When you’re starting a business everyone wants to give their two cents on what they think you should do to get going and become successful.  You’re family tells you how to develop a product; a friend gives suggestions on how to handle your financing; even someone you’ve just met has an opinion on what you should do.  Sometimes this advice is invaluable and other times you just want to tell that person where to shove it.

I subscribe to this website that writes posts on everything having to do with business.  Not long ago they wrote a post on “The Worst Advice for Small Business Owners.”   I thought their post was very interesting and wanted to share it on my site.

1. Hire People You Know. Everyone has had a great coworker that was successful at their job. However, that does not mean that they will be successful at the position in your business.  Try not to hire someone just because you know them, but rather because they fit the specific expertise that you’re trying to fill and have the skill set you need for your business to grow.

2. There is No Room for You in the Market.  The key to business success doesn't always hinge on finding a completely empty field; rather, it’s how you define your company and its place in the market. Starbucks wasn't the first company to sell coffee, but they did revolutionize the coffee shop by selling an experience along with a caffeine fix. Still, numerous boutique coffee shops are able to open and thrive today, even though there's a Starbucks around the corner.

Rather than struggling to come up with a brand new idea, take a look at your target industry and see where there's a void to be filled. Figure out the best possible way to fill that need and run with it. You don't always have to blaze a new trail, but you need to know who you are.

3. You Have to be Cheaper than the Other Guys.  Many young companies feel the pressure to discount their prices heavily in order to win business. While customer acquisition is important, attracting customers at unsustainable price levels will just result in a race to the bottom. I’ve learned that you’re better off in the long run to focus on how to bring more value to customers, rather than simply slashing your prices. After all, someone will always be able (or willing) to absorb a lower cost than you. You'll need to find a new way to stand out, and then work as hard as you can to be exceptional in those differentiating areas.

4. Social Media is Free. Sure, you don’t have to spend a dime to join Facebook, create a Twitter account or start a blog. But, I think a more apt comparison is that social media is free like a puppy. It may not cost much to bring a shelter puppy home, but from day one, it's an endless whirlwind of training, toys and treats.

Likewise, social media is far from free once you factor in the blood, sweat and tears it demands. From developing fresh content to keeping up conversations, social media requires nonstop commitment once you start. Unless you consider your time (or the time of your employees) worthless, then there’s a significant cost involved with social media.

5. You Have to Spend Money to Make Money.  This one can be tricky.  Many people think that spending money is the same as investing in the business.  Well it isn’t. Certainly, money can scale a business faster, but only when you spend money on those things that will produce more money in return.  Sometimes creative thinking and strategy work far better than a checkbook.

People will always give advice – some will be good, some bad.  The key is to never forget that you are running the show. Final decisions are always up to you.  That way there is no blaming someone else for bad advice.

If you are a small business and are looking for a new merchant service provider, please feel free to contact us.  We’d love to be able to provide you with a no obligation statement analysis.  

Email us at dsherman@selectbankcard.com or call us 385.212.4285.

Understand Your Merchant Statement by Understanding the Effective Rate

Are you a business owner that looks at your merchant statement each month and scratches your head as you struggle to understand the variety of fees? Each month your charges may go up or down based on three things: the number of transactions you run, the dollar amount of these transactions, and the type of cost structure you’re on.  With these variables in mind, how do you run a true comparison to see if you’re getting a good deal or to see if you’re getting a better deal than the next processor is offering?

The answer to this is called the “Effective Rate.”  The effective rate is the one number that, no matter what, will show you if you are paying too much.  The effective rate is simply the total processing fees divided by the total processing volume. 

Okay, the total processing fees are going to be the total of fees that you have been charged by the processor.  This should be found at the summary of amounts found on your statement.  You should also be able to refer to your bank account to see what has been deducted.  Then your total processing volume is going to be the “Voluem” for Visa, Mastercard and Discover.  Add these three numbers together (they may be listed as added together and called “Total Volume”). 

