You may have spent quite a bit of time designing your web site and writing the copy for it, or you may have spent quite a bit of money and had it all done by a professional designer and copywriter.

But there are about 4 billion websites on the internet. Thats a lot of competition for your site, so how do you get people to actually read your copy? There have been several interesting studies about website reading patterns and usability. Theyre referenced at the bottom of this article.

Website users generally leave a site that takes longer than 7 seconds to load, and the average visit length is just over 1 minute. So assuming your site loads in less than 7 seconds, you have on average, one minute to convince your visitor to stay. And how do you get them to stay? The answer is simple: content, content, content.

But it takes an average of 5 to 7 visits in order to get people to buy your product or service, so how do you get them to come back? By changing your content on a regular basis. Delete text, add text. Add whole pages from time to time, and consider splitting long pages into two.

According to research, content in and of itself is not enough. There are several factors to consider when building a superior web site. Several studies tell us how to improve any web site.

How Viewers Read Web Sites
Would it surprise you to know that most web site users wont really read your web site? Thats what Jakob Nielsen and John Morkes found in a 1997 study. What they found is that 79% will scan your web site, and only 16% read it word for word. Their recommendations are to use scannable text by using:

Highlighted words
Meaningful sub-headings
Bulleted lists
One idea per paragraph
Inverted pyramid style
Half the word count of conventional writing

Lets look at what the W3school says too. Their article Web Site Design confirms that users scan rather than read, leaving in a few seconds if they dont feel theyve found what theyre looking for. The W3school suggests using short sentences and paragraphs, and breaking up excess information into different pages.

Lets talk for a moment about the inverted pyramid style because thats probably the only term you may not have heard before. Remember the papers you used to have to write in high school or for university?

Typical they start with an introduction, then move to background information and discussion, then to findings and finally to a conclusion and recommendations. All that means you have to read a lot of information before you reach a conclusion and recommendations

What Nielsen and Morkes are suggesting is to invert the pyramid.

You could write your web site as a variation of the inverted pyramid by writing a summary first, and adding detail after the summary. Most people dont scroll, but writing your web site inverted pyramid style just might convince them to.

How Writing Style Affects Readability
Nielsen and Morkes measured the effect of different styles of writing on five versions of the same website. A site with promotional copywriting was the control version, and each of the other four sites used one of the following versions and had the following improvement in per cent according to their test readers:

Concise version with about half the word count as the control: 58%
Scannable layout with the same text as the control but easily scanned: 47%
Objective language using neutral rather than subjective, boastful or exaggerated language: 27%
Combined version using all three: 124%

Tracking Their Eye Movements
In 2003 and 2004 Eyetrack completed a study called Eyetrack III. Their study was for news-type sites, but what they found will also help us structure our small business web site. The study found their users followed our left-to-right Western Culture, first noticing the top left of the page, hover there for a bit, and then moving downward in a z-like pattern to examine the rest of the page, and finally moving back up the page to the upper right.

The study found that the eye pauses and reads the first few words of a dominant headline first, especially when that headline is in the upper left and sometimes the upper right. Readers will usually stop reading at five headlines regardless of the number used, but an unusual keyword will often get people to pause. Curiously, they also found that smaller type encourages reading while larger type encourages scanning.

Are You Credible?
Nielsen and Morkes found that web site users look for credibility in various ways, and suggest credibility is increased by high-quality graphics, good writing and using outbound links.

The internet was originally intended for information, and it remains that way to this day. Over the years, several people have tried experimenting with website copywriting. What they consistently found was that users did not want to see hard sell types of copywriting.

Nielsen and Morkes confirmed that theory in their article as well. They found that web site users want to get straight facts and that credibility suffers when users feel claims are exaggerated.
An interesting study on web site credibility is How Do People Evaluate a Web Site’s Credibility? by B.J. Fogg Ph.D, Cathy Soohoo, David Danielson for Consumer Webwatch.. They studied 10 sites in each of 10 categories, with almost 2700 participants evaluating the websites.
They showed the results of 18 comments on credibility. These are the top 10:

Design look: 46.1%
Information designstructureorganization and ease of navigation: 28.5%
Information focusbreadth and depth: 25.1%
Company motiveadmirable motive vs strictly commercial: 15.5%
Information usefulness: 14.8%
Information accuracy: 14.3%
Name recognition and reputation: 14.1%
Advertisingdislike of pop ups, positive use of advertising: 13.8%
Information biascommented on positively and negatively: 11.6%
Writing tonestraightforward friendly tone boosts credibility: 9%

What Does All This Mean for You?
Content may be king, but design has a strong influence on credibility. Your design should be professional, organized, consistent, and easy to navigate. Pages should load within seven seconds or you might lose visitors, so use a small number of quality, optimized graphics, and keep your page content down to two, or at the most three MS Word pages.

