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Extensive Research On How To Build Wealth From The Comfort Of Your Own Home.
Money Is The #1 Reason For Divorce
Jan 24th
That’s Why The Black Belt Money Master’s Quick Start Program Brings Extraordinary Tools To Transform Relationships And Build Wealth! It Will Knock It Out Of The Ball-park. Hot Niche, Easy To Promote, High Commission.
Money Is The #1 Reason For Divorce
Money Wording
Jan 23rd
Created By Elaine Gardner, Comes The Bran New Viral Marketing Software Money Wording! The Money Wording Software Will Turn Articles Into Viral Monsters. Money Wording Is For Extreme Worldwide Article Coverage And Insane Amounts Of Targeted Traffic!
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Money Series
Jan 21st
The Money Series Is A Crash Course Designed To Break The Conventional Wisdom Of Money. Get The Series Today And Learn Why We All Work So Hard And What It Is We Are All Really Chasing (hint: It Isn’t Money). Intended For A Well Educated Audience Only.
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Secret Consulting Riches – How To Make Money From Online Consulting
Jan 7th
Step By Step Video Course Showing Exactly How To Start Making Money As A Consultant Today. Paying Affiliates $16 Per Sale. Premium Affiliate Marketing Tools At: Http://www.secretconsultingriches.net/affiliate-pr ogram.html
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Professional Online Money Maker Programs
Dec 14th
Training To Become A Professional Online Marketer, SEO Expert, Web Traffic, Make Real Money With eBay®, Yahoo & Google Etc. Commission 75
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How The Military Spends Money [Infographic]
Dec 11th
Whatever your view on military spending, this infographic puts it in perspective by showing what various military expenses cost in relation to things that average Americans are used to spending money on. For example, one stealth bomber costs about as much as 50,000 college educations (inflated as they are). And the US nuclear weapons program costs as much as the average income of over one million households. So much for the naive view that the end of the cold war ushered in the decline of nuclear proliferation!
The fact is, the US invests massive amounts of money into its military because there is a widespread view (which very well may be true) that our standard of living is made possible by the military. One has to wonder though… are we overspending?
From: Military Education
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Racing Pigeons: How To Race, Breed, Win And Makey Money
Nov 29th
Amazing Complete Guide For Pigeon Fanciers. Advanced Methods And Startup Tricks! Whopping 65% Commission, High Converting, Very Low Refund Rate
Racing Pigeons: How To Race, Breed, Win And Makey Money
Solar Power: Save Your Money With Alternative Energy
Nov 28th
Solar Energy Is The Most Commercialized Type Of Renewable Energy And As A Residential User, You Will Find It Useful Knowing Just How Solar Power Can Benefit You. Why Feel A Need To Rack Up Your Electricity Bills When There Is Free Energy All Around You?
Solar Power: Save Your Money With Alternative Energy
10 Ways to Save Money for Your Business
Nov 18th
This article originally appeared on the OPEN App Center. Visit www.theopenappcenter.com for more information and resources for streamlining and growing your business.
Small business owners like us need to make sure we run tight ships. Spending less can help us weather slowing cash flow; cutting expenses can help realize more profit. The following are my tips for saving money – I suggest sharing them with key members of your team. It’s not just enough for the owner to be aware of spending; others on the team closer to day-to-day expenditures may also spot money-saving opportunities.
1. Examine Your Bills.
If it’s been a while since you looked at how much you’re spending on phone, utilities, Internet service, overnight delivery costs and similar expenses, it could be worth your while to look now. As technology brings new options to small businesses, such as VOIP, you can cut your costs by finding more affordable services.
- Do you really need landlines? If you’re a “solopreneur” or have just a handful of employees who are always on the go, then mobile phones along with Google Talk and/or Skype might be all you need to run your business
- When was the last time you compared minute plans for your mobile phones? Do it now.
- Scour your credit card statements for overlooked recurring charges. You may find, like we did, that we were paying almost $200 a month for a rarely used webinar/online meeting subscription. And for the few times we needed one, free alternatives like ooVoo or recorded Skype chats served our purpose.
2. Examine Your Insurance.
You may find cost savings if you reassess your small business insurance coverage. For example, is your coverage still right for your business needs, or could you reduce some of it to save money? By raising your deductible, you can lower the monthly premium. Just be sure you have enough cash in reserve to cover the higher deductible.
If you’re a member of a professional organization, like a Chamber of Commerce, you may be able to get lower rates through this channel.
