Use LinkScanner Online to inspect: Any link with suspicious characters or web site you have never visited.

If you'd rather be safe than sorry, enter the URL of the site or web page you want to visit in the box below. Our free LinkScanner Online service will visit the URL in a controlled environment on our servers. LinkScanner Online will inspect it in real-time for whether it is hiding any exploit code and, if so, what exploit.

Use LinkScanner Online to inspect:

• Links forwarded by friends
• Web sites displayed on search results
• Any link with suspicious characters or web site you have never visited

URL to scan:

Why use LinkScanner Online?

Cybercriminals use "lure" sites to attract web users to sites they have invisibly infected with exploit code. This exploit code is then used to infect users' PCs with drive-by downloads of spyware, rootkits, and other malware.

• Just because you click a link doesn't mean you'll land on the site you thought you would
• Just because a site looks innocent doesn't mean the underlying code is harmless
• Just because a search engine serves up a listing doesn't mean you can trust it

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Top 10 Tips To PR Success

As business owners I'm sure you recognise the power of publicity and how positive media coverage can have an impact on your business. Free media exposure has a lot more credibility than advertising. In fact it's said that publicity is seven times more effective.

However you may also think that you don't have the skills or knowledge to gain publicity and maybe you're not in a financial position to hire a PR firm (yet!).

But if you follow my 10-point plan I'm sure that you'll soon experience the power of the press.

1. Gain the appropriate skills and knowledge to become an expert in your field. Experts on specialist topics are sought after by the media. Become a qualified member of your industry's association, as this will give you credibility when the media choose to profile you.

2. Be clear on what your message is, know what you want to say. Understand that you need to have a point of difference or something interesting to say and that you need to get that across in an entertaining and informative way. Summarize your message in short, succinct, sound bites.

3. You need to have an audience to listen to your message. Do some research on your ideal customer, perhaps a survey. Look at whom your competitors are talking to. Zero in on your target.

4. Reach out to your target audience through the media. Research the most appropriate magazines, newspapers, on-line media or TV shows for your story. Build a database of media contacts or buy a media directory.

5. Approach the media. Send out a well-written media release, follow up with phone calls. Submit articles to magazines. Submit articles to on-line sites. Follow up again. Make sure to be consistent with your media liaison.

6. A picture tells a thousand words. Send out a professional and creative photograph with your release or ring the media outlet and suggest a photo opportunity. Stage a creative film opportunity for television. Media is entertainment and most people are attracted to strong visual images.

7. Be persistent. Keep on submitting media releases and articles. But learn to take no for an answer and don't be a pushy publicist. You need to build good working relationships with journalists.

8. Be prepared for media interviews. Prepare beforehand possible questions and rehearse the answers. Prepare a few points you want to get across and stay on track. Again think of sound bites and memorable phrases to convey.

9. Build up a portfolio of information about you. Your media kit to include on your website as an online newsroom and for meetings with journalists.

10. Consolidate your expertise by publishing books, CD's and DVD's and reap the rewards of successful public relations.

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34 Original Ways To Write Your Next Tagline, Positioning Statement Or Brand Promise.

1. Ask a question
Does she or doesn't she?
- Clairol

2. Show your unique commitment
We try harder.
- Avis

3. Explain product superiority
Takes a licking and keeps on ticking.
- Timex

4. Evoke a benefit in a fresh way
Let your fingers do the walking.
- Yellow Pages

5. Use an emotive call to action
Reach out and touch someone.
- AT&T

6. Use an evocative call to action
Put a tiger in your tank.
- Esso

7. Use an imperative call to action
Just do it.
- Nike

8. Use a one- word call to action
Think.
- IBM

9. Use a cheeky call to action
Let us tan your hide.
- Crisby Frisian Fur Co.

10. Revisit a familiar call to action
Reach out and bust someone.
- Crime Stoppers

11. Link a product feature with an abstract need
A diamond is forever.
- DeBeers

12. Link a feature with your address
We corner the market.
- Irving Rivers Ltd.

13. Combine a feature and a benefit in the same phrase
Make yourself at home.
- IKEA

14. Declare a superlative feature
The world's #1 selling financial software.
- Quicken

15. Make a compelling promise
The world on time.
- Federal Express

16. Be whimsical
It's the real thing.
- Coca- Cola

17. Say it staccato
Soothes. Cleanses. Refreshes.
- Murine Co. (eyedrops)

18. Use a two- fold delivery with a twist
Common sense. Uncommon results.
- David Ingram and Associates

19. Address a specific need
For women whose eyes are older than they are.
- Robert Powers (skin cream)

20. Be abstract but client- centred
After all, it is your information.
- Authentex Software

21. Describe your product in a novel way
Liquid jewelry.
- Lorr Laboratories (nail polish)

22. Link company name to product benefit
Never forgets.
- Elephant Memory Systems

23. Suggest the cost of not using your product
Because so much is riding on your tires.
- Michelin

24. Be grotesque to make a point
Wears like a pig's nose.
- W. M. Finck & Co. (men's overalls)

25. Turn a current business maxim on its ear
Think small.
- Volkswagen

26. Link a well- known phrase with your product benefit
Understanding comes with Time.
- Time magazine

27. Brag about yourself
We take the world's greatest pictures.
- Nikon

28. Brag about your product and your client
You and Betty Crocker can bake someone happy.
- Betty Crocker

29. Take a breath and say it all
Finest anti- knock non- premium gasoline ever offered at no extra cost.
- Union Oil Co.

30. Describe your service and its #1 benefit in two words
Advertising pays.
- Industry maxim

31. Personify your product
Laughs at time.
- Du Pont (paint)

32. Distill your business into one phrase
The Document Company.
- Xerox Corp.

33. Tie your slogan to your logo
Get a piece of the Rock.
- Prudential Insurance Co.

34. Dare to be different
Dare to diff.
- LOEB Cola

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Everything they dont want you know about Credit Cards: Part One

PART ONE

DEFINITIONS

First some terms, along with the meanings they have in the industry:

Cardholder - an individual to whom a credit card is issued. Typically, this individual is also responsible for payment of all charges made to that card. Corporate cards are an exception to this rule.

Card Issuer - an institution that issues credit cards to cardholders. This institution is also responsible for billing the cardholder for charges. Often abbreviated to "Issuer".

Card Accepter - an individual, organization, or corporation that accepts credit cards as payment for merchandise or services. Often abbreviated "Accepter" or "merchant".

Acquirer - an organization that collects (acquires) credit authorization requests from Card Accepters and provides guarantees of payment. Normally, this will be by agreement with the Issuer of the card in question.

Many issuers are also acquirers. Some issuers allow other acquirers to provide authorizations for them, under pre-agreed conditions. Other issuers provide all their own authorizations.

TYPES OF CARDS

The industry typically divides up cards by the business of the issuer. So there are bank cards (VISA, Master Card, Discover), Petroleum Cards (SUN Oil, Exxon, etc.), and Travel and Entertainment (T&E) cards (American Express, Diners' Club, Carte Blanche). Other cards are typically lumped together as "Private Label" cards. That would include department store cards, telephone cards, and the like. Most private label cards are only accepted by the issuer. People are starting to divide the telephone cards into a separate class, but it hasn't received widespread acceptance. (This is just a matter of terminology, and doesn't affect anything important.)

