Business Blog | Lilamitre-arte.com

I work for a specialty after market auto parts retailer. We have no showroom, so around twenty percent of our business comes from the Internet while eighty percent comes from the telephone. We send out catalogs to those who request them or anyone who has placed an order in the last year. We also advertise in the back of automotive magazines. Needless to say, telephone sales are truly the lifeblood of our business. As of late, however, I’ve been wishing that weren’t the case.

My company’s business phone system has what I would call, the absolute most annoying hold message ever produced. My boss, the owner of the company, is a really nice guy. Unfortunately, he is a really nice guy with a very pronounced speech impediment. One day he decided that instead of the traditional hold music, he would play a repeating digital loop of him announcing our weekly specials. We are a very busy company. In fact, most days find our sales reps on the phone from the time we get in until the time we leave. As you might guess, with such a high volume of calls, many people are left on hold.
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Business merchant accounts are critical to have if you want to accept credit cards. Business merchant accounts are not limited to those computer consultants reselling products either. They are a good idea for any sale, especially when you are selling to new clients.

If you have a business merchant account you will not have to chase down outstanding debt. The cost is not that high and you don’t have to buy traditional credit card processing equipment. Now they have what is called a lab terminal, which allows you to use your web browser to manage the transactions. The systems are completely secure and most business merchant account providers team up with larger companies that offer great advantages.

Costco’s Business Merchant Account
One of the biggest secrets we learned about business merchant accounts is that Costco provides a fantastic deal on credit card processing through Nova Systems. It’s such a great deal it can actually pay for your entire Costco membership. Here are some particulars:
All of the monthly statement and gateway fees are waived – savings of $25 – $50 per month
Very competitive discount rates on Visa and MasterCard.
You can add on processing for American Express and Discover – you will find that even though American Express transaction fees are higher, it is a very popular card with small businesses.
The charges billed are transferred quickly and directly into your business bank account – this is a lot faster than doing your billing or invoicing once a week or so.
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Business journals, or diaries, are an excellent way to record your business growth and progress. Business journals are extremely valuable in providing you with some amazing insight. By recording what you have done you can reflect and see where your time is going, where your growth spurts have occurred, what’s working and what’s not.

Plotting your course in a business journal lets you see opportunities with ease and clarity. It’s hard to see what is right in front of us but when you revisit what you did a week or a month ago, your perspective on the situation is often different enough that you can analyze the situation much more effectively.

Business Journal Tips

Use a good old fashioned paper and pencil business journal as opposed to an electronic or online version. It’s easy and it’s accessible everywhere.
Take five minutes before you go to bed every night and write down three or four sentences and bullet points about what you feel you accomplished that day.

On the back page of your business journal start a business idea log or brainstorm list that addresses two questions: ideas for getting leads and clients and ideas on how to increase service revenue.
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This business financing guide shows the items that you will need to prepare if you are planning to get loan from financial institution when you buy business for sale. Getting financing can be easier with knowledge about the financing and with complete preparation of documents and statements in process of buying business for sale.

Step 1. Find a Business for sale at BusiMarket.com site for businesses for sale and commercial property for sale on the market. As soon as a property is found, make any necessary contacts to sellers.

Step 2. Get Purchase and Sale AgreementGet the sale agreement from Brokers, attorneys, or Escrow companies.

Step 3. Find a LenderFind a Loan Officer that will take care of your financing needs.
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