Make Your Events Memorable, From Start to Finish

What was the best event you’ve ever been to? Was it a dinner party? A fundraiser? An industry conference? A sporting event? Think about the experience you had at that event. What made it so memorable? Why was it so unique?

Just like any event you attend in your personal life, the events you decide to host for your business or organization will be defined by the type of experience you offer to those who attend.

That experience will have a lot to do with the type of event you hold and the expectations your customers, members, and supporters have going into it, but it is that experience that they will remember the most.

Are you offering the type of experience your customers, members, and supporters will want to remember?

Create a memorable event, from start to finish

A memorable event experience doesn’t begin and end when people show up and leave your event.

The experience begins when someone first hears about the event and decides to visit your website, store, or office to learn more.

If you take the right steps to promote your event and get the right information in front of your target audience, you’ll be much more likely to get the right people to attend your event.

So you create flyers, send out invitations, post about the event on social media. People are excited and want to make sure they don’t miss the chance to attend your event!

Are you making it easy for them to do so? For a lot of small businesses and nonprofit organizations, the answer is no.

The importance of providing a memorable registration experience
If you’re still relying on “old-school” event registration methods, you could be missing a huge opportunity to make your event a memorable one from start to finish.

A recent survey from the Direct Marketing Association, which focused on the expectations of event attendees, found that 50% of people who receive event invitations want the capability to register online.

For businesses and organizations that are giving their target audience the opportunity to do so, this is a huge advantage. For those who are not, this could put the success of your event at risk.

Your registration experience should be an extension of your event experience
Using an online registration tool enables you to collect valuable information from event registrants without having to do any extra work or without it taking up any more of time. This makes it a lot easier for your attendees as well. They won’t have to worry about dropping off registration forms or have to call to sign up for your event at a particular time. Event registration will be available 24/7—whether you’re open or not.

With the right tools, you’ll not only be able to improve your registration experience, you’ll also be able to make that experience an extension of your event.By adding your logo, branding, and event information you can make your form easily recognizable and offer a consistent look and feel across all of your event material.

You’ll look more professional before, during, and after your event which can go a long way toward making your event experience one that attendees will remember.

Gina Watkins is a leading expert on e-marketing for small business – and has a real passion for helping businesses to succeed. Her ongoing series of dynamic lectures are filled with real-world examples, humor and results-driven wisdom garnered from more than two decades of sales, business development and marketing experience. In addition to owning her own business, she is an award-winning direct marketer, has been featured on WUSA Channel 9's Mind Over Money show, Dr. Gayle Carson’s Women In Business radio show, Morgan State’s Briefcase Radio program, and in numerous other media. In her role as Constant Contact Regional Development Director, she’s presented to more than ten thousand seminar attendees about the keys to success with easy, affordable, highly effective technology tools that grow trusted business relationships.

How to Turn Facebook Likes into Customers

Eric Spellmann continues to be one of the highest rated speakers at our national ASBDC conferences. His unique view that small business websites should “do” something pushes against the standard “online pamphlet” view of most web design companies. He believes your customer’s websites should be driving qualified leads and sales on a weekly basis. Eric speaks at a number of other national and state conferences nationwide, but enjoys running one of the most successful web designcompanies in the country. He truly believes in the SBDC mission as it helped him start his own company many years ago. To contact him, visit his website at EricSpellmann.com.

Battling Behemoths

Imagine it is the busiest time of the year for your company. There are two weeks left before New Years Eve, and you are negotiating deals and closing transactions at lightning speed to meet year-end deadlines.

With a lot of hard work and a bit of luck, all the pieces will fit precisely into place. You'll get everything done and make your clients very happy. But then, a few minutes after 9 a.m., you get a call on your cell phone. A client tells you he can't reach you on your business telephone lines. In fact, all of your incoming phone lines are down and a recorded message says that your phones have been disconnected. You pay your bills, so that's not the problem. Something has gone horribly wrong. Not only is it difficult for your clients to reach you, but you fear what they must be thinking.