Cards are also divided by how they are billed. Thus there are credit cards (VISA, MC, Discover, most department store cards), charge cards (American Express, AT&T, many petroleum cards) and debit cards. Credit cards invoke a loan of money by the issuer to the cardholder under pre-arranged terms and conditions. Charge cards are simply a payment convenience, and their total balance is due when billed. When a debit card is used, the amount is taken directly from the cardholder's account with the issuer. Terminology is loose - often people use "credit card" to encompass credit cards and charge cards.

A recent phenomenon is third-party debit cards. These cards are issued by an organization with which the cardholder has no account relationship. Instead, the cardholder provides the card issuer with the information necessary to debit the cardholder's checking account directly through an Automated Clearing House (ACH), the same way a check would be cleared. This is sort of like direct deposit of paychecks, in reverse. ACHs love third-party debit cards. Banks hate them.

Another recent addition is affinity cards. These cards are valid credit cards from their issuer, but carry the logo of a third party, and the third party benefits from their use. There is an incredible variety of affinity cards, ranging from airlines to colleges to professional sports teams.

HOW THEY MAKE MONEY

Issuers of credit cards make money from cardholder fees and from interest paid on outstanding balances. Not all issuers charge fees. Even those that do, make most of their money on the interest. They really LIKE people who pay the minimum each month.

Issuers of charge cards make money from cardholder fees. Some charge cards actually run at a loss for the company, particularly those that are free. The primary purpose of such cards is to stimulate business.

Issuers of debit cards may make money on transaction fees. Not all debit card transactions have fees. Most debit cards exist to stimulate business for the bank and to offload tellers and back-room departments.
To date, third-party debit cards exist solely to stimulate business. Providers of such cards make no direct money from their use.

Acquirers make money from transaction charges and discount fees. Unlike the charges and fees mentioned above, these fees are paid by the accepter, not (directly) by the cardholder. (Technically, it is not legal for the merchants to pass these charges directly to the consumer. Some petroleum stations have gotten away with giving a discount for cash, and it has survived court challenges so far.) Transaction charges are typically in pennies per transaction, and are sensitive to the type of communication used for the authorization. Discount fees are a percentage of the purchase price and are sensitive to volume and compliance to rules. One way to encourage merchants to follow certain
procedures or to upgrade to new equipment is to offer a lower discount fee.

Until fairly recently, the only motivation for accepters was to expand their business by accepting cards. Reduction of fraud was enough reason for many merchants to pay authorization fees, but in many cases, it isn't worth the cost. (That is, it is cheaper to pay the fraud than to prevent it.) Recently, electronic settlement has provided merchants with an added benefit by reducing float on charged purchases. Merchants can now get their accounts credited much faster than before, which helps cash flow.

Companies that issue charge cards are real keen on float reduction. The sooner they can bill you, the sooner they get their money. Credit card companies are also interested in float reduction, since the sooner they bill, the sooner they can start charging interest. Debit cards typically involve little or no float.

Affinity cards usually pay a percentage of purchases to the affinity organization. Although it may seem obvious to take this money from the discount fee, this doesn't work since the issuer is not always the
acquirer. The money for this usually comes from the interest paid on outstanding balances. Essentially, the bank is giving a share of its profits to an organization in turn for the organization promoting use
of its credit card. The affinity organization is free to use its cut any way it wishes. An airline will typically put it into the frequent flyer program (and credit miles to your account). A college may put the money into the general fund or into a scholarship fund. Lord only knows what a sports team does with the money!

THE PLAYERS AND THEIR ROLES

American Express (AMEX) is a charge card issuer and acquirer. (Their other businesses are not important to this discussion.) All AMEX purchases are authorized by AMEX. They make most of their money from the discount fees, which is why they have the highest discount fee in the industry. That's one reason why AMEX isn't accepted in as many places as VISA and MC, and a reason why many merchants will prefer another card to an AMEX card. The control AMEX has over authorization allows
them to provide what they consider to be better cardholder ("cardmember" to them) services.

VISA is a non-profit corporation (SURPRISE!) that is best described as a purchasing and marketing coalition of its member banks. VISA issues no credit cards itself - all VISA cards are issued by member banks. VISA does not set terms and conditions for its member banks - the banks can do pretty much as they please in signing cardholders. All VISA charges are ultimately approved by the card issuer, regardless of where the purchase was made. Many smaller banks share their account databases with larger banks, third parties, or VISA itself, so that the bank doesn't have to provide authorization facilities itself.

Master Card (MC) is very much like VISA. There are some differences that are important to those in the industry, but from the consumers standpoint they operate pretty much the same.

Discover cards are issued by a bank owned by Sears. All Discover purchases are authorized by Sears.

Most petroleum cards, if they are even authorized, are authorized by the petroleum company itself. There are exceptions. Fraud on petroleum cards is so low that the main reason for authorization is to
achieve the float reduction of electronic settlement.

THE BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS

Card acceptors generally sign up with a local acquirer for authorization and settlement of all credit cards. This acquirer may or may not be a card issuer, but certainly will not have issued all the cards that the merchant can accept. The accepter does not generally call one place for VISA and a different place for MC, for example. At one time, this was necessary, but more and more acquirers are connected to all networks and are offering a broader range of services.

Acquirers generally are connected to many issuers, and pay transaction charges and discount fees to those issuers for authorizations. Thus, the acquirer is actually making money on the difference between fees paid and fees billed. Most acquirers gather together transactions from many accepters, allowing them to get volume discounts on fees. Since the accepters individually have lower volume and are not eligible for those discounts, there is a markup that the acquirer can get away with. Acquirers also, of course, provide the convenience of a single contact.

Most large banks are issuers and acquirers. Things get real interesting when it's time to settle up. Some small banks are only issuers. There are third parties that are only acquirers.

In future episodes, I'll explain how standards help all this chaos work together, and give details about how the authorization process happens.

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Payment mechanisms designed for the Internet.

Payment mechanisms designed for the Internet
This is a collection of links to existing payment schemes that were designed for, or are in use on, the Internet.

ACH Datasoft allows online payment from a US bank account using the automated clearing house (ACH) bank network.

Achex allows money transfer between two US checking accounts, using SSL to protect the request.

Anonymous Internet Mercantile Protocol (Postscript paper).

Automated Transaction Services provide real-time credit card processing and electronic checking services.

Authorizenet processes credit card and checking account transactions.

Bank Internet Payment System (BIPS) from the FSTC, is a non-proprietary protocol for enabling payment through banks over the Internet.

BankNet offer an electronic cheque system in Sterling. In the future it will also incorporate the SET protocols.

Beenz is an account-based Web loyalty points system, often called a Web currency.

BidPay allows person-to-person payments, by accepting a credit card payment from the payer, and sending a money order to the payee.

BillPoint allows person-to-person payments from a credit card. Originally targeted at eBay customers.

BizPay from Consygen.

Brand's Cash: The PhD work of Stefan Brands on electronic cash payment mechanisms.

C2it, also known as AOL Quickcash, from Citibank, is an account based payment system, with e-mail notification of payments received.

CashBox , from Intertrader is a payment management system which supports Internet loading and spending of a variety of Internet payment types including Mondex.

Checkfree provide payment and billing solutions.