Now let’s look at an example. Let’s pretend that your merchant statement shows a total credit card processing volume of $20,000.  And your merchant statement shows that your processor charged you a total of $700 in fees.  Effective rate is calculated by taking the total of fees and dividing them by the total processing volume.  In this case you would take $700 / $20,000 = 3.5%.  So you’re paying an effective rate of 3.5%.

As a general rule if you are paying over 4%, then you are paying too much.  At Trusted Merchant Accounts we try to keep our merchants’ effective rates in the range of 2% - 3%.  We’re able to do this by offering low rates.  If you’re effective rate is above 3%, feel free to send us your statement to dsherman@trustedmerchantaccounts.com.   We’ll do a free side by side, detailed comparison and show you what you could be saving.

For more information visit our website Trusted Merchant Accounts.

Small Business Customer Service - Salt Lake City, UT

At Trusted Merchant Services we focus first on the customer.  In an industry that is so competitive on pricing we pride ourselves not on having the best price out there (although, it’s still very competitive), but making each of our customers feel as though they matter to our business.  And they do! Because I spend so much time focusing on the service we offer, I pay close attention to the customer service offered by others.  It amazes me the customer service some businesses offer – good and bad. I’ve been some places that go above and beyond to offer incredible service to their customers.  Other places have done so little to show appreciation for my business that I don’t ever want to return.  I am sure that everyone has felt that same way.

Recently I came across a local SLC business that really impressed me with their service: Tub People.  I had gone to their website to place an order and didn’t want to pay shipping.  I emailed them to see if there was any way that I could pick up the order.  I got a reply from Amy, the owner.  She was willing to meet up to deliver the wallet as she only had a home office and no retail location just yet. After a few exchanges of emails she told me that she would just drop off the wallet at my house.  Really!?  Drop it off at my house?  That day I left the money (including tax) in an envelope on my door step and when I came home that afternoon there was a wallet in my mailbox.  It was awesome.  I thought to myself “now that is great customer service.”

This is what Trusted Merchants Services strives for with all of our customers that we process credit cards for.  So if you feel you’d like better service from your merchant service provider than you’re currently getting, feel free to call us.  We’d be happy to offer a free analysis with no obligation.  We’d mostly likely be able to save you some money too, in addition to providing that above and beyond service.

Tub People is local, small business.  Please check them out.  They not only offer great customer service, but make awesome stuff out of used bike tubes, that would otherwise end up in our landfills.

Trusted Merchant Services – dsherman@trustedmerchantaccounts.com

Think Local First, Salt Lake City!

Shopping local and supporting the independent store sounds nice, but we Americans like to save dollar. So why go out of the way to shop local? There are many benefits to our communities and to each of us to choosing local, independent owned businesses. I realize that it’s not always possible to buy what you want locally and so I suggest you to Think Local First!

Here I’ve listed the top 9 reasons I can think of to buy local.

1.       Buy Local – Support Yourself: Several studies have shown that when you buy from an independent, locally owned business, rather than a nationally owned business, significantly more of your money is used to make purchases from other local businesses, service providers and farms – continuing to strengthen the economic base of the community.

2.       Support Community Groups: Not for profit organizations receive 250% more support from small business owners than they do from the big companies.

3.       Keep Our Community Unique: Where we shop, where we eat and where we have fun makes our community a home. Our one-of-a-kind businesses are an integral part of the distinctive character of this place.

4.       Create More Jobs: Small local businesses are the largest employer nationally and in our community.

5.       Get Better Service: Local businesses often employee people with a better understanding of their products they are selling and who take more of an interest in their customers – providing them better customer service.

6.       Invest in Community: Local businesses are owned by people who live in the community and are less likely to leave. They are more invested in the community’s future.

7.       Encourage Local Prosperity: Local businesses return 80% of each dollar to the community.

Trusted Merchant Services works with local businesses to make sure they get fair rates on credit card processing. We also partner with other local merchants to attempt to create a community network that can help us all.

If you’re interested in speaking with a representative from Trusted Merchant Services, feel free to contact us. Or you can visit our website: trustedmerchantaccounts.com