Your outgoing phone lines are working, so you call the phone company and get a recorded message. Finally, after an excruciating wait on hold, a live person answers. But she can't help and transfers you to another person. You are put on hold again. I can't help you, but let me transfer you to someone who can. Transfer. Hold. Can't help, but... Transfer. Hold. Again and again the agony goes on. All of this happened to me and my law firm at the end of 2012.

We were battling a behemoth. And plenty of business people do every day. You could be a restaurant that loses power on a sunny day without the slightest of breezes and then watch the food in your freezer rotting away with no relief or response from your power company. You could 
be flying to a critical business meeting only to find your flight cancelled and the airline does not tell you until all of the competing airlines flights have left. You could be audited by the IRS and, even though you have paid all of your taxes, 
the examination drags on for months and you must respond to repeated requests for vast amounts of documentation. Or you may simply be seeking to renew a business license or file a document with a government agency, and the time for processing your request is so long it prevents you from getting your work done. It is as if the motto of these mammoth enterprises is "We're not happy til you're not happy!"

But you can do something about it.

Escalate, Baby Escalate 

If you're not getting the help you need, go to the top of the organization. In one situation, I had a client with a problem with the Motor Vehicle Administration. The MVA erroneously believed his car was not registered. We spoke to half a dozen employees, none of whom could or would fix the problem. So I said I was calling about an important legal matter. Read more…

Jack Garson is the founder and a principal of the law firm Garson Claxton LLC in Bethesda, MD, and is also the author of " How to Build a Business and Sell It for Millions ." Contact us at editorial@smartceo.com

Should I Worry About Signing A Contract With A Non-Compete Clause?

Whether you’re an employee of a company or a business owner finalizing a partnership deal with another company, the non-compete clause is often included in the final contract. Should you be very worried and hesitant in signing a contract with a non-complete clause in it?

The non-compete clause
The textbook definition of a non-compete clause is that it is a form of restrictive covenant that adds limitations to the employment or sale contract. These agreements protect the business by restricting the other party from performing similar work for a specific period of time within a certain geographical area. It’s important to note that the courts do not always uphold them. In fact, the courts evaluate non-compete clause for their reasonableness to determine whether they constitute an unfair restraint on trade.

Is the non-compete clause reasonable?
You need to evaluate the non-compete clause very carefully as many of them have a lot of “bark without much bite” language in them. In other words, it’s used as a deterrent in some cases and isn’t actually enforceable because it’s too unreasonable. Most courts will evaluate a non-compete clause based on the time prohibition, the geographic scope and the description of what constitutes a competitor. Typically, the broader the restrictions, the less enforceable the clause will be if evaluated in a court of law. Therefore, if a business contract states that you shall pay x amount of dollars if you fail to meet the conditions of a non-compete clause, you shouldn’t worry so much about that particular penalty as it may not be enforceable.

Always protect yourself
Even though the non-compete clause may not be entirely enforceable, you’ll want to be very proactive in protecting yourself and/or your business. Make sure you negotiate the terms of the contract so that it is at least mutually beneficial for both parties.

About BIDaWIZ

BIDaWIZ is an online marketplace where small businesses can obtain professional tax, accounting and financial advice and services from a network of over 750 online CPAs, EAs, CFPs & Tax JDs.  BIDaWIZ suite of services include the ability to ask professionals finance and tax questions for free, find an accountant online and work with them, and to subscribe to the premium tax and financial newsletter and knowledge ba

How Much Should Business Owners Take As A Salary?

Business owners are compensated with equity in the company, but they still need a salary to live on. Setting a salary can be tricky as you'll want to be compensated for your work, while also not taking away from the future growth of the company. How should you set your salary?

Setting your salary
There are a few different ways to determine the appropriate salary for the business owner. The first and most important method is based on company specific financials. If you're boot-strapping your business, then you'll need to determine how much net income is available or cash on the balance sheet. Then, you'll need to identify the amount of your personal monthly expenses. If the cash flow on your balance sheet and expected monthly cash flow exceed your monthly personal expenses, then you can at least pay yourself some sort of a salary. Still, how much should you be paid in salary?