Your readers eye first stops at the top left quadrant, so thats a good spot for your logo and company name.

And, a headline in the top left quadrant is very important to keeping your reader on your page for longer than a minute, so consider a headline just under your logo. Consider that the first three words of your opening headline are the most important, and straightforward headlines are better than cute, ambiguous ones.

As to the content itself, are you really a good writer? If youre not, you might want to hire a professional to write your web pages for you. If you are, use a concise, scannable, and objective writing style to maximize your web site readability. Aim for a straightforward and friendly tone and write useful, accurate information with both breadth and depth.

When youre finished, put it aside for a day or two, and then edit what you wrote. Dot all the is and cross all those ts. Check spelling and punctuation. And then take another good look at what youve written and remove any hard sell. It has its uses, but it just doesnt seem to work on the net.

Works cited in this article:

How Users Read on the Web by Jakob Nielsen and John Morkes, 1997, http:www.useit.comalertbox9719a.html

The Best of Eyetrack III: What We Saw When We Looked Through Their Eyes Steve Outing and Laura Ruel, 2003 and 2004 http:poynterextra.orgeyetrack2004main.htm

How Do People Evaluate a Web Site’s Credibility? by B.J. Fogg Ph.D, Cathy Soohoo, David Danielson for Consumer Webwatch. http:www.consumerwebwatch.orgdynamicweb-credibility-reports-evaluate-abstract.cfm

Web Site Design W3Schools http:www.w3schools.comsitesite_design.asp

Why Women In Small Business Must Have A Web Site

In recent years we’ve seen a HUGE increase in the number of small businesses owned by women. This growth has been so dramatic that millions of people now think of a woman when they visualize who owns the businesses they buy from.

Women everywhere deserve a big pat on the back for this amazing accomplishment. But as is always the case for small business owners, there is still a lot of work to be done.

The one thing your small business MUST have is a web site. Sure, ten years ago having a site was an option many small businesses could do without. But that is no longer the case. Here’s why:

* These days consumers and business leaders are more likely to use search engines than the Yellow Pages. They’ll type the name of your town and your type of business into Google and start their research from there.

* A web site lets you put as MUCH information as you want in a public forum. You no longer have to pay thousands for a big newspaper ad just to let customers know about your prices, new services, or show photos of what you do. Now you can keep all that information available on your web site 247 at little or no cost.

* You know as well as I do that most customers are a little shy about asking questions. Often they don’t even want you to know they’re interested until AFTER they have learned more about your product, service, or idea. A web site allows that vast number of potential customers to privately and anonymously read all about your business. Then, when they’re ready to buy, they’ll come forward with their questions and orders. This is a MUCH more efficient way to do business, which leads to my next point.

* Web based business operations can be EXTREMELY EFFICIENT. Customers often prefer convenient email over phone or in-person visits. Email encourages customers to organize their ideas, contacting you when they know what they want and are ready to act. You’ll find your web site generates many more customers and the customers you get are better organized.

* Finally, women love to buy from women-owned businesses. Women, as a group, tend to be less compulsive shopper than men. While a large segment of men will buy an item on impulse, the vast majority of women prefer to learn about your product or service, getting all the details they can before placing an order. Web sites are perfect for presenting a lot of information at very little cost.

If you run a small business, advertising costs must be figured in as part of your overall expenses. If you have received quotes for phone directory ads, business association block ads, and mostly any other print media, these costs are quite high. So, what if your budget is small, perhaps negligible? Will you be left outside of the advertising arena or are there other avenues to help you get the word out? The answer in one word is: yes. Lets explore ways you can get the word out through online meansyes, via the internet!