CheckSpace is a user-to-user account based scheme, linked to a US bank account, with a check-like Web interface. Targeted at small businesses, it allows e-mail payment requests/invoices.

Ching , from Mediais, is an account based payment and loyalty scheme, linked to a credit/debit card.

1ClickCharge is an account based micropayment scheme for the Web, allowing charges to be made with a single click.

Clickshare is a publishing system to to track movements and settle charges for digital transactions.

Commercenet

Common Electronic Purse Specifications (CEPS)

Credit Card Network have a credit card authorization system using SSL.

CurrencyOne from ArticWeb is an SSL based credit card solution. It is used in Bank of Ireland's Clikpay credit card payment system. ArticWeb also have a voice authenticated payment system.

CybaCard from CybaCom, is an anonymous Mastercard account that can be used online, with purchases charged to a normal payment card.

Cybank is a Web payment system, where purchases are charged against funds held in a Cybank account.

Cybercard.

CyberCash offer secure credit card transactions, and electronic checks over the Internet. CyberCoin, their micropayment solution, is no longer supported. Here is the initial protocol specification for their credit card payment system. Plans were to migrate to SET for credit card payments. Also available are an abstract from a CyberCash paper presented at INET'95.

Cybergold allows you to earn, and spend, money online.

CyberSource offer real-time credit card processing and other electronic commerce services.

DataCash, based in the UK, provide secure credit card authorization over SSL.

DebitNet

DigiGold

Digital Silk Road is a proposed payment system for extremely low cost activities such as delivering and routing packets.

Downtown Anywhere has a system using account numbers, and personal payment passwords.

Ecash is a fully anonymous electronic cash system, using Chaum's blind signatures. Originally from DigiCash (until Nov'98), acquired by eCash Technolgies in August 1999.

eCharge Phone allows purchases to be charged to a local telephone bill. eCharge also have an account based payment system.

eCheck Secure accepts check details over the Internet, and clears them via the ACH network.

E-coin is a token-based micropayment system, which uses a client wallet plugin. Free tokens are currently available.

eComm is an implementation of the SET protocol with extensions for the French B0' banking smart cards. There is a further extension to allow small payments, which are aggregated as a single SET transaction.

Ecount is an account based person-to-person debit system, that allows account value to be spent wherever a credit card is accepted. Value can also be transferred to another account holder.

Econnect provide a card-present payment system which uses a swipe card reader, the ECashPad, to read (debit/credit/smart) card details which are sent only to the bank. More research can be found here.

E-gold allows payments in gold (silver, platinum, or palladium) to be made from customer to customer using an account-based system.

Efficient Electronic Cash: New Notions and Techniques, by Yiannis Tsiounis.

Electronic Funds Clearinghouse provide payment transmission and intake conduits over the Internet. Here's a quick summary.

Electronic Lottery Tickets as micropayments, proposed by Ron Rivest.

E-lysium provide an account based payment scheme and EBPP solutions.

eMoneyMail , from Bank One, allows person to person payments, using a credit card or checking account.

eScrip is electronic scrip (gift vouchers) for specific merchants, sold as fundraising for schools.

ExchangePath is an account based payment scheme, funded with a credit/debit card, and with group billing capabilities.

Fairtunes allows digital music consumers to voluntarily send money to music artists, and is based on credit card payments, PayPal, and E-gold.

First Bank of Internet (FBOI) (Now defunct).

First Virtual Internet Payment System. (now defunct)

Flexible Internet Secure Transactions Based on Collaborative Domains. Appeared at the Security Protocol Workshop'97.

Flooz is a central account based payment system allowing user-to-user payments.

FSTC Electronic Check Project

Fundamo is an account based mobile commerce architecture which allows mobile users to make and receive payments, initially over GSM.

GlobalCollect, a payment provider based in the Netherlands, provide cross border collection of consumer payments made using local payment cards, bank transfers and check payment options.

Globe ID credit and debit card based payment systems.

GMoney is an account based group payment scheme, which allows payment amounts to be split between group members.

HashCash is a token based postage scheme using partial hash collisions.

iBill provides credit card and check processing.

iCanBuy allows parental control of online spending. Parents fund a child's online account using a credit card and can specify where and how the funds may be spent.

i-Escrow is a third party which holds a buyers money in trust, until a vendor delivers purchased goods.

iKP: A Family of Secure Payment Protocols from IBM, and the full iKP paper

InterCoin is an on-line billing service, with a try-before-you-buy attitude.

InternetCash is a prepaid card that is purchased from a real-world store and spent on-line. A temporary anonymous account is setup from the unique card ID (which looks something like: 3842 F932 J283 7832 PRXZ), and its value is decremented as purchases (as small as 50 cents) are made on-line.

Internet Dollar

Internet Secure ATM Payments (ISAP) is a NACHA Internet Council project, which allows ATM/debit card purchases to be authenticated with a user digital signature.

IPAY draft from the IETF Payment Working Group. (now defunct)

iPIN is an account based system, that aggregates purchases and charges them monthly to your ISP bill.

iTransact provide credit card, check and EFT payment processing.

iWinpak is a PGP credit card application for Windows.

Jalda is an account based system for making both micropayments and macropayments from any IP device. Using digital certs and SSL encryption it was designed by Ericsson Hewlett Packard Telecommunications.

The Java Electronic Commerce Framework (JECF) is not an actual payment protocol, but will provide a framework for other payment protocols including SET, smart cards, micro-transactions, electronic checks and other tokens-based schemes.

Kagi aggregates credit card payments on behalf of individual product vendors.

LETSystems (Local Exchange Trading System) and community currencies.

Magex, backed by NatWest Bank, is an account based payment system for encrypted content.

Magic Money description.

MagnaCash is an online account management and money transfer system, a former division of Cybergold.

MBroker, from MoreMagic, provides user billing/payment transaction management for chargable network services.

Micro Gateway, from Auric, is an account based micropayment system.

Micro Payment Transfer Protocol (MPTP) from the W3C Electronic Payments group. The W3C continue their work on micropayments by producing a micropayments markup and micropayments API.

Millicent from Compaq (originally DEC) was designed to support purchases costing less than a cent. Millicent is now live in Japan since mid 1999. There have been a few academic prototypes using Millicent, namely MiniMark and Minstrel.

Mojo Nation uses accounts and micropayments to allow payment for use and provision of unused online resources. Reputations are used as a means of preventing double spending.

Mondex smart card based payment scheme.

MoneyZap from Western Union/First Data allows person to person payments, to and from traditional payment instruments.

Mon-e is an account based system which is funded using a real-world prepaid card.

Movilpago, allows payments to be made from GSM mobile phones. From Spain, a venture between Telefonia and BBVA.

NACHA , have a number of Internet electronic payment initiatives including Internet Secure ATM Payments (ISAP) , where a user digital signature authenticates debit card holders, and DirectPay , which allows Internet initiated ACH credits.

NetBill Electronic Commerce Project, and related publications including a good introduction to NetBill.

NetCard is a hash-chain based micropayment scheme, as part of the NetCard Project at Cambridge University.

NetCash ,an introductory article and the NetCash Home Page.

NetCheque.

NetChex , a debit card based scheme.

NetFare is a pre-paid information access card for making small, aggregated, incremental payments over the Internet for purchases of electronic delivery of information.

