simplicity (and design) I’ve simplified this paradigm. This is often called the balance act in the business world, and when people refer to the balance act, they’re often referring the struggle to balance between Quality, Cost, and Efficiency. We’re going to look at the Balanced Triangle and identify what it takes to keep your business balanced and running smoothly.

High Costs

If money isn’t an object, then quality and efficiency are easy for a business. You can pull an any amount of resources needed to get the job done with this triangle. The problem is that high costs are usually only justified in the consulting industry (lawyers, doctors, advertising, etc) because the consumers looking for these services have been brought up by society to know that you get what you pay for, which can be really practically worthless if a consumer “cheaps out” in any of these services.

Long Wait

If the consumer isn’t in a rush, it’s often easy to find a company that will provide high quality at cheaper prices. This may be hard to see in the retail industry at first, but think of video games for a great example.. When Halo first came out for XBOX it was around $60 at most outlets. After 6 months the price had dropped to $40, and you can now find Halo in the $10 bins at Walmarts around the US. The quality didn’t lower, and the game became more affordable over time.

Poor Quality

In my opinion, this is where 90% of America shops, with retail especially, because we are impatient and cheap. Following the paradigm, if you want something fast and you want it for cheap, you will of course get poorer quality. This is obvious in retail (think of knock-off brands), as well as services, and so on. If you buy tools at Walmart, they’re likely to break with heavy use.. if you go with the first and cheapest lawyer you look up in the phone book, you’re likely to lose whatever lawsuit.

Overall the concept is pretty simple really, but a better understanding will help you become a better consumer. None of the three are better or worse, it all just depends on the situation and preference.

Project Management can easily make or break a company of any size. If there’s anything I miss about working for “the man” it’s having someone else responsible for managing client communication, deadlines, and the tedious tasks that interfere with the bulk work. Even though a PM may get under your skin a few times or peer over your shoulder every other minute.. you can usually still look back and see the value in meeting ridiculous deadlines and not having to worry about client communications.

Interestingly enough, many project managers are women. Females naturally seem to be more organized, decisive, and understanding when it comes to project management. They have a way with connecting with clients and ensuring markers are met. Whether you have this natural ability as a male or female is irrelevant, what matters is that many entrepreneurs reading this don’t have an extra $40k+ lying around to hire a project manager. What to do? Well, here are some resources that may make up for your lack of management/communication skills

• Management according to About.com
• Management Help Website
• Project Management by Mindtools.com
• The Project Management Podcast
• A look at Management by Scott Berkun
• The Importance of a Central Project List – Lifehack.org
• Project Planning – Lifehack.org
• Basecamp Project Integration – Lifehack.org
• Beginner’s Guide to Project Management – Lifehack.org
• Guerilla Tactics of Project Management – Lifehack.org
• Organize Your Life with Project Management – Lifehack.org
• Outsourcing Project Management – Freelanceswitch
• Outsource Project Management pt.2 – Freelanceswitch
• Freelance Project Management – Freelanceswitch
• Simple Project Management – Freelanceswitch
• Accomplished Project Management – Scott Young
• Zen Habits for Project Management
• Project Triangle – Jason Fried
• Review of Scott Berkuns Project Management
• Paper Based PM

Did you know that email marketing’s ROI was about $45 for every $1 spent on it in 2008? Without a doubt, email marketing has become one of the most effective methods of direct marketing. When done properly, an email marketing campaign costs almost nothing to launch and maintain, and it generates a ton of revenue for your business.

Now, there’s a saying in email marketing (and direct mail marketing for that matter) that goes like this: It’s all in the list. In other words, without a good email list, your marketing efforts will be crippled. Building your own list is the best way to create a highly targeted subscriber base that responds to your message.

Here are some tips to help you build a strong list for email marketing.

• Place signup forms on all pages of your website—Not everyone is going to be arriving at your website through the homepage. Because so many people use search engines, visitors could land on the deeper pages of your website. That’s why it’s so important to have signup forms for your email list on every page of your website. To get the highest response, place your signup box above the fold, and have a simple call to action by it (e.g. Get a FREE copy of my new eBook (Insert Title Here) when you sign up for our email list!). Some studies have shown that placing a simple privacy disclaimer, like, “We value your privacy”, underneath the signup form can also improve your conversion rate.

• Have a signup link in all emails you send–If you’re like me, you’re emailing back and forth with clients, prospects, and colleagues all day long. One simple thing you can do to get a few more subscribers is to include a signup link for your email list in your email signature. Again, offer a straightforward call to action encouraging readers to sign up.

• Offer a freebie for signing up—Sometimes, you need to give people an extra incentive for taking the action you desire. One of the most effective ways to motivate visitors to subscribe to your website is to offer them a freebie in exchange for doing so. This can be something as simple as an eBook or a whitepaper. You could even try to tempt them with a special coupon offering a discount on your products or services.

• Keep the registration process simple—If your registration form has 20 entry fields, you’re doing it wrong. Remember, people are generally a little wary about giving you their information as it is, so forcing them to complete a long, detailed registration form is only going to scare them off. Ask only for the most basic information (name, email address, location) so that they can signup in just seconds. The easier you make it to sign up for your email list, the higher the number of people that will sign up.

• Have a physical signup list at your store and at events you attend—Look offline to build up your email list. If you have a physical storefront, have a signup list in your store, or you can ask customers at checkout if they’d like to subscribe to your newsletter for special deals. Also, if you attend trade shows and conferences, bring a signup list with you for your booth.

Do you use email marketing for your business? Share your experiences in the replies.