The rise of the internet has spawned an entire industry with it. You may remember in the late 1990s stories of dot.com companies who made a fortune and then went bust. The irrational exuberance of that era has, thankfully, passed by and in its place is a much more rational, but very lively market.

Todays biggest players online are search engine providers led by Google, Yahoo!, and MSN. Between them, these three search engines dominate the market. Mostly everyone today searches the internet for products sold by small businesses to large corporations and these are the people you want to target. Indeed, while Christmas season sales typically increase around 4% year over year for brick and mortar retailers, the internet has been seeing year over year increases of 30% and higher! No small business operator should exclude the internet when crafting a marketing plan.

Speaking of the search engines, both Google and Yahoo! have their own advertising networks. Google has its AdWords program while the Yahoo! Publisher Network is a comparable, though newer program. This is where you, as a small business owner, can do some of your advertising. By selecting the advertising plan that works for you, you can have your ads appear on web sites in your local area or across the world and be charged a small amount per click. In other words, you dont pay for advertising unless someone clicks on your ad and goes through to your site. To keep clicks from getting out of control you determine the price per click and the amount per day, week, or month you are willing to pay. No busting of your small business budget!

Banner or text ads on select sites can also be helpful for your small business. If there is a web site you like and you suspect that a lot of your customers would frequent that site, contact the webmaster to learn what his advertising charges would be. Perhaps in exchange for submitting a few helpful articles, the webmaster would waive your advertising fee altogether. Or, at the very least, accept any other help you could provide [moderating a forum, answering questions, etc.].

Another way of getting the word out is through your own web site. No, you dont need a web professional to establish your site, but it does help to have someone who can guide you through the set up process. At the very least a few pages is what you will need, so set up costs shouldnt be terribly expensive. In addition, figure on paying monthly hosting and domain name fees but these expenses should be no more than 100-125 per year. Pay a little extra for a web professional who can help you optimize your site [make it search engine friendly] and youll get your money back much quicker. Finally, check with your accountant for small business tax deductions.

You can also generate plenty of attention by writing articles, just like the one you are reading now. No, you dont need to be a professional writer, but if you can clearly convey your thoughts and present a plan of action for your readers [such as: buy my product] you can get what amounts to be free advertising. How so? By submitting what you write to article submission sites for wider dissemination. By including helpful links in the author resource box you can cause search engines to make your web site much more visible as your article gets reprinted on other web sites. Furthermore, readers will perceive that you are an expert and will likely inquire to find out just what you are all about. You can call this, small business advertising on the cheap!

No, as a small business owner you dont have to be strapped by high advertising costs — who has the cash to spare? Instead, the internet offers to you several cost effective ways of informing people about who you are, what you do, and where they can find you.

Select the marketing plan that works best for your small business. A mixture of all four points is a great plan of attack for many small business ownersjust like you!

Top 5 Mistakes That Stamp LOSER On Your Small Business Web Site

Are you making this mistake with your small business web site? Too many small business owners look at their web site as an online brochure. They use it as little more than a place to store their office hours and service list.

A different way has emerged. Now your small business web site can be used as an effective marketing tool. Used in the right way, it can spear-head many successful marketing campaigns for you in the near future.

To begin, effectively use your web site to attract leads and customers; use it to let prospective clients know who you are. Offer valuable content related to your expertise. Attract them back over and over like bees to honey. Soon you will become Top-Pick over your competition.

Did you know that many of your prospects (even locally) will type your business name or web site name in Google to see what you offer? Often they are looking to see what you offer compared to your competitor. Recently, Calif. based USC Annenberg School said from 2005 research, 78.6 Americans go online. An almost equally large percentage 72.3 say that the search engines provide whatever information they are looking for.

To make your small business Web site more effective, go through this short checklist and tweak it for better results. Or if you are just starting, now is the perfect time to put your Internet marketing plan into place to see new quarter profits.

Stay open to learn what it takes to put the right sales language and content on your site bringing more targeted visitors (visitors looking for what you have to offer.) Know the robots of the various search engines examine web sites daily looking for good key word food, free information, and content.

Correct these small business web site mistakes and make more profit:

Mistake 1No sales letter(s).

Solution: Novice Internet marketers don’t even know they need a sales letter for their services and products. They missed the foundational marketing message that said, “Only words sell. Flashy even great looking websites don’t convince anyone to call, email you and foremost of all buy. Only words can do that. Write a sales letter for each service or product you offer. Give your web site visitors a reason why they should buy from you.