How much will the market pay you?
If you were not working for yourself and were employed by another company, you need to determine how much you would be compensated given your skills and experience. If your company has enough cash flow to meet this comparable salary, then you can certainly justify paying yourself this type of salary. The caveat to this approach is that another employer likely has a significantly larger balance sheet, in which the risk to paying you this salary is a lot lower than if you paid yourself this same amount.

Another approach is to perform comparable analysis. For instance, you can try to obtain salary figures for other business owners in your industry and locations to compare to your pay. The problem with this approach is that every company is in a different financial situation.

What's the best approach to setting a salary?
We believe it's best to consider all of the above factors: company cash flow, individual market value, and competitor salaries in determining the appropriate salary. However, company specific performance should play the greatest role in calculating a final salary. For instance, you could pay a salary that covers your personal monthly expenses plus two additional months of expenses and then pay the rest in bonuses based on company performance. This methodology will reduce the risk that you pigeon hole yourself by paying too large of a salary, while also holding yourself accountable.

About BIDaWIZ

BIDaWIZ is an online marketplace where small businesses can obtain professional tax, accounting and financial advice and services from a network of over 750 online CPAs, EAs, CFPs & Tax JDs. BIDaWIZ suite of services include the ability to ask professionals finance and tax questions for free, find an accountant online and work with them, and to subscribe to the premium tax and financial newsletter and knowledge base. 

PCI Compliance Importance of Staying Compliant

The security of cardholder information is important to both your customers and your business. In fact, since 2005, there have more than 1 billion stolen records in over 2,000 separate data breach incidents – with payment card data being the theft target in 48 percent of all breaches in 2011 alone.1 And yet, only 4 percent of all breached organizations were PCI compliant at the time of their data breach.2,3

What Is PCI DSS?

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) was created by the major credit card companies as a guideline to help business owners implement the necessary hardware, software and other procedures to guard sensitive credit card and personal information.

The object of becoming compliant with PCI security standards is to help protect sensitive cardholder data from data thieves who are shifting their sights to small merchants because they think they are easier targets. If your business fails to become PCI compliant,3 you could be putting your business at greater risk from the growing threat of payment card data breaches and theft, which may result in substantial penalties (such as fines from banks, regulatory agencies, and card organizations), fraud and charge backs, as well as legal costs and lost customers.

What Happens If I Don’t Become PCI Compliant?

If your business fails to become PCI compliant,3 you could be putting your business at greater risk from the growing threat of payment card data breaches and theft, which may result in substantial penalties (such as fines from banks, regulatory agencies, and card organizations), fraud and charge backs, as well as legal costs and lost customers.

If you fail to become PCI DSS compliant or to report your PCI DSS-compliant status you may also be charged a monthly Non-Receipt of PCI Validation fee until such time as you become PCI DSS-compliant or report your PCI DSS-compliant status as compliant.

If your business experiences a data security breach, you could even lose your ability to process credit card payments. Perhaps more importantly, you risk the loss of customers. Research shows that 43% of customers who have been victims of fraud stop doing business with the merchant where the fraud occurred5

1Verizon 2010 Data Breach Investigations Report. March 2012
2Ibid.
3Ponemon Institute 2010 U.S. Cost of a Data Breach. March 2011
4Javelin Strategy and research. June 2009

Savings and Simplicity. America’s SBDC and First Data have teamed up to bring you industry experts in payment processing. Express Merchant Processing Solutions (EMPS) — powered by First Data has helped millions of businesses like yours bring fast, secure, effortless payments to their customers and affordable support—regardless of size.
Start Saving Today. Call 866-965-7875 to sign up or for more information!

© 2012 First Data Corporation. All trademarks, service marks and trade names referenced in this material are the property of their respective owners.

Preventing Chargebacks 16 Tips T0 Avoid Potential Chargebacks

Most chargeback situations arise at the point of transaction—at the time the transaction is completed—and most can be prevented with a little training.

Consider these 16 tips to avoid potential chargebacks. 

