2 The Next Level

Archive for May, 2008

I have been a Paypal.com account holder for eight years now and I am amazed at how much money I have made using their service. If you are not yet familiar with PayPal and are a Solopreneur or a Small Business owner you are leaving a lot of money at risk. I say at risk because if you don’t have a way to accept credit cards/debit cards for payment on your goods or services you not only risk losing business but you also risk not getting paid at all.

The reason I became a PayPal.com member so long ago is because I had a contract with a major university to complete work on a website I was designing for their building services department. The department head was very impressed with my work and asked if I accept credit cards as a form of payment. I only accepted checks or cash at the time like most small businesses just starting out.

The amount they owed me could only be paid by the department head with his university issued credit card. The department head’s only choice was to send a check request to the director of the department, the director of the department sent a request to the purchasing department who then sent a request to the billing department who then 5 months later sent a check to me.

If only I had a traditional merchant account at that time. Most Solopreneurs or Small Business owners don’t need or can’t afford the cost involved to maintaining a merchant account. I didn’t have enough volume of business at that time to justify a merchant account so I was stuck waiting when it came to check payments from my clients.

PayPal.com to the rescue! Not only can I now accept credit cards of all types including American Express, MasterCard, Visa and Discover Card, I can also allow my clients to send me an eCheck through PayPal.com
PayPal.com also gives you an Invoicing tool that will send out professional invoices through email that will include a link back to PayPal.com to allow your client the ability to pay that invoice with their credit card.

Their once was a very popular commercial that a famous actor at that time Karl Malden did for the American Express Travelers Checks. The catch phrase at the end of the commercial was “Don’t Leave Home Without Them!” Well I do the same with my PayPal.com Debit Card. I don’t leave home without it. You can get a Free PayPal.com Debit Card with 60 days of good standing of creating your PayPal.com account. Once one of your clients or customers pays you through PayPal.com using their credit card the funds are automatically availble via your PayPal Debit Card.

There are so many other great features PayPal.com has to offer it will take more than one Blog Post to go over them. So if you are a Solopreneur or Small Business owner and want to expand the profit potential by accepting major credit cards for payment of your goods or services get THEE to the PayPal.com site NOW!

All The Best

JB

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The second Woman 2.0 conference and business plan competition was held in Stanford California this past weekend. 125 women owned companies submited their bids to be in this competion but only 5 got the chance to pitch their companies’ idea to 9 judges. These five companies were competing for a chance to win 15,000 in business services and a chance to meet with angel investor Esther Dyson who has previously invested in companies like Flickr and del.icio.us who were then sold to Yahoo.

The five competing companies were as follows in order of their final standings.

1. Koollage
2. Gaiagy
3. Skillshop
4. Webvet
5. Passive Devices

Three of the favorites were Kollage, Gaiagy and Webvet.

Koollage was the big winner with its ability to bring iphone users and blogs together using widgets that mix different types of digital media such as video, images, and search results.

Gaiagy will give building owners (both individuals and businesses) personal recommendations for how they can most economically make their operations more “green”.

Webvet is a website that is looking to to help you and your veterinarian provide the best possible care for your pets.

If I had to choose a company that could really make it in the world we live in today, I would have to choose Gaiagy.com. The Green factor is IN right now and it is not going to do anything but get bigger. The sales of tankless water heaters and low flow toilets are going into overdrive. I for one just got a float ball replaced in my bathroom toilet that is currently saving me almost $100.00 a month on my water bill.

Gaiagy may not be the most high-tech of the five finalist but I sure hope it gets funding from someone. We need more Green products in our homes and buinesses. I also applaude the founders of Women 2.0 in recognizing that women can also produce ideas that can take shape and blossom into successful web 2.0 companies.

Stay tuned in to when the next Women 2.0 conference and business plan competition will take place.

Don’t let us Guys steal all the glory of the Web 2.0 age.

All the best

JB

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I have been a member of Facebook for alomst 3 months now and I am hooked. I have already amassed about 380 friends and countng at the time of this posting. I have all but abandoned the myspace.com page I once had and I suggest that all Solopreneurs and Small Business persons do the same.

My good friend Brent Leary a CRM Analyst turned me onto Facebook but I really never took it seriously until I saw how many professional people were on Facebook. I, like everyone esle on the planet thought myspace.com would be the answer to helping me promote my business online. All I got from myspace.com was a bunch of junk advertising and requests from internet porn spammers to be my friend.

Facebook has changed my way of thinking when it comes to online social networking. I have met some of the most positive and productive people on the planet within Facebook pages. My favorite Facebook application has got to be “Events” where you can post your upcoming event for thousands if not millions of fellow professionals and Solopreneurs to see. I have been invited to some of the best teleseminars, webnars and networking events through this Facebook application.

As quoted in the Facebook Pages The Insider’s Guide to Viral Marketing.

“Businesses now have the ability to expand their revenue base and acquire new customers through free Facebook Pages. Pages enable customers to interact, learn, purchase, and spread the word about your business to their friends”

“Every day, most of Facebook’s 70 million active users log on to Facebook to learn about their friends and share information about their interests and activities. This regular interaction gives businesses the opportunity to connect with existing and new customers as effectively as a face-to-face meeting”

Here are the four Keys to using Facebook

1) Make business personal.

2) Update your Facebook Page frequently.

3) Harness the power of News Feed.

4) Choose the applications that are best for your business.

 I have also posted the complete guide below. My suggestion is that you quickly download it, Read it and then take action on all that is has to offer.

All The Best

JB

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