Max

A: Well, if it’s help you need to grow your business, then you should get some. What if I told you there was an easy way to get that help, and it won’t cost you hardly a cent? And what if I further told you this method is incredibly powerful and historically successful?

I thought you might be interested.

Think for a moment about all of the immigrants who have come to this country, be it Irish Catholics, Eastern European Jews, Asians, whomever. When you hear their success stories, usually it’s because they were industrious, hard-working, entrepreneurial, thrifty, and so on.

They also tapped the power of their community.

Historically, when an immigrant starts a new business in this country, their first taste of success comes when members of the community begin to frequent the business. Word gets around, other members of the group start to show up, and the fledgling business takes root. If the business is really good, then the word of mouth continues to grow, and the business expands organically, seemingly effortlessly.

But it’s not just new immigrants who can tap the power of community, almost any business can.

Sophy Khut and her family escaped Cambodia after the war and moved to the Portland, Oregon in 1976 when she was about 10 years old. As she became a young woman, needing to help her family, she began to work in an aunt’s restaurant, doing everything from washing dishes and mopping floors to cleaning up and bussing tables. She opened her own restaurant just a year later – when she was but 22. But with the help of the local Cambodian community, it started strong. Their continued support helped the restaurant grow.

Buoyed by her success, Sophy looked around and realized that a golden opportunity lay not far away: Long Beach, California has the largest Cambodian community anywhere in the world outside of Cambodia. As she told me, “it was a great opportunity and a ready market.” So she up and moved to California, by herself, and started another restaurant, from scratch.

Sure, it sounds intimidating, but Sophy knew the secret: Help the community and they will help you.

So she opened Sophy’s Thai and Cambodian Cuisine and immediately began tapping into the vast Cambodian community that surrounded her. She knew that a great restaurant, serving delicious, home-cooked food should be a winner.

She was right.

Sophy’s is now one of the very best Cambodian restaurants in all of Southern California. Nobody does it better than Sophy’s, and the mass of satisfied customers every night attest to that. That she just moved to a restaurant three-times the size, and it’s already full every night, is further proof.

And how about this: It’s all word of mouth. Sophy does not advertise. That’s the power of community (and having a great business.)

Here’s Sophy’s secrets to having your community support your business:

“Give, rather than take”: Sophy explains that giving actually has two meanings:

• First, you have to give your customers a great product or service. Give them more than they expect.
• Second, give in the traditional sense. For instance, the Cambodian community in L.A. has a foundation called Hearts Without Boundaries, whereby they bring needy Cambodian children who have congenital heart defects to the U.S. and give them surgery and all of the medical help they need – for free. Sophy is a big a participant in the group, and in fact the team meets in her restaurant regularly.

“Get involved”: In Sophy’s case, she helps out every year with the Cambodian New Year parade. She has food booths at fairs and expos. She opens the restaurant up to different groups. She donates to non-profits.

All of this gets the word of Sophy’s Restaurant out there. And then, when people show up, her great food and friendly restaurant makes them want to come back.

So the lesson is clear: Get involved in your community. Befriend them. Be thankful for their patronage. Help out. Just take it from Sophy: “Support your community and they will support you!”

Today’s Tip: Do you bill by the hour for different clients and customers? If so, you might be interested in some great software I recently learned about. Fast, easy, online, and affordable, Bill4Time can help you focus on your work, not your billing. Check it out here.

Accounting and Taxes

When it comes to the health of any company, the day-to-day monies coming in and going out are important to keep tabs on. There also needs to be a good amount of planning to make sure you know what you should be putting aside for Uncle Sam, so you are not unpleasantly surprised at the end of the year.

Working Capital Needs Calculator – Working capital is the money you need to have in the bank to be able to pay all the bills that come into your accounts payable department. This calculator can show you what is happening with your cash flow and what you need to be bringing in to keep your head above water.

Self-Employment Taxes Calculator – If you are self-employed, there are all sorts of tax and deduction rules that may apply to you. This calculator will help you find out what you will end up paying when it’s all said and done.

Gross Pay Calculator – If you have employees, you need to make sure you are taking the right amount out of their paychecks to cover all tax and federal deductions, as well as any benefits. This calculator will make sure your number crunching is correct.

