With the current pandemic causing such an economic disruption to our lives, you may think that starting a new business at this point in time is a little risky. We would normally tend to agree, with over 100,000 small businesses that have had to close their doors. However, take a lesson from the history books and see the companies that looked outside the box for opportunities that went on to be successful. During the Great Depression, many companies were cutting their workforce and slashing their budgets, while others were fueled by ideas to provide alternative ways to provide these same services to customers, and succeeded.
With grocery store shelves still empty, many people have turned their attention to gardening and raising animals to enable them to be self-sustainable. If you can’t buy it, grow it! If you love fresh eggs every morning – raise a few chickens.
Home improvements have seen a 140% increase in consumer interest. Local animal shelters are encouraging pet adoptions while people are sheltering in place. Consumer interest has risen 50% in this area, pet adoptions are way up, and even Chewy has seen a rise in their stock by 7%.
Before you go rushing off to start your own handyman for hire service or consider selling handmade masks online, here are a few things to keep in mind.
If Your Business Needs a License, You’ll Most Likely Need a Surety Bond
If you want to open your own business, chances are you are going to need a surety bond. Not sure what that is? Surety bonds play a major role in countless industries across America. A surety bond is a three-party agreement that legally binds the principal (you the business owner) who needs the bond, an obligee who requires the bond (your clientele), and a surety company that sells the bond – the company that agrees to cover you should something happen.
If you employ individuals who work in a client’s home or business, you can get bonded to protect those clients against theft called a Business Service Bond. If you perform construction services, you must have a Contractor License Bond. If you own a cleaning company, you’ll need a Janitorial Service Bond.
The problem is – who sells them? Where do you apply for one? With the largest selection of surety bonds available for application online, bondsexpress.com is sure to help you find the proper surety bond you need. They offer thousands of license and permit bonds, motor vehicle dealer bonds, court bonds, contractor bonds, etc. The majority of surety bonds are, in fact, license and permit bonds, which are typically required by a state agency or organization in order for you to receive the business license you must have to conduct business.
How Do You Avoid Losing Profits to Internet Fraud?
In the age of internet, and with the ongoing pandemic, more and more consumers are purchasing essential items online and doing the majority of their shopping online for everything from groceries to car purchases. It also puts your company at risk for being “on the hook” for a fraudulent credit card used by someone who is not who they claim to be.
PAAY sits between the shopping cart and the gateway and authenticates transactions in real-time with absolutely no lag. There is a demo version on their website that I had a play with and it’s true! Everything happens in the background with absolutely no impact on the customer experience.
If you have an online business, we suggest checking out this service at https://www.paay.co/emv-3ds. We think you’ll be as amazed as we were!
How Do You Set Up an Online Store that Accepts Credit Cards?
I operated an online shop several years ago that involved plugins and snippets of code and access information in order for the plugin to work properly with my PayPal and banking accounts. Talk about a nightmare! Some buyers had no difficulties at all, while still others were never able to get a purchase to complete.
Let’s face it though – if you have an online business that only accepts PayPal payments or ACH payments (which take forever to process sometimes) – you are going to lose customers simply because not everyone has a PayPal account or a bank account, but almost everyone has a debit/credit card.
If you know your way around HTML code and are comfortable using plugins, it is possible for you to enable your website or online store to use ecommerce credit card processing and start reaching a larger client base for your shop.
As my parents and grandparents were so fond of saying, “where there is a will, there is a way.” It is part of our nature as human beings to constantly learn, evolve, and strive to be able to sustain ourselves and our families. With a little thought and some research into your potential new business, we’re sure you are going to be a smashing success! Just remember to think outside the box – because that’s where the best ideas come to life!