Mistake 2 No or poorly written headlines to point the way

Solution: Put headlines filled with benefits on your home page to direct people to your sales letter. Develop the skill of writing headlines. Provocative titles will stir interest. Provocative statements capture our attention like a fish on a hook. They throw out the baited hook and reel a captive audience in every time. For example, here’s a shocking statement one sex therapist used ‘Wives Who Don’t Want Sex.’ Even if his web visitors didn’t have this problem, it got the attention of the curious. Rewrite your headlines. Make sure they lead your prospects to your sales page.

Mistake 3 No testimonials or case studies

Add Testimonials. Most everyone wants to know who else has used your service and had a good experience. Testimonials speak up for your product or service. They act as a referral and even an endorsement. The compliments from another customer help melt away your prospect’s fears and doubts about trusting you.

Mistake 4No compelling reason to keep reading

You may have been awarded for the most beautiful site. Congratulations! But if your web site copy is weak it may not translate to sales. Check your copy for dud phrases. Are you using trite phrases like Welcome to the official site of _____, to find out about ME, MY Company, My Achievements click here, or Sign-up for my FREE ezine. Use wording that will convince your prospects to keep reading, trust you and take action. Insert benefit loaded headlines, bullets and even links.

Mistake 5 Not enough benefits (what in it for me) on home page

Put your resume, bio and credentials on your About Us page or even the Contact page. You customer wants to know the answer to this question first. “what’s in it for me?” Don’t get me wrong; put them in their proper place on your site. But your audience will most want to know the value of your product to them. You must answer questions like, “Will it solve my particular problem?” “What will I gain?” “What will I lose if I don’t use your service?”

If you are serious about making your website a more effective marketing tool, begin by correcting the top five mistakes above. Even one or all of the principles in place will help make your website one that your visitors will contact you from, proudly refer, and come back to over and over again. Write compelling copy and grow your business today.

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(c) Earma Brown, 11 yr. Web Developer, Author
eBk: 7 Easy Acts of Online Promotion for Your Business. Everyone loves to prosper. You and your staff deserve to prosper too! Earma, principal developer at Arrow Productions helps writers and entrepreneurs realize their web dreams. Sign up for her free ezine “Web Wit” at or visit her on the web at http:www.arrowproduction.com or http:www.clickeasymarketing.com

The Travails Of The Pros And Cons Of A Small Business Credit Card

For small business credit card getting a sense out of a deal is, in some instances, the most difficult thing to do. This is because most people could not instantly figure out the benefits they can derive from obtaining it.

Take for example the case of small business credit card. Some people contend that business credit cards are crucial in the growth of a business, while other s contend that it is just one way of losing their investments.

But whatever the point there is, only one this is certain, it is still a credit card and just like any financial decisions, extensive consideration is a must.

So, for those who want to know whether getting a small business credit card will be good for their company, here are some of the pros and cons to be considered first.

PROS

1. It is efficient and provides management on the companys financial charges.

With the small business credit card, most entrepreneurs can manipulate their costs and payments through separate charges consolidation. This means that the company will only have one billing statement with details on the employees expenses instead of having various statements and invoices.

2. small business credit card provide their clients with the opportunity to curb overspending in their employees.

Because the business owners are given the right to preset the credit limit of their employees, they are able to impede any probable overspending of their employees instead. This, in turn, poses great discipline among the people.

The statements that go to the manager or to the financial administrator are in full details of all the financial transactions incurred at a specific time. Hence, the company can track down the kind of spending habits of their employees.

CONS

1. It is still a credit card.

This means that even if it is a companys property, employees will still have the tendency to over spend or splurge into more cashless shopping. This can be very risky especially to business management who is primarily the one responsible for the accounts.

2. Any errors or faults can damage credit ratings.

If credit history is very important to common individuals, it has a greater impact on businesses. So, if something goes wrong with their business credit card, the effect is mostly imposed on the business rather on the employee.

So, whats the bottom line here? As compared to other types of credit, it is always best to monitor the spending habits. Credit cards can really be feasible where it serve its purpose, but can also do more harm than good if misused and taken for granted.