NetPay is a micropayment system based on PayWord, which allows partially unspent chains to be transferred between vendors.

NETeller is an account based payment system with merchant accounts.

Netscape Communications sell Netsite Commerce Server for conducting Internet commerce.

NewGenPay is an IBM Research spin-off, that provide a micropayments solution, for "pay cent per click" applications, originally known as Mini-Pay.

Oakington provide an online account-based payment transaction system, where any party can create and manage their own currency.

O-Card , from Orbiscom, uses a one-time credit card number, which is linked to an original credit card, per transaction. The merchant clears the number through the credit card network in the usual manner.

Online Check Systems allows checks to be accepted online.

Open Market have a Web Payment Scheme.

PayByCheck.com processes U.S. checks online, depositing funds into a merchant's account.

PayCash the fully anonymous electronic cash system from Russia.

Paylinx provide payment servers for credit card processing.

PayMe , as presented at the 4th WWW Conference , Boston, Dec.95 by me!

Payme.com is a user to user central account based system.

Payment Online provide a credit card payment processing service, called SecureGate.

PayMyBills.com is an account based bill payment service.

PayPal allows user to user payments, where the payer uses a credit card to pay money into another user's account.

PayTrust is an electronic bill payment and presentment (EBPP) scheme, that makes payments from a normal checking account, and can issue cheques to any U.S. payee.

PayWord and MicroMint , two simple micropayment schemes from R.L.Rivest and A.Shamir

Pay2See is a plug-in payment application allowing pay-per-view Web pages by using an account based system.

PC Pay is a smart card based system for Internet payments and banking.

Pocket Pass is a prepaid account, usable for online payments, user-to-user payments, and as a US phone card.

PrivateBuy.com provides an anonymous debit account, which can be used online wherever a credit card is accepted.

Propay.com is a person-to-person account based payment, that also allows credit-card payments to be be accepted by users.

Proton is a stored value smart card scheme (e-purse), originally issued in Belgium as an alternative to physical cash. It is now being adapted for Internet payments.

QPass aggregates small purchases at multiple merchants and charges against a credit card periodically. Reminds me of the First Virtual model, but with a nice Web interface.

QuickCommerce is a credit card and ACH check clearing system.

RocketCash is an account based system, allowing parental control of spending. The RocketCash account can be funded using a check, money order, or credit card.

SafeDebit is a debit card, encoded on a regular CD, for use in the a PC CD-ROM drive for purchases from participating merchant Web sites.

Secure-Bank.Com provides online transaction processing solutions for credit cards and check drafts, based on SSL.

SecureClick , from Cyota, uses a one-time transaction number which is linked to a credit card account, and is cleared through the credit card network as normal by a merchant.

Secure Electronic Payment Protocol (SEPP) from Mastercard et al. (No longer available). Superseded by SET.

Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) from Visa/Mastercard. SETCo oversees issues relating to the global deployment of SET. FreeSET is a free Java implementation of a SET user wallet, with a JavaCard component.

SecureTrans is a real-time credit card processing system and electronic checking service, using SSL.

Secure Transactions Technology (STT) from Visa and Microsoft. Old press release. Superseded by SET.

SmartAxis allows stored value held on smart cards to be used over the Internet. Currently Proton and Mondex cards are supported.

SNPP: (academic paper) A Simple Network Payment Protocol.

SubScrip a micropayment scheme for subscription style applications on the Internet, from the Monetary Systems Engineering Group, Univ. of Newcastle, Australia.

SureFire Commerce provide credit card transaction processing services as part of their e-commerce solutions.

SurePay

SVP : A Flexible Micropayment Scheme. Appeared in the proceedings of the Financial Cryptography '97 Conference.

Systemics Open Transactions (SOX) payments system.

TeleCheck, is a large processor of online check payments, and provides a number of products for accepting checks over the Internet.

TeleVend allows payments for physical goods from a mobile phone, charging the amount to a phone bill or bank account.

TipJar Internet Treasury allows value to be transferred between TipJar accounts using the Web.

Tipster enables voluntary payment for digital content such as music. The actual payment method used is negotiatable.

TransPoint , now merged with CheckFree, provide an EBPP scheme, allowing any party to be paid from a US checking account.

VirtualPay is an on-line bill payment system

WebCharge, from Anacom, offers real-time credit card processing services based on SSL.

WebFunds, a Java application that acts as a host and platform for payment systems such as SOX, and user features such as email payments.

WebMoney transfer system, is an account based system with some anonymity, allowing transfer between temporary accounts using wallet software.

WiSP, from Trivnet, is a payment system which uses the existing relationship with an ISP, to allow third-party purchases to be billed by that ISP.

WorldPay provide multi-currency credit/debit card and account based micropayment solutions.

Yahoo! PayDirect will allow user-to-user payments, provided by DotBank.com.

Ziplock is a credit card payment system where customers receive a key code to unlock the product only after it has been downloaded and their credit card authorized.

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when and how to pitch angel investors for your business

When it comes to raising money for your startup, don't expect any miracles: Angels don't descend from heaven. In most cases, angel investors will already know you or be introduced by a mutual friend. This is partly because they need to have confidence and trust in you to take a risk on you and your business, but also because they simply like hanging out with entrepreneurs. Angel investors like being mentors, and they typically like to experience the entrepreneurial life vicariously.

Why do they want to hang out with you? Angel investors learn about you by being as interested in you personally as they are in what your business does or sells. If they don't already know you--that is, they're neither your friends nor members of your family--they'll ask around about you behind your back. They'll see what kind of car you drive and if and where you take vacations. Their impression of you, as well as your business experience and your management skills, are all critical to their decision to invest. They'll also talk to mutual associates to get the inside skinny on you--if people they know and trust say you're a genius but lousy with money (or something equally frank), they're likely to listen closely.

And angels are interested not just in you; they also want to know about your team. They want to get to know the people working with you and see that you've gathered an experienced and innovative management team to help you grow your business.
Scheduling a Meeting

You'll need to weigh three factors to help you decide when to schedule the meeting where you'll ask the angel for the investment:

1. State of your relationship with the angel investor. The right time to ask for money is when your relationship is comfortable and trusting and when you sense the investor will be open to the request.

If the investor is a friend or family member, you should have a good sense of their personal life. For example, if there are any big life events like a move, a marriage or a new baby coming up, it's probably not the best time to ask for money. If the investor is unrelated, you'll be best served to make contact and have at least two or three social interactions with him or her before asking for money--unless of course you're lucky enough to have a strong introduction from a close friend of the investor--preferably one who's already invested in your business--that is specifically intended to help you schedule a meeting to ask for money.

In each case, the investor should know you have a business plan and be curious to hear more before you suggest a meeting about capital-raising.

2. Cash needs of your business. A useful calculator for estimating your company's cash needs is available on our site here. It will take, at a minimum, many months to close on your round of fundraising, so you'll need to understand your cash flow well enough to plan several months in advance for how much you'll need and when.

3. Time it'll take to close the deal. It takes time to raise money from relatives, friends and angel investors--just like it takes time to raise money from venture capitalists. Entrepreneurs expect it to take six to 12 months to close a round of venture capital. For raising money from relatives, friends and angels, it could take as little as three months to close a round from five to six investors. For raising a larger round from 10 to 15 investors, it could easily take well over 6 months.