1. Do not complete a transaction if the authorization request was declined. Do not repeat the authorization request after receiving a decline.
2. If you receive a “Call” message in response to an authorization request, call your authorization center. Be prepared to answer questions. The operator may ask to speak with the cardholder. If approved, write the authorization code on the sales receipt. If declined, ask the cardholder for another Visa card.
3. If an embossed Visa card is presented for payment, make an imprint for all card-present transactions. If you have a point-of-sale terminal with a magnetic-stripe reader, swipe the card through the reader for every face-to-face transaction. If the terminal isn’t working or a card’s magnetic stripe cannot be read, key-enter the account information and make an imprint of the embossed information onto the sales receipt using a manual imprinter. Even if the transaction is authorized and the cardholder signs the receipt, if the receipt does not have an imprint of the embossed account number and expiration date, the transaction may be charged back to you for “no imprint” if the cardholder later denies participating in the transaction.
4. If an unembossed* Visa card is presented for payment and you have a point-of-sale terminal with a magnetic-stripe reader, swipe the unembossed card through the reader for all card-present transactions. If the magnetic stripe cannot be read, you should ask for another form of payment. Do not key-enter any transactions on unembossed Visa cards, if you cannot prove the card was present (e.g., manual imprint/magnetic-stripe is read) you may be subject to a chargeback.
5. Obtain cardholder signature. Failure to obtain the cardholder’s signature could result in a chargeback for “no signature” if the cardholder denies authorizing or participating in the transaction.
6. Make only one imprint of the card for each transaction. Making more than one imprint can lead to duplicate deposits and increase the chance of a chargeback. If you need to redo a sales receipt because of an error, write “VOID” across the incorrect sales receipt, inform the cardholder, and tear up the incorrect sales receipt in view of the customer.
7. Ensure that transactions are entered into point-of-sale terminals only once—and deposited only once. Entering the same transaction into a terminal more than once, or depositing both the merchant copy and the bank copy of the sales receipt with your acquirer, or depositing the same transaction with more than one merchant bank can all result in “duplicate transaction” chargebacks.
8. Ensure that incorrect sale receipts are voided and that transactions are processed only once.
9. If your establishment has policies regarding merchandise returns, refunds, or service cancellation, disclose these policies to the cardholder at the time of the transaction. Your policy should be pre-printed, stamped, or written on all sales receipts. Failure to disclose such policies at the time of the transaction will be to your disadvantage should the customer return the merchandise.
10. Deposit sales receipts with your merchant bank as quickly as possible, preferably within one to five days of the transaction date—do not hold on to them. Failure to deposit in a timely manner can result in chargebacks for “late presentment.”
11. Deposit credit receipts with your acquirer as quickly as possible, preferably the same day as the credit transaction is generated. Failure to process credits in a timely manner can result in chargebacks for "credit not issued."
12. If a customer requests cancellation of a recurring transaction which is billed periodically (monthly, quarterly, annually), always respond to the request and cancel the transaction immediately or as specified by the customer. As a customer service, advise the customer in writing that the service, subscription, or membership has been cancelled and state the effective date of the cancellation. Failure to respond to customer cancellation requests almost always leads to chargebacks.
13. Keep customers informed on the status of their transactions.
14. If the merchandise or service to be provided to the cardholder will be delayed, advise the cardholder in writing of the delay and the new expected delivery or service date.
15. If the merchandise ordered by the cardholder is out of stock and delivery will be delayed or this item is no longer available, advise the cardholder in writing and offer the cardholder the option of purchasing a similar item or canceling the transaction. Do not substitute another item unless the customer agrees to accept it. By giving the customer notice and the option to cancel, you may help avoid a customer dispute regarding the merchandise and a possible chargeback.
16. Ship merchandise before depositing transaction. Don’t deposit transactions with your merchant bank until you have shipped the related merchandise. If customers see a transaction on their monthly Visa statement before they receive the merchandise, it could lead to a preventable chargeback.

Savings and Simplicity. America’s SBDC and First Data have teamed up to bring you industry experts in payment processing. Express Merchant Processing Solutions (EMPS) — powered by First Data has helped millions of businesses like yours bring fast, secure, effortless payments to their customers and affordable support—regardless of size.
Start Saving Today. Call 866-965-7875 to sign up or for more information!

© 2012 First Data Corporation. All trademarks, service marks and trade names referenced in this material are the property of their respective owners.