Have you ever considered why SPAM has caused such a public backlash compared to the deafening silence from its unsolicited paper cousins of direct and junk mail? People seem to care a lot more about what enters their Inbox than their letterbox. And for the word care think about logical substitutes of notice, read and respond.

All this translates into campaign results that can surpass other forms of direct communication making it an ideal cost effective option for any small business owner.

And whats more I believe that as a small business owner the odds are stacked in their favour to become budding email marketing superstars.

Let me explain why.

Firstly, its about personality. E-mail messages written in a personal style seem to work the best. Writing this way doesnt seem to faze most small business owners. Usually their business shows more of their personality when dealing with customers than larger competitors so writing this way seems to be a natural option.

Secondly, a small business owner can understand what content that has a good chance of being read. With them working closely with customers they tend to understand what their customers want to know about and can easily translate this into articles and reports that will be read.

Thirdly, the time and cost efficient nature of email marketing ideally suits the busy small business owner. It can take the same amount of effort to create an email newsletter for 500 subscribers as it does 50,000. Plus the costs of an email production are a fraction of the alternative paper option.

For a small business owner a regular e-mail message can have as much personality and content to end up being the next best thing as a phone call from themselves, just more efficient and at a lot less costly to produce.

So there you have it, three reasons why small business owners can make it big in the Inbox. Have fun harnessing this great tool for your company.

If you are looking to open a business of your very own, you are not alone. Every year more and more people make the decision to stop working to make other people rich and to start their own businesses. For most of them, having the start-up capital that is needed is harder than one might think.

Small business grants are often a hot topic with new business people with a small amount of money and little access to other capital. We have all seen the many media claims about “Free Government Grant for Small Business.” It seems all too easy to get these days.

Of course, if it were really that easy, all you would have to do is find a government small business grant to apply for, apply and before you knew it you would have the money to grow your business.

Most U.S. government departments, like the Department of Commerce, do not provide any grants for help in starting a small business. Grant programs are available through state programs and other groups as well. The grant programs are often awarded to people in fields such as medicine or education, and they all have specific eligibility criteria.

The process of finding a small business grant program to apply for and reviewing the requirements to getting is very time consuming. After conducting a two-week search for a medical publisher, I found the requirements to be very specific and difficult to meet.

Eligibility can be based on your location, and your business sales revenue to the application date, years in business, sex, race, and even for the purpose of funding. If your business sets out on a small business grant seeking mission there are some questions that you will have to answer which are:

1. Do you have the time and the resources available so that you can search for a small business grant program and apply for it?

2. Can you afford to hire a consultant if you are unsure of how to do it, or can you learn the grant application process by yourself?

3. Does your business need the money right now for expansion or can you wait up to a year?

4. If you do decide to ask for a grant, will it hurt your business because it will be taking away time from selling and marketing?

If you want to take a look at the small business grants available, the best place to start is the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA). The CFDA lists thousands of grants from all government agencies for free. Many business grants will be geared towards minority business development or rural business opportunity grants. Do not overlook the other assistance programs available such as equipment and training.

If you do find a small business grant program that is available for your business, you will need to be ready to go through a lengthy, approval process. With todays funding cutbacks and the high amount of competition you will want to be prepared for it by following these quick tips:

Small Business Grant Tips

- Provide the grant company with all of your complete and accurate information in the application. An incomplete application will likely not make the review process or it can add delay your grant form getting approved.

- Get to know your grant officer and their constraints, budget and concerns with approving your grant.

- Stand out among the crowd with a well-prepared business plan if required. You will have to demonstrate your understanding of the business. Show how the money will bring the benefit the government agency wants.

- Bring in outside experts or consultants to help you if you need it. An accountant or consultant can add credibility to your application process.

- Keep in touch with the company offering the grant. Make regular contact with the grant office in a professional, but non-intrusive manner.

- The task of locating and applying for a small business grant is not for the people who are not willing to go through hell. Take an honest look at alternative sources first, such as loans, personal credit lines, friends and family.

Most people think Santa Claus only works one night a year. Nothing could be further from the truth. Sure, product distribution takes place on one magical night, but Santa’s operation runs year round and is one of the largest manufacturing and distribution operations in the world.

You’ve probably never considered the fact that Santa is the CEO of a large organization that not only distributes a vast assortment of products throughout the world, but does so in a single night with just a sleigh and eight tiny reindeer. Sam Walton would have killed to have Santa’s logistics manual.