Why does it take time? Because you're not just trying to raise money for your business. You're also trying to run your company. And the investors have other things going on as well. Scheduling meetings, communicating, coordinating schedules, drafting documents--all these things take time. You might be able to impose closing dates on VC investors who are investing out of fear of losing the deal, but imposing deadlines on angel investors is notoriously difficult.
Goals for Your Meeting

You have two goals for your "money raising" meeting with an angel: First, you want to share your business idea, and second, you want to achieve a nonbinding agreement, verbal or written, to invest. If you can't end with an agreement to invest, end the meeting with a plan to follow up.

Goal #1: Communicate your business idea. When you ask for equity capital, you really must have an articulate business plan in place for two reasons. First, you need to be able to answer certain important questions about your idea. One popular one is, "When will you make a profit?" The answer to this should be in the cash flow projections of your business plan.

Second, a smart equity investor will nearly always ask to see a copy of your business plan. My advice is, unless they ask for it in advance, don't bring your full plan to the meeting. When they ask about it at the meeting, you can provide them with a plan summary and offer to mail the complete plan to them afterwards. There are two reasons for this. If you have the full plan on hand, you may get bogged down in the details related to the presentation of the plan or some information within it. Also, it's excellent fundraising practice to have a reason to contact the investor after the meeting.

In addition to your business plan, you'll be talking about your idea in general. Here are the three items that, in my experience, you'll need to know for certain before you go into a meeting with a potential investor:

* What it takes to get to profitability. Investors will want to see that you've "crunched the numbers" and made a plan for success.

* What skills you're lacking and which types of people and skill sets you'll need to have. Good leaders have the confidence to surround themselves with smart people who together make a great team. Show your investor that you know this and have a plan in place to bring on board the people needed to make your business a success.

* How your personal finances relate to those of the business. Investors don't want to hear that you're starting a business so you can spend more time at home with your kids. They don't want to see you driving around in a luxury car or dropping cash like it's going out of style. They want to know you'll be the one sweeping the floors after everyone else goes home at night. They want to know you're willing to sacrifice--to scrimp and save--to make the business succeed. They know it's hard work to create and run a successful business, and they expect you to do what it takes to make them a lot of money.

Talking to your equity investors can be nerve-wracking. Although the benefit of having a relationship is that you and your investor already have a certain level of trust established, you should still choose your words carefully. In addition to the tips I offered in my previous article on the kitchen table pitch, you should also avoid saying the following to your investor:

* That you have big plans for the future. Big plans--for example, to turn your startup chocolate pretzel store into the next big franchise--may appear vague and overly ambitious. Your investor expects you to be a visionary, but also to achieve the short term financial projections that will earn both of you a lot of money.

* Anything that appears cagey or dishonest. Honesty is the most important value investors can find in an entrepreneur, and your investor will be trying to assess your degree of honesty from day one. Avoid the temptation to puff up your projected profits or your colleagues' resumes beyond the bounds of reality.

Goal#2: Get to "yes." The goal of your meeting with the angel should be to reach a verbal agreement to invest. In the case of equity investing, because the deal will be more complex than a loan, you can approach this in two ways: with a handshake or with a "letter of intent."

With most family and friend investors, you can proceed from a nonbinding agreement, such as a handshake, straight to a legally binding agreement. But it's rare for a deal to come up and close in the same meeting, so don't expect to ask for and receive the money in one sitting. Aim to get agreement on a range--such as "I could do $25,000 to $50,000"--and that you'll send the paperwork. If you've gotten this far, you're in great shape. All that's left is to follow up by drafting and sending the agreement.

For unrelated angel investors, especially those who are notoriously difficult to pin down, aim to get the investor to sign a letter of intent (LOI) at the meeting. Although the letter will be informal and nonbinding, it's a great way to get the investor to agree to the idea of making the investment. Follow up promptly with the legally binding stock purchase agreement. The LOI is a tool to get you a commitment from an investor at the moment when he or she is most excited about the business. A signed LOI also allows you to nudge other investors by letting them know you already have money committed.

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Top 7 Questions to Increase Sales Using The 80/20 Rule

Is your business falling prey to the Pareto Principle? Back in 1906, Vilfredo Pareto developed a mathematical formula to demonstrate the unequal distribution of wealth in his country where 20% of the people owned 80% of the land. Dr. Joseph Juran in the late 1940's wrongly attributed the 80/20 Rule to Pareto calling it Pareto's Law or Pareto’s Principle. Even though it may be misnamed, this is an effective tool to help move your company’s performance or even your own performance to that next level.

The 80/20 rule suggests that of your activity only 20% is vital or significant and 80% is trivial or insignificant. Juran's work in quality improvement identified that 20% of the defects resulted in 80% of the problems. Why this rule is important is that when you can identify the 20% of what is attributing to your business growth, you can then focus on that 20% with even greater clarity and purpose.

Here are some questions that may help you gain greater focus as you wisely use this tool:

1. Who are the 20% of my sales staff that produce 80% of my sales?
2. Who are the 20% of my loyal customers that create 80% of my sales?
3. What are the 20% of my products or service that produce 80% of my revenue?
4. What is the 20% of my time that generates 80% of my results?
5. What are the 20% of the business networking activities that product 80% of my sales leads?
6. What products take up 20% of my warehouse and generate 80% of my sales?
7. What is the 20% that I need to focus on to secure the 80% of the desired results?

Take action right now and answer these questions to continue to work smarter not harder if you truly wish to increase your sales leads and get to where you want to be.

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5 Great Business Audio Books you didnt know.

For most of us in business, there is a continuous need to get better at what we do, do more of it and all of it in less time. Of course we usually don’t get given any extra time to do this - unless we are lucky enough to be sent on a course. But even then, studies show that most of what is taught on a course is not used - people just do not have the slack in their jobs to rejig their timetables when they get back to take on board the new ideas.

But there is an answer - audio books. There are audio books available in every possible subject you can imagine and they can be listened to whenever you feel like it. As a business person, I’m sure you can also see the amazing value audio books compared to the high cost of courses. What I find absolutely fantastic about these books is that they can be listened to when traveling, at your computer or when out working but the real value is in the daily ‘pep’ talk you give yourself. For me, the biggest reason I don’t carry out any good intentions I have from training courses is that I can’t readjust my work agenda instantly to use my new ideas and my good intentions evaporate. With audio books this is not the case.

Now everyone has their own favourites but if you’re not sure which specific business audio books to go for, her are 5 of some of the best that any business person would want:

1. How to Win Friends and Influence People - by Dale Carnegie
An all time classic that ensures you keep the most important factors at the forefront of your business – people and relationships. As the title suggests, this is a simple guide to how you can communicate with people and build relationships that matter.

2. Winning – by Jack Welch and Suzy Welch
This is such an easy ‘listen’ and is actually related by Jack giving it an extra dimension. It is full of anecdotes and at 11 hours is packed full of useful advice for anyone in business from a genuine winner.

3. The On-time On-target Manager – by Ken Blanchard
Although ‘The One Minute Manager’ is a modern classic, I’m going for this alternative as it tackles head on what I think is the biggest problem of the modern business – procrastination. There’s always so many other things to do that it’s very easy to put the difficult things off until a ‘better time’. Told as a parable rather than a preachy ‘should do’ approach, at just 2 hours in length, it’s something than can be broken up and listened to on the way to work to focus your mind on achievement.

