Author: Pamela Swift

Next Better Idea

Mind Petals: Well I’m here to challenge that notion about quitting and giving up. Yes, we should be quitters and give up on things in life. Just because we’re entrepreneurs, it doesn’t mean we have this “never-give-up” law up imprinted in our souls.
Sure, if an idea turns into a mess and begins to bring unhappiness into your life, then get rid of it. Bury that baby! It’s perfectly fine to give up on an idea and push forward with something else.
Think of yourself as an scientist… actually, don’t think of yourself as one — you are a scientist. And as a scientist you are going to explore and experiment and fail. Some of your ideas will be solid, some weak, and some “so-so.”
But here’s the thing: you need to learn how to quickly get out of a “bad” idea and start searching for a “good” idea right away. The key here is to find an idea that you can focus on and truly explore for, well, the rest of your life possibly. But, if you continue to keep yourself trapped in a series of “so-so” ideas that are eating up your energy, creativity, and well-being, then you are going to be the demise of yourself — your entrepreneurial journey.
Learn when it’s time to put the nails in the coffin and bury your bad ideas. Learn this now and learn it fast. It’ll push your forward as an entrepreneur and there will be less weight on your shoulders. And the less weight on your shoulders, the easier it’ll be for you to move the world.
When is it Time to Put Your Idea in A Box, Nail it up, and Bury it for Good? [Mind Petals]

How-To Guides

How To Send And Receive Money Online

Post author By Pamela Swift
Post date June 21, 2007

Teentrepreneur.com: Another problem that you will encounter as a young entrepreneur is the process of sending and receiving money online. Standard payment methods such as cheques, postal orders or cash just wont be good enough today in a world of speed. What happens if you need a website designer to do a job in 1 day? You won’t be able to send a cheque as it would take up to 14 days. This is where online money comes into play and this is what Ill be talking about in this article
When eBay was launched in September 1995 there was a great need for a new, innovative service that would allow buyers and sellers to send and receive payment easily and quickly. So many people use credit cards in shops that it would have been silly to not allow them to use them online. Thus Paypal and similar sites such as WorldPay and Nochex were born!
The idea behind a site such as Paypal is very simple. All you do is create an account and link the account to your main bank or credit card account. Therefore when you want to buy something, you can use funds from your bank account, and when you want to receive payment, other people can send you money using their credit card.
How To Pay and Receive Money Online [Teentrepreneur.com]

Customer Service

Defusing Angry Customers

Post author By Pamela Swift
Post date June 19, 2007

BusinessWeek: If you sell almost any type of product, then you already know that despite your best efforts at managing service and inventory, clients will be displeased from time to time. But don’t simply accept ongoing dissatisfaction as an inevitable part of doing business. Instead, work at improving how you deal with customers whose experience has been less than satisfactory. It could mean the difference between losing customers permanently or keeping them satisfied—maybe even more committed to doing business with you. Here are seven keys.
1. Always acknowledge the customer’s problem.
2. Ask the customer what you can do to make her feel better.
3. Tell your customer that you want to record all the details of the mistake so you can share it with everyone within your company to prevent it from happening again.
4. If the customer has been getting the runaround, and you are still not the person who has the answer, tell the customer that you will find out and call her back.
5. If you can, provide the customer with your name and contact number so that he may call you in the future if issues arise.
6. Never say “It’s our policy.”
7. Never blame your company or someone else in your company.
Dealing with Angry Customers [BusinessWeek]

Operations

Go Green

Post author By Pamela Swift
Post date June 17, 2007

Inc.com: It may cost them more, but small-business owners seem increasingly willing to make environmentally conscious business decisions, according to a new survey.
Of 600 small-business owners nationwide, two-thirds said they would pay more for environmentally friendly goods and services for their business, according to the latest Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index poll.
At iLite Technologies, a Chicago-based technology company that designs and manufactures lighting systems for commercial markets, president and CEO Sean Callahan found that despite the higher cost, using environmentally conscious lighting materials actually results in a better finished product — not just a greener one.
Entrepreneurs Willing to Pay More to Go Green [Inc.com]

GetEntrepreneurial.com Newsletter Issue #1