For more calculators check out our article "We’ve Got Your Number – Business Finance Calculators "

Knowing your market is an essential facet of online business. It may be true that the Internet offers the world’s largest customer base, but in order to take advantage of this webmasters and e-store owners need to do their research. As an e-commerce entrepreneur (as with any business owner) this includes researching market trends to find the most viable and profitable products.

What Is eBay Pulse?

eBay Pulse is a service offered by the eBay website. It provides figures and trends pertaining to the most popular and the most sought after items on eBay. Even if you do not intend to sell any items on the auction powerhouse itself, this tool can provide invaluable and insightful information into the most popular products.

Accessing The eBay Pulse Website

Access to the Pulse section of eBay is simple, although it is important that you work predominantly with the site specific to your country because trends do vary. To view the main Pulse site the address is www.pulse.eBay.com. For other countries simply replace the .com with the appropriate top level domain. For example, to view the latest trends for the UK you would visit www.pulse.eBay.co.uk.

Finger On The Pulse – Popular Searches

Popular Searches is a list of the items that have been searched for most frequently, and are calculated according to the number of searches conducted. This gives a good indication of the number of people looking for a particular item. If you are considering selling on eBay then you should conduct further research, including the kind of price that these items sell for, the most successful listing keywords, and more.

Finger On The Pulse – Category Selector

In order to dig deeper into the bowels of eBay searches there is a category selector at the top of the page. This drop down menu includes a substantial list of categories that you can research. Once you have found a category that is most closely related to your area of business, select it and wait for the page to update automatically.

For instance, if you choose the Crafts category, you’ll see the most popularly searched items on eBay that fall within that category. Clicking the Category selector again gives potential subcategories related to Crafts items. This enables you to further delve into the popularity of items that are being listed on eBay.

Finger On The Pulse – Largest Stores

On the right of the Pulse screen is a pane that displays the largest stores. Again, when you first log on to the Pulse site this list will be populated with the most popular stores over the entire eBay site. Once you choose a category, the list will then be populated with the largest stores within that category, or subcategory.

The Largest Stores figures are determined by the number of active listings, and do not account for sales or any other figure. While these can be used as a guide to the kind of item that others believe will sell, they may not provide an accurate assessment of the actual items that will sell.

Finger On The Pulse – Most Watched Items

One final, and potentially useful, section of the Pulse website is the “Most Watched Items”. When you first visit the Pulse page and no category has been selected it is more than likely that this will be filled with cars. Cars and other vehicles are typically the most watched items, barring any major events or news coverage for specific items.

As with the other sections of Pulse, though, once you have selected a category or subcategory the information becomes more precise and more beneficial. This can help track down more expensive or rarer items that fewer people search for, but still generates a lot of interest from those that view the item.

Combining Pulse With Other Research Information

The information contained in Pulse is obviously limited but it does have its uses. If you intend to sell any of your own items on eBay then it can provide an excellent pool for research. Even if you have no intention of eBay selling it can still provide an insight into the items that people are currently searching for within your given industry. Never use Pulse trends alone to determine a sales plan, or any other business orientated plan. Instead, combine it with other market research you have managed to gather and create a much more powerful campaign.

On eBay, a seller’s customer service reputation (Feedback Rating) is out in the open for everyone to see. Imagine, if every store in the shopping mall had a sign outside where customers wrote comments about their products and service. Would you stop to read the comments before entering the store? Negative feedback is the number one reason eBay sellers fail. A negative feedback rating, however, usually has its roots in other problems.

Here are the top five reasons why eBay businesses fail:

1. Poor Feedback Rating
New eBay sellers typically underrate the importance of quickly building a great feedback rating. I am amazed when I click on an auction description and see a seller with a feedback rating under "10." How could this person know anything about selling on eBay? Experienced eBay bidders are cautious of sellers with a feedback rating under 25 – 50. Admittedly, getting your first twenty-five feedback comments as a seller can be a long process. Don’t forget, feedback comments as a buyer count as well (although eBay does show the difference). Before you rush into selling on eBay, you need to get some experience buying. There is nothing better than putting yourself in your customer’s shoes.