4. The E-Myth Revisited – by Michael E. Gerber
This business classic is narrated by the author and looks at why most small businesses don’t work and what you can do about it. Given that well over 95% of all businesses are classified as small, this is a must-listen if ever there was one. Based on four fundamental ideas that will make or break your business, give this book a try if you think there’s any possibility that your business could be improved.

5. The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More – by Chris Anderson Described as ‘the most important business book since the Tipping Point’, this book describes how the Internet has changed business forever and explains how the idea of limitless choice changes the traditional business model as most know it.

These 5 audio books can give your career a massive boost but they can also give you an enormous advantage over your colleagues- how many of them will be using their time as well as you? My guess is that most will do what they have always done – listen to the radio, complain, read light magazines or papers. Just give it a try and see the effect it has.

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Business Plan for a Startup Business

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Credit Dictionary

Credit Dictionary

Accounts Receivable: credit extended by any person or company to another (normally unsecured) with usual repayment terms requiring a monthly payment to amortize the balance owed.

Amortize: To liquidate or reduce an amount owed through a series of payments.

ANI: See Automatic Number Identifier.

Attorney: A legal agent authorized to appear before a court of law as a representative of a party to a legal controversy.

Automatic Number Identifier: The ability of a company to identify an 800-number caller's name and address. Every time a consumer calls one of these toll-free 800 numbers, there is a record of that call; the debt collection community frequently uses this to locate a consumer's home or business location after they have gone underground. (Use pay phones!)

Bad Debt Expense: An accounting category reserved for debts deemed uncollectible.

Bankruptcy: A legal maneuver allowing consumers or businesses to discharge all debts and liabilities. The actions of most debt collection agencies force consumers into bankruptcy instead of settling outstanding accounts.

Blackmail: Any payment induced by or through modation, by use of threats of injurious information or accusations. (A technique frequently used by unethical debt collection agencies.)

Bulletproofing: Insulating yourself from financial adversaries such as creditors, debt collectors, attorneys, etc. Simple techniques include obtaining an unlisted phone number and post office box to more advanced maneuvers such as use of family trusts, corporations, etc.

Cease-Commed: Term used, by the debt collection industry to describe the status of an account. When a consumer has cease-commed a debt collector this means that they have invoked federal law by sending a Cease & Desist letter via certified mail, forcing the debt collector to cease collection activity of that account.

Certified Mail: Specialized postal service technique utilized to track delivery and obtain proof of delivery of letters or packages.

Chapter 7: A consumer bankruptcy filing that liquidates all non-exempt assets to pay off creditors.

Chapter 12: Bankruptcy filing reserved for working ranches, farms, etc.

Chapter 13: A type of consumer bankruptcy filing that allows the consumer to pay off creditors within a specific time period, no longer than five years. Also referred to as a "wage eamer" plan.

Chapter 20: Ploy used by some bankruptcy attorneys to delay a foreclosure of real property by filing a Chapter 13 petition, then quickly converting the filing to a Chapter 7.

Charge-off: A creditors action taken on an uncollectible account. Alternative term used: Written Off To Bad Debt Expense. This action normally results in negative information lines on a credit report that can stay for at least 7 years. (Also see uncollectible)

Class-action lawsuit: A legal action initiated by 3 or more parties against a defendant. Many suits in this category are initiated by state or federal attorneys.

Coercion: Exercising force to obtain compliance. A favorite technique employed by debt collectors and attorneys representing creditors.

Commission: A sum or percentage paid to a person for his successful completion of services.

Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS): A nonprofit organization that sells itself to the American public as the last hope for consumers buried in debt. The reality is that they are actually debt collectors for the original creditors, a fact that seems to be routinely shuffled aside and not disclosed to the consumer.

Consumer literacy test: A test proposed by the author to be given to high school students to determine competency in basic consumer skills. These skills include how to open checking and savings accounts, how to balance a checkbook, how to create/follow a budget, how credit cards work, a brief understanding of insurance, etc.

Contingency basis: A fee paid to a third party for their involvement in either a legal proceeding or debt collection. This fee is normally paid only when a successful outcome to a legal proceeding or debt has been collected, either in part or in full.

Credit grantor: Companies or individuals that extend financing to consumers. A credit grantor can be a mortgage company willing to finance a house, a bank willing to finance an automobile, or a major national credit grantor willing to extend credit through the issuance of a charge card such as Visa, MasterCard or Discover.

Credit manager: Individual that oversees the lending department in a bank, department store or other credit-granting entity. Many times this individual will work closely with the collections manager to develop collections strategies for past due/bad debts.

Credit record: National grading system filed by subject's name, birth date and social security number. Major companies providing these services include TRW, TransUnion and Equifax.

Credit repair manual: Derogatory term used by the credit reporting industry for any books that may show consumers the inside information about their industry.

Criss-cross: A directory, also known as a City Directory, that is frequently used by the debt collection community to find out information about a debtor's neighbors. One section lists households and businesses by street address; another lists all telephone numbers by exchange (in numerical order) and to whom each number is assigned. A powerful tool of information intimidation utilized to put fear into unwitting consumers.

Databases: Term used to describe the enormous pools of information managed by computers. Creditors and debt collectors will access national credit databases managed by companies like TRW, CSC/Equifax, TransUnion, etc.

Debtors' havens: Term that refers to states such as Texas and Florida which have liberal laws protecting debtors from creditors.

Deceptive forms: Another trick of the debt collector trade, these forms can take on a variety of intimidating looks-from threatening (but non-binding) documents that appear to have been issued by a court of law to demand letters that look like something issued by the IRS. Of course they're illegal ... you don't think that will stop the debt collectors from using them, do you?

Deed in lieu of foreclosure: Technique used with mixed results by consumers unable to continue making payments on their homes. Sometimes lenders will allow debtors to deed the property back to the lender instead of suffering through the embarrassment of a foreclosure sale on the courthouse steps.

Deep discount: When a creditor sells Accounts Receivable or Bad Debts at an amount normally less than 50% of the outstanding balance.- Many times these sales are made to companies that specialize in buying these types of "dead assets."

Defaulted student loans: Loan made to students to attend secondary educational institutions at low interest rates. These loans were guaranteed by the federal government as an inducement to banks to make these loans but as a result, were poorly researched before being made. Over $13 billion of these loans exist and are now owned by the U.S. government. Revised laws now enable consumers to restructure these loans. Contact the Department of Education in Washington, DC.

Deferment: Contractually agreed-to period of time a borrower is allowed to suspend payment on a debt. Usually applies to student loans and suspends the accrual of interest or late fees on the outstanding loan balance.

Deposition: Sworn statement made in the presence of a court reporter (usually) as a result of questions posed by attorneys in court (or post judgment) action. These statements are normally made outside a court of law, but are fully admissible during trial and fully binding under perjury statutes.

Discharged: To relieve of obligation, responsibility, etc. Common term used in bankruptcy court to describe the process of eliminating debtor obligations.

Discounts: Selling Accounts Receivable or Bad Debts at an amount normally in excess of 5 1 % of the outstanding balance. Many times these sales are made to companies that specialize in buying these types of "dead assets."

