Date February 17th 2004
Volume 1
Issue #39
Mal Keenan
publisher@home-business-tips-newsletter.com
http://www.home-business-tips-newsletter.com/

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IN THIS ISSUE
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=> VIP Ad
=> A note from Mal Keenan (Newsletter publisher)
=> Top Sponsor Ads
=> Feature Q&A
=> Tidbit of the Week
=> Home Business Blog Musings
=> Free Products, Services, Downloads
=> Success Article
=> Words of Wisdom
=> Classified Ads
=> Disclaimer
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information

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A Note from Mal Keenan
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Greetings friends,
As always a warm welcome to those of you who have joined ussince our last issue of HBT Newsletter.

I've invested in a lot of new double optin leads recentlyso I should be getting many new subscribers. Double optinbasically means that subscribers have to verify theirintention to join my maling list by clicking a link intheir email after they have already opted in through anonline form.

I use single and double optin to grow my email list. Doubleoptins are obviously more qualified subscribers andgenerally show more interest in my newsletter material.There are exceptions to the rule of course. So if you are asingle optin subscriber no offence intended;-).

If you're new to this publication please feel free tobrowse through the many past issues of HBTN as they arepacked with free downloads and articles which will help yougrow any online business. I try to keep readers informedand am as honest as I can be about what I know to work.

If you are not so new then I also urge you to look overthings again and learn from what you read. We are touchingon 40 issues now and I believe there is enough within thesepages to greatly help you succeed.

Reading alone of course won't make you successful, ACTIONis the key:-)

Til next time

Your friend in success

Mal Keenan
http://www.freeadvertz.com

P.S. If you haven't already checked out my new advertisingpackages please do so now. I can personally guarantee thatyou will get a good deal from these:
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P.P.S
If you find this newsletter helpful please pass it on to your friends, colleagues, affiliates and whoever else youcan think of.;-).

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FEATURE Q&A - Credit Cards, Merchant Accounts, and Your Bottomline
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By Tim Knox
(bio):
http://www.work-at-home-entrepreneur.com/tim.asp
Copyright © 2003

Q:
Mary Ann, I'm going to give your banker the benefitof the doubt and say that a lack of knowledge regarding thespecifics of credit card processing is not necessarily areflection of the banker's competence. I have found overthe years that most bankers, no matter how experienced orknowledgeable about the banking business they my be, don'treally know much about how credit card processing andacceptance really works. That's because the task ofaccepting and verifying credit card purchases is handledby third party service companies who process and deposit(or settle) the funds into a bank merchant account.

The decision to accept credit cards is a wise one for anyretailer. I agree with financial guru Dave Ramsey'steachings regarding the use and abuse of credit cards. Many people dig deep holes with credit cards that are hardto climb out of.

But, from a practical business point of view, any retail business that does not accept credit cards is leaving money on the table. Research has shown that accepting creditcards increases revenue and helps with cash flow since youreceive the money within a couple of days instead ofwaiting up to a week for a check to clear.

Credit cards don't bounce, as some checks have a tendencyto do. Credit card users are also more likely to buy onimpulse and spend more when they do. Bad news for them,but good news for you. If you have a social conscienceconcerning the use of consumer credit cards, a retailoperation probably isn't the business for you.

To accept credit cards at a brick and mortar location you typically need four things. The requirements may vary alittle, but the following applies in most cases.

You will need: (1) A way to enter the customer's creditcard information into a verification and processing system. This can be done with a swipe terminal, point of salesystem, or by calling the credit card in by phone; (2) Acredit card gateway company to verify the credit card'svalidity and process the payments; (3) A credit cardmerchant account in which the gateway company will depositpayments made to you; and (4) A business bank account intowhich the settled funds will ultimately be deposited foryour use.

Here's how the process works. (1) You make a sale and the customer pays by credit card. (2) Using a card swipemachine or telephone, you contact what is known as a"gateway company" who takes the card information yousubmit and verifies that the card is valid and the chargecan be made against the card account. The gateway companyreturns an approval code for the purchase.

With a swipe machine or point of sale terminal theverification process happens in a matter of seconds. Ifyou're doing telephone verification it can take a coupleof minutes. You call the gateway company, give them thecredit card number and expiration date and they give you anapproval code that you write on the credit card chargeslip. Either way, the money is typically deposited inyour merchant account within 24 to 48 hours (less fees, ofcourse).

You'll also need to apply for merchant status with eachcredit card company whose card you want to accept. To dobusiness with American Express and Discover all you haveto do is fill out an application, but to accept Visa andMasterCard you must have a merchant account. A merchantaccount is a special bank account set up for the expressedpurpose of accepting credit card payments processed by thegateway company. Merchant accounts are usually associatedwith banks, though you can also use credit card merchantaccount service companies to perform the same function ifyou can not get approved for a bank merchant account.

Applying for a merchant account at a bank is much the sameas applying for a loan. The only difference is sometimesa loan is easier to get. There is the prerequisitepaperwork to complete and pledging of the first born,followed by an approval process that can take up to severalweeks. And you are not guaranteed that the bank willapprove your merchant account, even if you have been afavored customer for many years. Banks have strictregulations regarding the granting of merchant accounts andif issuing you a merchant account in anyway puts the bankat risk of losing money, you will be turned down. Banksalways make decisions based on economics, not relationships (no matter what your banker tells you).

Requirements for qualifying for a merchant account variesamong banks, but in general the bank will look at thefollowing criteria:

How long have you been in business? Business longevitysuggests a history of stability, efficient management, and good financial health.

