TNNWC UPDATE BULLETIN! - May 2nd, 2011

The following article is reprinted with permission from the TNNWC Publications Daily RSS Feed

Entrepreneurs, Small Business and Merchant Payment Processing Services

It is your responsibility as an entrepreneur, CEO of a small business, Captain of an emerging enterprise, TNNWC Member (I always throw that in) or an innovator about to launch an e-commerce or other type of start-up business to know the ins and outs of receiving, transferring and making payment, and to choose the best financial institutions and business -- you have choices. Be an informed consumer as well as a shrewd businessperson. --DC

Small business commerce is facilitated, especially in the growing world of entrepreneurial e-commerce, by payment processing. The more ways in which you, as a vendor or merchant, can accept payment from your customers, the greater the percentage of them who will likely complete sales.

Also, when you pay your vendors and suppliers, or even transfer funds between your own accounts, there are multiple ways, generally, in which you may choose to pay.

This money transfer mechanism (i.e., moving funds in any direction) does, however, come at a cost. In fact, there are several components to that cost that you should be aware of in order to minimize their effect on your profitability.

Note: What follows is neither legal, accounting, financial, investment or other "professional advice -- it is merely offered anecdotally, for your general information.

Here are some of the costs, both quantifiable and mysterious, associated with processing payments. If you know what to expect, you can make the necessary adaptations -- after all, entrepreneurship and business are both secretly exercises in problem-solving...

1. Discounts - when your customer pays you the full amount of the purchase price, your processor will charge you a fee; this fee can range from as little as 0.75% to as much as 5.0%.

2. Reserves - if you are new in business, or if you are running a business characterized as "high risk" (gaming, vice-related, and the like), your payment processor may hold back a reserve - a portion of your payment - on each transaction to accumulate a "cushion" against chargebacks and other perils associated with your business. If the percentage of this reserve is high, your payments received might be dangerously close to your costs. If a large reserve is to be accumulated, you should know that in advance, too. In this way, you'll know when your cushion is adequate for you to start receiving your full payment (less the processing discount).

3. FOREX Charges - If you issue payment (as a purchaser) in your local currency to a vendor in another country, you may well be hit by your vendor, the payment processor, and your very own bank for processing "foreign" transactions. If you accept payments (as a seller) from customers in foreign lands, you may be hit with any or all of these charges as well! If you buy from one country and sell in another (neither of which are your own), you are going to be hit on both sides -- be certain that you have a high enough profit margin built into your product or service to cover this charge, or charge (with full disclosure) a special fee for covering out-of-country orders.

4. Overdraft Fees - While it has become increasingly difficult to get lines of credit from banks, they are, in many cases, delighted to honor (rather than bounce) your checks drawn against either insufficient or uncollected funds - this is a big money maker for them. In fact, if your banker honors a direct debit request or pays against a check presented to it (drawn on your account) for, say, $4.99 US, it is likely that you will be assaulted with a fee of $35.00 US or more for having your bank "defend your honor". These charges add up. And they tend to come in multiples at "crunch" time.

5. Clearance Time - You and I both know that all electronic payments are actually (from a technological and logistical point of view) instantaneous. Yet, if you deposit a check in your bank today, the funds might not be "available" for several additional days. The banks used to call this "playing the float," and they invest those interest-free funds at a profit.

If you pay your bills via internet, it might take from 1 to 5 business days for your payment (from your own bank account, loaded with clean, cleared, hard-earned money!) to arrive at the merchant's, supplier's or service provider's account...it's like an alien abduction -- all of this "missing time." The money has definitely left your account, but it has not arrived at its destination -- it is in the twilight zone. And if that happens to make you payment arrive a bit late, your recipient may well sock you with a penalty. This is very, very popular.

When someone pays you by PayPal, the funds go into your PayPal account...that account does not necessarily exist, but nonetheless, you'll have to transfer it from your PayPal merchant (recipient) account to your bank account; this process can take from one to five banking days, depending upon your bank's "policies."

If you want to really hurt yourself (and you should not really do this, as it is costly and masochistic), have payment sent to one of your PayPal business accounts, and then transfer it, via PayPal, to another of your own business accounts -- this whole process [rather like taking your loose change and moving it from the left pocket of your jeans to your right pocket] can take up to two weeks, from start to finish.

Saving the best and most time-honored merchant-crusher for last, some of your clients or customers will contact their credit card companies to dispute a payment made to you, and you might be charged back for the amount of that payment, plus a fee (naturally).