I wouldn’t start to sell on eBay until you have completed a dozen or more purchases, paid for them promptly and received good feedback from your sellers. Don’t be afraid to ask the seller to post feedback in your payment email. Sellers like to be paid quickly. Sending payment by credit card or PayPal will build your feedback rating quickly as well.

When starting your eBay business, you should bend over backwards to provide exceptional service. Remember, you are fishing for compliments. When you have a positive feedback rating over "100" bidders will look at your rating number and then make their decision on whether or not they like your product. If your feedback rating is less than a 100, people tend to actually look back through your comments and read them. There is a big difference between "Nice transaction — good seller" and "FIVE ***** SELLER, EXCELLENT PRODUCT- FAST SHIPPING" Whether you are a new seller, or a veteran eBayer, building excellent feedback comments should be a daily goal.

Poor communications between buyer and seller is the leading cause of negative feedback. Make sure your first email to the successful bidder is clear, and complete. You should not only be polite, but be effusive in your congratulations. Remember: Some people shop on eBay for bargains, but most people shop on eBay for fun. Make the transaction a fun experience. Be personal. Don’t sound like a bureaucrat or a big corporation. Make the buyer feel good and close the sale by complimenting them on the great deal they made.

Make sure your payment instructions are clear and your shipping methods and charges are clearly spelled out (this should have been in your auction, but many people can’t remember). If a buyer wants to pay by credit card, suggest PayPal, or explain how to access your secure credit card server. If they want to use a check, explain how they can speed up the payment and delivery by using PayPal’s electronic check service.

I am not trying to be a walking advertisement for PayPal, but the simple truth is: it works! Anything you can do to speed up payment, shortens the time it takes a customer to receive their purchase. Nothing will improve your feedback faster than getting purchases to your customers quickly.

As the seller, you have the most to lose by negative feedback. It is only a question of time until you run into a difficult or irrational buyer. He or she may be rude, or unresponsive, or both. Once your feedback rating is secure in the high hundreds, you can afford to take a tough line and weather the negative feedback that inevitably follows. But while you are building your feedback rating, sometimes you just have to swallow hard and be extra diplomatic. I always give people the benefit of the doubt and try and work something out. I would rather lose a sale than risk negative feedback from an irresponsible person. If a buyer won’t complete the transaction, its better to report them to eBay, than to get into a feedback war. Once eBay determines they are a non-paying bidder, they will not be able to leave feedback against you.

To summarize, make your communications fast, friendly and complete and your feedback rating will soar!

2. Not Accepting Credit Cards Turns Away Bidders
Thousands of bidders worry about Internet fraud. Several studies by eBay and Yahoo have positively concluded that accepting credit cards will increase your auction bids anywhere from 100% to 300%. This is even more true on web site sales, where accepting credit cards can boost sales over 500%!

Setting up a merchant credit card account can cost between $195 to $425 in set-up fees and anywhere from 2.5% to 7.5% per transaction.

Fortunately, Paypal offers an elegant solution. There are no set-up fees and transaction costs are 2.2% or less. Here is an important tip: Some buyers don’t know what Paypal is, or how it works. Place a PayPal logo on all your auctions and a link to PayPal in emails to your successful bidders.

In your auction, place a line of text above the PayPal logo that says: "To pay with a credit card, click on the PayPal logo below." Do the same in your email to winning bidders. Use a statement such as: "If you would like to pay by credit card, click on the link below to register and pay securely using Paypal." Then place your PayPal referral link after your signature.

If you have a web site (most successful auction sellers do), instead of setting up a merchant credit card account, you can now use PayPal’s WebAccept to take credit card orders on your web site. Connect to PayPal’s "Web Tools" link, and type in the product, pricing and shipping info. Then copy/paste the html code onto your web page. You now have a credit card shopping cart for each individual product.

3. Weak Headlines and Poor Auction Descriptions Lose Bids
There are over seven million items listed on eBay every day. Your headline must stand out above the competition to attract bidders. A great headline should contain two key elements: "Key words" that are searchable, and "emotional words" designed to attract attention.