Do I believe in Santa? You bet your red longjohns I do. I especially believe in Santa’s entrepreneurial spirit. Just consider all he does from an entrepreneurial point of view and I think you will start to believe, too.

Santa Is His Own Company Spokesperson

Santa is a brilliant marketer and knows that his image is the best marketing tool he has. No other face is as recognizable and no other entrepreneur has inspired so many songs. You’ll never hear “An Ode To Jack Welch” on the radio ten times a day.

Santa’s Customers Love Him

Just say his name around a group of kids and watch their little faces light up like Rudolph’s nose. You will never see Bill Gates get that kind of reaction. Heck, he can’t even make his own kids smile.

Santa Sets The Bar For All Entrepreneurs

When you list the traits of the perfect entrepreneur, Santa gets the highest marks. He has passion for his work. He loves his customers and will go to great lengths to make sure they are happy. He has the ability to spot consumer trends and bring products to market quickly. He can lead a large organization with a wink of his eye. He inspires those around him. He is tireless. He is dedicated. He is loyal. He is persistent. And above all, he is jolly. Name another jolly entrepreneur (other than Dave Thomas of Wendy’s fame). I bet you can’t.

Santa Is A Great Leader

Can you imagine trying to manage a few hundred giddy elves who are shut in year round and spend their off hours drinking spiked hot chocolate and doing who knows what with fairy dust? It would be enough to drive even the best of entrepreneurs to hide out at the North Pole. Somehow Santa manages the task without pulling his whiskers out. I expect he has a management system that promotes from within. The hard working elves get into management. The slackers are stuck cleaning up after the reindeer.

Santa Perfected “Just In Time” Manufacturing

Santa heads up one of the largest, most diverse manufacturing operations in the world. His product lines range from rag dolls to toy trains to rocking horses to baseball gloves for the little kids, to iPods and cellphones and diamond rings for us big kids. Santa’s factory runs year round, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week and never, ever suffers from cost overrun or production shut downs. Santa perfected the “just in time” method of production that is used by many of the world’s largest manufacturers today.

Santa Pioneered Global Product Distribution

Santa is the king of single channel distribution. How else could he deliver millions of presents to good little girls and boys all around the world on a single night? Santa’s distribution process is a closely-guarded secret (elves and reindeer are required to sign iron-clad nondisclosure agreements), but I expect it involves a highly detailed logistics plan and the best CRM software on the planet. You never hear about Santa calling up a kid and telling them a present is backordered until July.

Santa’s Delivery & Tracking Systems Are Second To None

If you think FedEx is number one at tracking packages think again. Santa’s track record is spotless. He has never, ever missed a single delivery or left a box sitting on the porch in the rain. Every package is delivered in perfect shape, right under the tree.

Santa Wrote The Book On Customer Satisfaction

Santa proudly boasts a 100% perfect customer satisfaction rating. You never hear about class action lawsuits and Better Business Bureau complaints against St. NIck. Santa makes sure that his customers are happy and if they aren’t, he’ll come back next year to make things right. If JD Power could find him, I’m sure they would give Santa their Christmas Customer Satisfaction Award.

Santa Claus Is Watching You

Not everyone believes that Santa is the perfect entrepreneur. There are those kids who complain that Santa never brings what they ask for, but we grown ups know that Santa brings the gift that is deserved, not necessarily the gift that is asked for.

Here’s a little Christmas tip from your Uncle Tim, boys and girls, ladies and gents: If you get a lump of coal in your stocking this year it’s because you were bad and that’s what you deserved.

It was not because Santa dropped the ball.

Merry Christmas everybody!

A growing number of small businesses that have previously faced obstacles getting working capital now have a practical solution they can bank on. They’re taking a cash advance on future credit card receivables. This method of getting needed capital is gaining momentum, particularly in light of the inundation of Small Business Administration loan requests during recovery efforts on the Gulf Coast.

The cash advances taken by these credit-worthy businesses are called Merchant Cash Advances and are completed without the time, documentation and availability issues associated with a traditional loan.

