WebProWorld
Run a search these days on one of the popular search engines for storefront software and you’ll get back hundreds of offerings. Sorting through the possibilities is mind boggling. How can you possibly decide what software or service to use?
Start by answering five questions:
1) Selling binaryware or hardgoods?
2) Selling a few or hundreds of items?
3) Need shipping and/or tax calculators?
4) Need to take credit cards for payment?
5) Need back-end order processing?
Dot Net is Microsoft’s plan for the next-generation Internet and Web strategy. It is not a new operating system like Windows2000, but rather a new infrastructure in which web and other database servers communicate with each other using various software to fulfill Web-based services.
What is .Net
Mr. Robert Hess, Group Manager for Microsoft’s Platform Strategy Group, said during an interview exploring how Web services can be used in a company’s strategy:
It’s amazing how long it took me to actually start writing and submitting articles for publications.
Late last Friday afternoon I made one last email check before leaving for the weekend. Much to my surprise there were nearly 1000 email messages waiting in my inbox. And little did I know at the time, there would be thousands more over the next few days.
So, I’ll bet you’re excited to learn this new promotion method that brought in all this email right? Well, before you get too excited, let me tell you this… it’s one you should never even consider using.
“… ALWAYS carry out your own due diligence! Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
Regular readers will recognize the above language. It comes from the “Caveat Emptor” section which appears towards the end of each issue of A Home-Based Business Online.
Good advice to be sure (even if I do say so myself). But what does “due diligence” mean and how do you do it? Basically, it means to be diligent in researching your proposed business opportunity so you can be as sure as you can be what you’re getting into and why.
In the past, words like “rebel,” “driven,” “controlling”, “risk taker”, and “Lone Ranger” were routinely used to describe entrepreneurs. These rare people who ventured out on the their own were viewed as ruthless business owners completely caught up in amassing wealth, much to the detriment of a personal life. Clearly, the image was shrouded in mystique and misperception.
Quite often we hear business owners proudly explain how they have completed their succession plans for the company. Likewise, convention and conference meeting planners tell us their committees have chosen an attorney, CPA or Financial Planner to present a program on succession strategies for private companies.
Macromedia Fireworks is the best tool I own for creating web graphics and other such design projects. The fact that it is so extendable, in that you can create your own custom fills, textures, and commands, makes it even more appealing.
Think about that statement for a minute. Is it true? Sure it is! Especially for small businesses. If you want something in a hurry and you need it to be of good quality, it won’t be cheap. On the other hand, if you want something quick and you don’t have a lot of money, chances are it won’t be the best there is. Now we get to the combination most small businesses need – good and cheap. You’re right – it won’t happen quickly.
Gain Understanding
To gain an understanding of how different vendors make payment transactions, we must first figure out how credit cards were originally designed to work. Before anyone even thought of ecommerce, or even EDI became widespread in commercial uses, credit cards were created. However, they did not have a magnetic strip to store information, so all credit card purchases were called in, and a carbon copy of the card was made. With advances in technology, the magnetic strip was added, so merchants could submit customer card information electronically, and quickly get back approval numbers, which were then sent to the bank on carbon copies of the cards. The introduction of the internet and standard EDI for merchant to bank credit card authorizations cut out this step, so now your purchase goes to your creditor, and money is transferred to the merchant’s bank, in only a few seconds.