Comparison shop! Schedule a meeting or call with an insurance agent to discuss options. A multi-line agent can help you sort through different carrier options. Ask about bundling, too— sometimes you get a discount for purchasing multiple insurance coverages through the same carrier.
3. Pay Early.
Whether it’s trash bags or copier paper, buy in as large a quantity and as much in advance as you can … if it saves you money. Planning your office supplies by shopping ahead of time can help you take advantage of sales and warehouse shopping deals. For marketing collateral and signage for trade shows and events, finish them early to avoid rush printing and delivery charges.
4. End or Lower Your Lease.
Real estate can be a sizable fixed cost. If you are strapped for cash, talk to your landlord about lowering rent, even temporarily, or moving to smaller space in the same building. Chances are, he can’t afford to lose a tenant, and may be willing to negotiate.
Depending on the structure of your company, you might not even need an office—especially if yours is a startup and your staff can work anywhere. Remove the constricts of requiring your workers to physically be in your office, and you’ll save on rent, utilities, equipment … and your employees will save on gas for commuting. The bonus is that your workers will likely be happier.
If you or employees need to get out of the house occasionally or working from a coffee shop just doesn’t cut it, there are co-working spaces or virtual offices all over the country. They give you access to the Internet, copy machine, conference rooms and even receptionist services, all for a low rate.
5. Take it To the Cloud.
If you have in-house servers, you know they can be costly to maintain and update. Not to mention the fact that if you have a sudden surge in traffic or activity, it can be difficult to ramp up to accommodate the influx, short of buying more servers. Just like with freelancers, cloud servers and storage let you pay for what you need, and they allow you to ramp up or down as your business needs change.
Cloud software eliminates the need to have staff update software, install patches and keep it operating—this can reduce staff costs. You also can eliminate hefty up-front license fees, replacing them with lower monthly costs. Just be sure to tally up a year’s worth of monthly costs, to make sure you truly are saving money. A comparison of annual or multi-year costs, fully loaded with staff costs, lets you compare apples to apples.
6. Hire Freelancers.
If your business is growing, but you don’t feel certain enough to hire full time staff, consider a freelancer, contractor or third party agency. This way, you only pay for the work you need done, and you don’t have the headache of benefits, raises and sick days. And if you need to ratchet costs down again, you can easily do that without the emotional trauma of laying off employees.
Hiring freelancers works particularly well for professional roles: software developers, Web designers, copywriters, PR professionals, consultants, administrative professionals and the like. You will typically pay a higher hourly rate for a contractor versus an employee. But in exchange you may get a more experienced worker who accomplishes more in an hour’s time and needs less daily supervision. Remember, there’s a cost for management and training time, too.
7. Buy in Bulk.
Some business service providers offer a 10 percent or greater discount if you pay for six months or more in advance. And vendors for inventory and supplies may offer trade terms, where they allow you to pay early in exchange for a discount. If you are buying in large amounts, that trade discount for early payment effectively slashes your costs. Typically you get a discount of 1 percent or 2 percent for paying early, if offered. Or roll your own trade terms—consider paying via a charge card that gives you a discount or cash rebate for early payment.
8. Save on Client Gifts.
If you give your clients (or employees) gifts at Christmas or other holidays, take advantage of daily deals and coupons to save on flowers, wine and corporate gifts. If you have a credit or charge card that offers rewards, use the points. You still get the karma for being a gift giver, but your bank account won’t take as big of a hit.
9. Use Free Business Resources.
Looking for business advice? Before you pay that consultant $200 an hour, look to local free resources for tips on saving money and more. Organizations like ASBDC centers, SBA and SCORE offer free business counseling and mentoring and can help you with everything from creating a business plan to advertising in your community.
10. Find Free Software.
Why pay for software if there’s a perfectly good free or version available? GoogleDocs, 37Signals and MailChimp are all examples of platforms that deliver free solutions (some offer paid versions for higher usage) for word processing, email marketing and project management.
Download.com also has a plethora of free downloads in categories like security, development and networking, so check there first before forking over cash unnecessarily.
Bonus Tip For Saving Money.
Here’s a final bonus tip: when cutting expenses, make sure you don’t strangle growth. Cut where it won’t affect your ability to make new sales or keep existing customers satisfied.
For additional reading, check out Easy Steps for Cash Flow Analysis.