Dispossession of property: Taking away property against the ovmer's wishes, normally as a result of non-payment.

Erroneous information: False, misleading or incorrect data. Frequently found in consumer medical or credit files across America.

Exempt assets: Assets not at risk of being seized or forfeited as a result of legal action.

Financial management: Technique used to balance income vs. expenses. Responsible financial management usually results in an excess of monies available. (This style of managing finances has yet to be mastered by the United States Government.)

Flaky loans: Questionable loans made by banks in the 1980s such as student loans or land development loans. (see defaulted student loans)

Fraudulent activity: Transaction designed to swindle consumers or creditors, normally cheating these groups out of goods, services or assets. (see sign of the beast)

Freebie report: A copy of your credit report given to you at no charge for one of two reasons ... every consumer gets a free report from TRW just for asking and every consumer gets a free copy of their credit report if they have been declined credit.

Getting bulletproof: The process of insulating a person from lawsuits, garnishments, creditor intrusion and harassment. Popularized in Texas during the late 1980s ... now being utilized by consumers/business people in California and the East Coast.

Hired gun: The hiring of third party debt collectors or attorneys to emotionally pummel a consumer in hopes of collecting an overdue account.

Hot checks: Drafts on a bank account that will be or have been returned by the bank for insufficient funds to pay face amount of check issued.

IRS refund offset program: Effort initiated by the Department of Education to recover defaulted student loans by seizing the tax refunds of consumers with the assistance of the Internal Revenue Service.

Interrogatory: Sworn statement made in writing as a result of a list of questions/inquiries by attorneys in court (or post judgment) action

Intimidation: Inspiring or inducing fear (a favorite tactic of debt collection agencies).

Knee Breaker Collection Agency: Generic name used to describe a collection agency that may use techniques that are not endorsed by the American Collectors Association or deemed legal by the federal government under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. (see Vito)

Lawyers: (see Attorneys)

Leverage: A negotiating position of strength; something creditors may have, debt collectors never have, and consumers almost always have.

Mail drops: Companies like Mailboxes, Etc. and others who provide a valuable service to consumers wanting to distance themselves from intrusive individuals such as debt collectors. Allows a new mailing or street address to be instantly created by consumers trying to insulate their lives.

Medical bills: The number-one reason consumers have been filing for bankruptcy, medical bills many times can be appealed or I negotiated with the original provider. It is not uncommon to be grossly overcharged or mis-billed for medical services, so it's important for consumers to be aggressive when auditing these statements.

National Foundation For Consumer Credit: Parent organization for CCCS. (see Consumer Credit Counseling Service)

Negative information (or remarks): Statements or grades assigned on credit reports due to late payment, non-payment or default on debts owed to creditors. Bankruptcies and hens also show up under this category. Favorite point of leverage utilized by collection agencies attempting to passively blackmail consumers.

Nine-Digit Zip Code: Increasingly becoming a powerful tool for skiptracing, the 9-digit zip codes allow specific location (if a current address can be located) of a consumer, courtesy of the U.S. Post Office. (Another compelling reason to utilize post office boxes or mail drops.)

Non-dischargeable debt: Debt that cannot be eliminated through bankruptcy court. Some types of IRS debt, student loans and certain types of judgments fit into this category.

Old debt: Debt that has been charged off/written off by a creditor, normally referred to an outside 'third party" collector. Old debts are usually those debts/accounts that have not had charge or payment activity for over 2 years and are the easiest to negotiate payment/removal from credit reports with creditors.

Open account: An account with a creditor that is still on the books and, in the opinion of the original creditor, collectible. These types of accounts usually are reported/updated to the credit bureaus and report late payments. They can be the most difficult to negotiate with a creditor.

Oxymoron: A term that contradicts itself, such as "jumbo shrimp" or "military intelligence" or "ethical debt collector" or "reasonable legal fees."

Paid As Agreed: Old term used on consumer credit bureau reports to describe an account that may have been renegotiated and/or settled for less than the full amount. Many creditors are now flagging these notations as negatives, so it's important that your creditor agrees to delete all information regarding a settled account, not just re-classify the account as "paid as agreed."

Paralegal: Vague title used (and abused) by many debt collectors to misstate level of power, prestige or might Threats of lawsuits and jail time are frequently used by people espousing to be "paralegals".

Password: An identifying word or code that consumers may set up with the phone company and other service providers that allows only authorized individuals access to information concerning an account. Unprotected accounts are frequent targets by the debt collection community in order to obtain additional information about a consumer.

Positive identification: A means to identify without a doubt the identity of a consumer wishing to obtain a copy of their credit file. A check and balance designed to keep unauthorized people from gaining access to your information.

Postdated check: A check with a date in the future, a technique utilized to connate a person to make payment after the date written on the check. (Something a consumer should never, ever give to a debt collector.)

Profit & Loss Statement: A valuable accounting function that shows a reconciliation of all gross income and expenses to offset the same, arriving at a net profit (or loss) figure.

Prospective creditor: A credit grantor that has not yet agreed to loan/lend monies for the purchase or a home or automobile, or through the issuance of a credit card.

Public records: Another terrific source of information tapped into on a regular basis by the debt collection community, in an attempt to gain insight into a debtor's activities or current location. Favorite records to be studied by the debt collectors: Divorce records, property records, tax information and motor vehicle records.

Red ink: Term used to describe losses sustained by any financial entity. When individual consumers drown in red ink they may end up filing for bankruptcy; when the U.S. government engages in this financial activity it holds another treasury note or bond auction.

Regulatory agencies: Any agency empowered by either local, state or federal authorities to enforce civil laws, such as the Federal Trade Commission.

Reply card tracer: Used by Postal Service to track down return receipts that never returned to verify delivery of parcel.

Re-prioritize: The resetting, of priorities in one's life, usually due to a dramatic change in circumstances. Sometimes a necessary first step toward solving one's financial problems.

Return receipts: When a letter is sent by Certified Mail, this receipt (green card for domestic mails/pink card for international) give the sender a record of who actually received/signed for letter or package sent.

Revolving charge card (or credit line): Commonly issued by major department stores and major banks, it requires a monthly payment sufficient to amortize the outstanding balance. Example: If consumers pay only the minimum balance on a $10,000 credit card and do not use the card for any additional purchases, it will take over 25 years to amortize/pay off the debt.

Risk free: A concept used in lending to describe the risk vs. return of certain types of consumer/business loans. Also refers to overdraft protection checking accounts at the House of Representatives bank in the 1980s.

Roll over: What many consumers do when dealing with credit bureaus or collection agencies, giving up without a fight. Also used to describe the apathy displayed by most Americans when asked about their input in the law making/enforcement process or budgetary responsibility of congress.

Scam: Fraudulent plan or scheme designed to separate a consumer from their money without delivering on promised goods, services (training) or value.

Scoring system: A tool used by prospective lenders to grade the credit-worthiness of a potential borrower.

Secured creditor: Creditor whose financial position is secured by real property, such as a bank or finance company with a lien on an automobile or a mortgage company secured by the house they financed. hi the event of default the secured creditor can repossess or foreclose on the property they financed, greatly reducing their chance of total loss exposure.