Here’s how it works. Companies such as AdvanceMe (www.advanceme.com), the nation’s leading provider of merchant cash advances, purchase a portion of small- and mid-size businesses’ future credit card sales. These assets, which traditional lenders and investors do not value, help business owners to access capital quickly and easily without leveraging their homes or other personal assets. Businesses simply sell AdvanceMe a portion of their future credit card sales at a discount in exchange for a lump sum of working capital today.

The process has a number of advantages for merchants:

• It helps small businesses manage their cash flow throughout the year. This is especially valuable to businesses whose day-to-day operations are impacted by seasonality, such as those in small college towns. It gives them access to the cash necessary to weather the seasons, whether or not it’s their busy season.

• Often, a Merchant Cash Advance is preferred over a traditional bank loan because payment of the obligation is directly tied to the merchant’s revenue. In this way, the Merchant Cash Advance Vendor only gets paid when the business gets paid.

• It provides business owners with the capital to fund marketing and advertising campaigns, purchase equipment, train employees andor attend industry seminars, which they might otherwise not be able to do.

Mom Entrepreneur Mentors: The Things I Wish I Would Have Known While Working My Business and Raising My Family”

Moms are busy people. Raising a family makes you busy, but when you throw in the added responsibilities of running a business, you may feel like a professional juggler trying your hardest every day not to drop the ball. Todays Mom Entrepreneurs are so busy juggling their family and business, some days it may be difficult to find time to breathe. The Business Mom believes the benefit and good advice of Moms who have already raised their families is priceless and will help you to set our priorities. A special thank you goes to the following Moms from NAFEs For You Network for taking the time to share their thoughts and stories.

Reminder #1: Children grow up quickly
Meli Van Nattas son was seven years old and her daughter was four when she got into the real estate business. Meli of Prudential California Realty says, I learned that children grow up quickly and you can never recapture the time that you miss. If she had it to do over again, she would have arranged her schedule to spend more time with them even if it affected her business. Now that she is older (and wiser), Meli realizes that she could have delegated some tasks, maybe taken on a partner, and she didnt have to attend all the social events that went along with the business. But, she was young, having fun, and feeling very powerful and successful with all the money she was making.

Melis kids dont seem to feel that she neglected them. After all, they had time to go to Disneyland, the Zoo, and other places during the week when all the other mothers were at work. So, they didnt mind too much if she worked weekends because of her schedule. They often helped her by stuffing envelopes, going with her to knock on doors, and sitting with her at Open Houses when she couldnt get a sitter.

Both of Melis children are now happily married, well-adjusted adults with kids of their own. Her daughter has chosen to be a stay-at-home mom and is expecting her third child. Her son is the entrepreneur in the family. After a brief foray into the real estate business himself, he is now the proud owner of two successful businesses.

Melis Top Tips:
Learn when to turn off the phone and learn the difference between merely important and urgent. Take those vacations and make your days off sacrosanct. It may take you a little longer to reach your business goals, but youll be happier for it!

Reminder #2: Mom entrepreneurs can take advantage of their flexible schedule to share great times with their children

Robbie Motter of Contacts Unlimited was a single parent who raised her three children (who are now grown). Robbie loves being an entrepreneur. Robbie says, If I had known then what I know now, I would have left the corporate world earlier so I could have had the quality time with my older children that I had with my younger daughter. Robbie took a break from work each day when her daughter came home from school for about an hour and a half so that they could spend time together before returning to work and while her daughter completed her homework.

Robbie recalls that it was she had some hard challenges when she first became an entrepreneur. It took awhile for things to start to move forward and times were tough. Her two older children were not too supportive at first, as they were use to the big corporate paycheck. Many times they told her to go get a regular job, but she was determined to make it work. Before long it did, and they truly loved having her work from her home office. They shared great times together.

Robbie used to have her children help in the business. They stuffed envelopes or jobs like that, and they loved it. As they got older, Robbie let them answer the phone so they could learn the right way to do that.

Robbies son is an entrepreneur. He and a partner have owned a company for 18 years. Her two girls are not entrepreneurs–they like having a big paycheck, the perks, and all the benefits that a corporate job provides. Today all of her children are very successful, own beautiful homes, and make a fantastic salary with lots of benefits. They do not take their work home with them; they leave it at the office and come home to be totally with the family.

Robbies Top Tips:
When you run your business, and if you work from home, make your children feel a part of it. When it is family time, stop worrying about business and give your children quality time.