10 Ways to Save Money for Your Business
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
4 Reasons Paypal Doesn’t Deserve Your Money
Nov 16th
At first glance, Paypal sounds like an amazing service; transfer your points/gold/dollars/XP from one account to another in a matter of seconds, making it just as easy to buy from eBay as it is to open a small online store. But there’s a dark side to Paypal which has been emerging more and more as of late.
Services like Dwolla have emerged to compete with the behemoth, offering considerably lower fees and less inconvenient ‘validation’ time periods. The negativity surrounding Paypal extends further than just its terms and conditions — the company’s choices regarding socially relevant matters have been criticized as well. Here are four reasons Paypal doesn’t deserve your money.
“Funds Release” Time
PayPal has recently implemented a policy which allows them to withhold merchants’ receipts up to 20% in a ‘rolling reserve’ (to cover chargebacks and refunds) for up to three months. Small businesses were outraged, but PayPal stood their ground and stuck to their canned email responses when contacted with pleading emails. Businessweek lambasted the new policy as ‘disruptive to cash flow’ and said it could put some companies out of business.
Although Paypal claims that it notifies its sellers of the policy 30 days before implementation, many upset customers claim that they weren’t contacted by Paypal whatsoever. Companies successfully using the service for years and years.
High Rates
The more expensive the transaction, the higher the fee charged by Paypal. There’s a 2.9% transaction fee on each sale, plus a additional $0.30 per transaction. International sales, however, pay a 3.9% fee. It sounds small, but it adds up. A sale of $500 is charged a fee of $14.80. That’s fourteen cheeseburgers, a movie ticket, a lawn chair from Target, three large Red Bulls, or two whole lunch specials from the Chinese place. Three, depending on where you live.
The fees aren’t the only bad part; the way they came about were pretty shady. PayPal created the fees, available for viewing in their ToS section and nowhere else, without notifying anyone. They snuck them onto the website and quietly began charging unsuspecting customers.
Other services have popped up, charging smaller fees or none at all. Dwolla is one, and charges $0.25 per transaction, regardless of the amount. Dwolla is also interesting because they don’t rely on credit or debit cards linking to each account; they simply hook up your bank account directly to their service. WorldPay and SagePay also offer similar services.
Deplorable Customer Service
Paypal is notorious for responding to customer concerns with cold, indifferent canned responses. Most importantly, it’s hard to find a phone number on their website, especially if you don’t have a PayPal debit card or aren’t a pro number. The premium number is costly to use. Multiple emails asking for help are answered with the same copy and paste response.
Although every company has a few unhappy customers, googling ‘Paypal sucks’ turns up a slew of angry blog posts by people Paypal has burned. Most complaints are about unreasonably banned accounts, transactions gone wrong which end up getting ‘rectified’ at the victim’s expense, and the dreaded ‘verification’ suspension Paypal seems to randomly place on accounts belonging to legitimate small businesses.
The impersonal responses are insulting and condescending, repeating the same vague phrases in every email. Chris Rossi, for example, was permanently banned after purchasing a programming service from a vendor. When he looked into the matter, it turned out that the vendor had been banned for the sale of pornography — causing every single person he had ever received money from to be banned as well, regardless of what the sale was for. All five emails from Paypal include ‘Your account has been permanently limited. Customers who are permanently limited for violating the Acceptable Use Policy are not permitted to open new PayPal accounts” and don’t address his long list of evidence in his defense at all.
Bad Decision Making
Paypal is, overall, bad at making decisions. Internationally recognized as less-than-the-best, the company is prone to reversing transactions, charging fees, withholding money, and canceling accounts without notice or a response afterwards.
In 2010, Paypal suddenly reversed all exchanges marked as “personal” coming in or out of India. Without notification, they screwed over hundreds of people and many businesses who were left with overdrafted accounts — not only had many vendors already withdrawn the removed money, but others were left uncompensated for services they had already completed.
During the same year, donations to Cryptome were frozen and $5300 removed. PayPal refused to explain this action.
A few months later, two other legitimate and high-traffic accounts were closed without notice or acceptable response. Finally, the Wikileaks fiasco ensued in December 2010 when Paypal permanently banned an account taking donations for WikiLeaks. A PayPal VP eventually admitted that this was the result of pressure from the US State Department.
A government puppet with little to no respect for the customer, nor how he or she is treated, doesn’t deserve your money. Even if you settle for Paypal, the other services are at least worth checking out.
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