What is your product or service? Does your product lenditself to a high rate of returns and chargebacks? Achargeback is a disputed credit card charge that isrefunded to the buyer and charged against your account.You are accessed a chargeback fee that can be as much as$20 per event. If your business lends itself to highchargebacks, you will not get the merchant account.

How's your credit report? Banks always look at how muchyou owe and how you pay your bills, so it's important tohave good financial and trade references. If you have ahistory of late payments or defaults to vendors, it willcount against you.

What is your anticipated volume of sales and averagetransaction amount? The more money you make, the moremoney the bank makes. If you anticipate just a few creditcard charges per week it may not be enough to justify themerchant account in the bank's eyes.

Is your business categorized as a "high risk merchant?" High risk merchants are those with the highest instancesof credit card fraud and chargebacks. High risk merchantsinclude many types of internet-based businesses,telemarketers, travel and cruise businesses, andmembership clubs. Being a high risk merchant dramaticallydecreases your chances of getting a merchant account witha bank.

Being a high risk merchant doesn't mean that you can't geta merchant account from somewhere else. Thanks to thegrowth of ecommerce in recent years there are a number ofalternative companies that will provide you with amerchant account, sometimes with more perks than atraditional account, but almost always with higher fees.

Also, not all banks support internet merchant accounts. If yours does not, shop around for one that does. We'll take a look at accepting credit cards online in next week'scolumn.

Here's to your success!

Tim Knox
Tim@dropshipwholesale.net
http://www.workathomebiz.info/dsindex.html

For information on starting your own online or eBay business,visit:
http://www.workathomebiz.info/dsindex.html

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About the author:
Tim's Amazing Little Website Stuffed $16,756.00 Into HisBank Account In Just 12 Short Weeks! Read about it here:
http://www.workathomebiz.info/amazing.html

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TIDBIT OF THE WEEK
Send your home business tidbits to
readers@home-business-tips-newsletter.com
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To find certain information on a web page, Select Find fromthe Edit menu (or hold down the Ctrl key and press F),enter the text that you want to search for and press enter.Internet Explorer will search through the document, findthe relevant text and take you there (if applicable).

This always saves me a bit of time especially on largetext filled web pages. Hope it helps you too.

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Home Business Blog Musings
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Most Recent Blog Entries

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SUCCESS ARTICLE - How To Spring Ahead Now
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By Burt Dubin

"But I can't escape this prison; I can't; I can't; I can't!It's my circumstances. They imprison me."

"I'm too old; I'm too young. I lack education; I lack aspecialty. I don't know anyone influential. It's too earlyfor me. It's too late for me..."

"Think you can, think you can't, either way you're right!"So says Henry Ford. When he wants a V-8 engine, decadesago, his engineers say it can't be done. He looks directlyin their eyes and says, "Do it!" And they do.

His suffering army huddles in the bitter cold of ValleyForge, with only rags to wrap around their frozen feet.General George Washington assures them they'll survive andprevail over the superbly equipped Red Coats of King GeorgeIII. And they do.

David goes down to the river. He returns with only hisslingshot and five smooth stones. He confronts the toweringGoliath. Even his own people know the hopelessness of hisintention. He places one smooth stone in his slingshot.Takes steely-eyed aim. Releases the stone. And he defeatsGoliath.

Every great achievement since the dawn of history starts asan impossible dream. Every great achiever, with fire in hisor her belly, braves the insurmountable, slays thedragons--and does the "impossible."

You choose to be a somebody in your field. Or you want tobe a master at a skill. Why not! Who are you to deny theworld your gifts? Who are you to not reveal your greatness?Who are you to not spring ahead?

Who are you to not break through your perceivedlimitations? Who are you to not be a source of light andhope? Who are you to huddle in the dustbin of your truepotential lamenting your fate?

"But how, how do I do it; how do I break through? How do Ispring ahead? How do I crack the code? How do I get intothe game?"

This is what you do:

You declare yourself implacable. You resolve to enter thepantheon of champions. You take these 7 actions:

1. You surrender to your purpose. You give yourself to yourpurpose as you give yourself to your lover.

2. You find a way to make yourself one-of-a-kind. You useyour intuition to probe deep, deep beneath the surface to anew perception of your higher possibilities.

3. You make yourself the master of your specialty. You doresearch seeking hidden truths and principles you canharness.

4. You position yourself uniquely. If every snowflake sincethe dawn of creation is unique and different, surely you,far more than a snowflake in potential, have uniquequalities you can share with others.

5. You become your message. You allow yourself to be theliving, breathing, vivid example of your message for theworld.

6. You make yourself a model of the possible. And why not!After all, your life is not a dress rehearsal. It's aone-way ticket.

7. You get yourself a mentor, someone who has been thereand done that.

* And you start today, right now, this minute.

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About the author:
Burt Dubin, 20 year veteran of the business of speaking,mentors speakers and wanna-be's world-wide. Burt works withpeople who want to be speakers and with speakers who wantto be masters. For samples of the wisdom available to you,simply go to:
http://www.SpeakingBizSuccess.com

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WORDS OF WISDOM
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Great spirits have always encountered violent oppositionfrom mediocre minds.

-- Albert Einstein

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Disclaimer
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This newsletter is not responsible for the above ads. Wetry to screen the ads as best as possible. Use your owndiscretion when replying to a classified ad. We also disclaim any liability for the use of any contributedinformation contained herein.

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