Two things to do, oh Captains of Emerging Enterprises:

1. Know all of the fees, reserves, "clearing time" and other policies of each institutional party in your payment process - receiving funds, transferring funds, and paying funds - so that you may be prepared;

2. Set clear payment guidelines (with full disclosure and within the confines of all applicable laws) on you website, sales page, blog, or cash register, for what you will charge for processing certain types of transactions, so that your customers and clients won't be either flummoxed or feel bamboozled. Sadly, this is a kind of "passing of the buck." But if you don't protect yourself, your profits will be whittled away by the unmitigated greed, lawlessness and whims (all for these together hereinafter called "Policies") of the institutions who enjoy the use of our money, and who have the nerve (the nerve!) to insult to injury by charging us for their opportunism.

Learn. Adapt. Prosper. Choose the best merchant payment processing outfit that you can find! Some are saintly and others are, well, Scroogers.

Did I hear "Amen!" ?

Here's another treat. Read the ad copy carefully...

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle
http://aboutDouglasCastle.blogspot.com
http://www.TNNWC.com (join - it's still free of charge, and the best organization to be a part of. Be a Member of TNNWC and start enjoying the benefits immediately).

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FROM THE TNNWC NEWSROOM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: TNNWC NEWS SERVICE
Contact Person: Kent Martin
Company Name: TNNWC Group, LLC / The National Networker Companies™
Telephone Number: 888.317.6495 (Extension 703)
Fax Number: 914.517.5944
Email Address: kent@tnnwc.com
Web site address: http://www.tnnwc.com

Honey and Cosmeceuticals: Survey Says They’re a Match

Levittown, Pennsylvania – A company applying an ages-old product of nature to a new use – honey – is recording significant results from its users and is seeking input from visitors to its website. Greg Martin, founder of Rene Derme Skin Creams, has studied the therapeutic characteristics of honey for years and developed a line of skincare products that incorporate honey as their main active ingredient. Martin says the honey-based products can offer startling results for a wide range of skincare needs.

Martin believes his customers should have the opportunity to participate in the growth of the company’s product lines. “Anyone who has tried our skin creams can attest to their worth and their value,” he says.

“They know us and trust us because of a compact they enter with us as soon as they buy one of our creams. This compact underscores a belief and a level of trust we value as highly as anything we do. It should guide us and in this spirit, I am seeking our customers’ opinions in helping our chart our course as we look to new products study and include in our cream line.”

Martin’s creation of the Rene Derme line has led to the creation of a new term: Cosmeceuticals. “This term accurately describes the perfect marriage between skin care and an all-natural product such as honey,” he says. “I would hope this will take the skin care field to a new level of research and development that gives us natural products without all the chemicals so often found in other creams.”

Martin has established a website for Rene Derme Skin Creams and has posted an online survey for visitors.

The survey seeks visitors’ opinions about the site and the product line. “Anyone visiting our site can give us their opinions on their experience with our products and how we can serve them better,” he says.

“My own personal experience with honey and subsequent research has shown me what a truly miraculous product bees produce,” Martin says. Martin recalls his first experience with honey in 1990 when his granddaughter suffered a serious burn on her foot. Martin remembered his grandmother’s home remedy and applied honey to her foot. “Her foot looked almost normal the next morning,” Martin says. He also testifies to his own experience when he applied honey to a case of hemorrhoids. “Honey has amazing anti-inflammatory properties,” Martin says. “Within three days, all pain, inflammations and infections disappeared.”

Martin points to the well-documented antimicrobial properties of honey for its healing abilities. “Bacteria cannot grow or reproduce in honey,” Martin says. “This characteristic makes this therapeutic agent especially effective in promoting healing from injuries and in treating infections and inflammations.’

Rene Derme Skin Creams is a member of TNNWC Group, LLC.

Martin chose TNNWC to help him promote and market his skin creams. TNNWC is utilizing a strategic barrage of marketing tactics, including social media.

Membership in TNNWC is free.

About TNNWC Group, LLC: TNNWC Group, LLC is a comprehensive media and services provider conglomerate which addresses the needs of entrepreneurial businesses, emerging enterprises, and growing companies. Its homepage address is http://www.tnnwc.com. Some of the services provided include venture capital, building customer traffic and loyalty, and assisting companies with cultivating international connections and customers.

For Reprints of this Article: email kent@tnnwc.com.

Repeat Contact Information:

Contact Person: Kent Martin
Company Name: TNNWC Group, LLC / The National Networker Companies™
Telephone Number: 888.317.6495 (Extension 703)
Fax Number: 914.517.5944

Email Address: kent@tnnwc.com
Web site address: http://www.tnnwc.com

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