Over 60% of bidders find the item they are looking for by using the "Search" feature. Unless you use the key words bidders are looking for, you will miss many bids. For example, if someone collects Ferrari Formula 1 model cars, they will search "Ferrari" rather than "Formula 1" or "model cars." A search of Ferrari turns up 41 items, while "Formula 1" turns up a few thousand items. A search of "Blue & White" will turn up thousands of listing in the pottery section, but a search for "Liberty Blue" (a specific type of blue & white pottery) turns up only a few hundred items.

Your headline should also include "emotional" words designed to attract a bidder’s attention. These words include: new, rare, unique, sexy, secret, unbelievable, super-value, etc. You should not call something "rare" if it is not. But, there are other adjectives that work well in headlines. Besides the emotional words you can use words such as exquisite, charming, wonderful, mint, perfect, clean, superb, etc. Just make sure you are accurate.

Once you catch the bidder’s attention with a great headline, you need to "sell" them with your item description. Too many bidders simply describe the item they are selling. Yes, it is important to completely and accurately describe the item, but too many sellers leave it at that. Take the time to "romance" your item. Sell the benefits.

Before writing the auction description, ask yourself: "Why would someone want to own the item you are selling." If you are selling something you use, say so. Tell the potential bidder why you owned the item, how you used it, what benefits it brought you. Sell not just the features, but the benefits and the romance.

Here is an example:
"This Sterling Silver bracelet is five inches long set with zirconium stones that look just like diamonds."

Now lets add some romance:
"This exquisite Italian Sterling Silver bracelet is set with five glimmering zirconium stones that sparkle like diamonds. The silver is finished to a high polish. It’s so bright, it looks like white gold. Whenever I wear this bracelet my friends ask: "Wow, are those real diamonds? Where did you get that bracelet?"

Your auction descriptions must also be complete. A clear photo is critical to the success of the auction, but remember, photos don’t always show all the details a bidder needs. If you are selling an antique, collectible or any used item, be sure to describe any and all flaws. The fastest way to build negative feedback is to over-describe the item, or over-promise performance.

4. Poor Images Can Turn Off Sellers
The saying "A picture is worth a thousand words" is never more true than with on-line auctions. Not having a photo of your item will greatly reduce your bids, and lead to unprofitable or unsuccessful auctions. Not only must you have a photograph of what you are selling, the photo must be accurate and revealing.

It is not necessary to be a professional photographer. Ebay bidders understand that most sellers are taking snapshots of the products they sell. But, your photo should be clear, and show the product as completely as possible. Here are some tips for good photos:

�If the size of an object is not obvious, use a reference such as a ruler or a coin.

�Show any flaws or defects. Point them out in the caption if necessary.

�Don’t use a flash. It causes reflections. Take your photos in open shade or using indirect window light.

�Do not use "stock" photos. Bidders want to see a picture of the actual item they are bidding on, not a scanned photo from a brochure.

�Use a tripod to make sure your shot is sharp.

�Keep your photos to less than 300 pixels. Larger photos take too long to load and impatient bidders will click away from your auction. The "e-mail" setting on most digital cameras works just fine for most auctions.

�Except for flat items such as prints, photos, stamps, cards and so on, scanners often produce an inadequate image for most items. If you don’t have a digital camera, you can now take a 35mm photo to most Kodak processors and they will digitize your images and return them to you on a floppy disk or CD. This will cost just a few dollars more than the processing.

5. Not understanding your costs is a prescription for disaster
It is very easy for a new seller to get caught up in the excitement of selling and not pay attention to the costs involved in selling. Before deciding whether to sell an item on eBay, and what to sell it for (i.e. reserve or Dutch auction price), you need to understand all the costs involved.

First of all there is the "listing fee." There is also a "selling fee" that will be set by what price the item actually sells for. There may be a fee to process a Billpoint, PayPal or credit card sale. If you use an auction management service such as Andale or AuctionWorks then you have their fees. Don’t forget shipping, and the cost of the shipping materials.

If you are selling items you purchased wholesale, were there shipping charges to get it to you? Did you pay sales tax on the item?

Many businesses fail because they are either under financed, or because they do not understand their costs. A program such as Quicken’s "Quick Books" could be one of your best investments. Quick Books will allow you to track every expense, down to the penny, and allocate the costs to different categories so you will fully understand where every dollar is going and if it was well spent.