Secured credit card: A major national credit card (normally Visa or MasterCard) that has a credit limit secured by a cash deposit placed with the issuing bank by the cardholders A positive recovery step for consumers who have gotten into credit problems but need a credit card in order to get a hotel room, a rental car or other business/travel- related activities.

Sign of the beast: A reference to Satan in a passage from the Revelations chapter of the Bible; also used as a derogatory term describing debt collectors and some attorneys.

Skip and skiptracing: Technique used by creditors and collection agencies to find consumers that are suddenly difficult to locate (skips). No magic here, just instant access to enormous databases containing a variety of information that, in most cases, will lead the debt collectors to your new front door.

Snake oil: A negative term used normally by an individual to discredit another. Refers to selling or promoting something that falsely claims inflated results or expectations. (A favorite term of the American Collectors Association, a trade group representing debt collectors across the U.S.)

Social security number: A nine-digit number issued by the Health and Human Services Administration to identify Americans for future social security benefits. This number has evolved into the years as a national identifier for Americans, a serial number now used for referencing credit information files, military and school records, etc.

Telephone recording device: A $20 device sold by national electronic retailer Radio Shack that allows consumers to tape telephone conversations for later review. A great equalizer when being harassed by a debt collector who thinks he's above the law.

Tele-terrorist: Term coined by this author to describe today's debt collectors who use the telephone or telefax to threaten, intimidate or coerce consumers into making (more) poor financial decisions.

Third-party debt collector: Collection agency or attorney engaged in the business of collecting debts that they did not originate. Usually taking these accounts on a contingency basis, the majority of these collection agencies work on a commission basis. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act specifically regulates the activities of this type of collection agent.

Threats: An indication or warning of probable trouble, often illegally used by debt collectors. (see debt collectors or Vito)

Time-Value of money: A concept used by a large number of groups involved in money and finance. When relating to the debt collection business, it's an accepted fact that the longer an account goes without payment or reduced payments, the lower the chances of collecting the entire amount.

Trial by fire: Term used by individuals, often average consumers, who have acquired "street smarts" by dealing directly with their financial problems. These individuals frequently include graduates from the "school of hard knocks."

Uncollectible: Term used by creditors to describe an account that has gone past a certain period of time without payment, usually at least 6-9 months.

Underground: Another term commonly used for someone who has dropped out of sight or "skipped." Usually the result of incessant threats and phone calls from unethical debt collectors.

Unscrupulous tactics: Any number of techniques used by debt collectors in order to collect money on overdue accounts from unsuspecting consumers.

Unsecured creditor: Creditor who has no collateral covering their financial exposure. Almost all credit or charge cards fit into this category. The weakest position to be in during tough financial times, unsecured creditors are the largest employers of third-party debt collectors.

Vito: Name used to describe any individual in the debt collection industry who may use techniques that are not endorsed by the American Collectors Association or deemed legal by the federal government under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act.

Vocational school: Non-traditional institution of higher learning designed to train students in job skills as opposed to educational degree plans in specific areas of study. Vocational schools can graduate students in 6- to 24-month course studies as opposed to 48 months in traditional colleges/university programs. This type of school is coming under increasing scrutiny by the Department of Education.

Wage-earner plan: Alternate term used to describe a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. This plan allows consumers to pay off creditors over a period not to exceed five years.

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4 Steps to Spectacular Customer Service.

Most towns have at least one “flashpoint” business—a place that’s famous for its turbo-charged workers and lines of eager customers. These are the local hot spots that are “always jumping,” places in which employee motivation and customer satisfaction fuel each other in a flashpoint of contagious enthusiasm.

But flashpoint businesses don’t just happen by lucky accident. They have to be made to happen. If there aren’t many such businesses, it can only be because so few owners and managers understand the simple 4-step process for creating a flashpoint culture in their own workplaces.

Not convinced such a process could be that simple? Not sure any such process could ever work in your own business setting? Here’s a quick and easy way to find out.

Step 1: Invite your employees to come up with some ideas for improving the customer experience. For this process to work, the ideas for changes in behavior or procedure need to come from the workers themselves. The old way is to dictate in memos or training programs the kinds of behaviors management wants employees to adopt, and then try to legislate these new behaviors into the workplace—a way that has never worked. Employees will only get behind a change if it’s one they believe in. And employees are always more likely to believe in a change if the idea for it comes from themselves, instead of their bosses.

Step 2: Choose one employee idea, and help the employee(s) implement it successfully. The objective is to make the workers who came up with the idea look like heroes in customers’ eyes. If there are costs associated with the idea, helping with implementation will mean providing funding for it. (Think of this cost as an investment in positive word-of-mouth, the most effective form of advertising on the planet). If the idea requires changing a policy or procedure, do everything possible to make the change. Eliminate all obstacles to successful implementation of the employees’ initiative.

Step 3: Make it easy for customers to give positive feedback about the new initiative. It’s always good business practice to hear what your customers have to say—but few businesses make it convenient and easy for customers to give feedback on a regular basis. To test this process, make a point of soliciting feedback that relates specifically to the idea the employees implemented. Use various methods to collect feedback, especially that most powerful method of all: simple face-to-face conversation with the customers themselves.

Step 4: Let the employee(s) bask in the motivational effect of the positive feedback. This is where the magic begins. Let’s say an employee came up with the idea of installing a bench so senior citizens would no longer have to stand while waiting in line. When delighted seniors begin to rave about the convenience of the bench, tell them, "This bench was actually Terry’s idea. In fact, Terry, could you come over here for a moment—these folks would like to tell you something about your bench"

And now watch the effect this feedback has on Terry. You’re watching the first spark of the flashpoint effect: customer satisfaction driving up employee motivation, and employee motivation driving up customer satisfaction.

Once you’ve seen how well the process works, apply it again. And again. Keep the ball rolling by holding regular employee brainstorming sessions to come up with a rich supply of new ways to delight customers. Break a typical customer transaction down into its individual steps, and get employees thinking about ways to add a “wow factor” element in each step. Not every idea will be implemented, of course, but make sure enough are implemented to keep the positive customer feedback flowing in. And give your workers opportunities to hear this feedback directly from their customers. Immediate positive feedback from delighted customers is the primary motivational fuel all flashpoint businesses use to keep the fires of employee enthusiasm burning hot and bright.

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The 7 Ways to find the Best Wholesale Sources.

Wholesale sources are a lot easier to find then everyone makes it seem. Just because people sell lists and offer advice, does not mean you cannot find the sources yourself. Not only will finding the sources yourself save you money, it could give you the most quality, unique, and lesser known sources that will provide you with a better product and selling opportunity.

1. Newspaper Classifieds Newspapers have many great sources as well. Be sure to not only look in the classifieds, but also look at the ads all over that you usually just ignore. Also, be sure to search several newspapers and not just one.
2. Retail Stores

   Many retail stores such as Macys and Sears have closeout sales where you can find great deals. They only have a limited space to work with, and when a new shipment or new model of products arrives, they must get rid of these closeout products as soon as possible. You can expect to save 50-80% on various items. Staying current with the sales and arriving when they first start as early as possible is the key to success.

3. Auction sites Auction site such as eBay and Liquidation.com have many great auctions for bulk supplies of a wide range of products. The great thing about getting your wholesale supplies from auction sites virtually gaurantees you a unique lot of supplies which will drastically reduce the number of competitors you have. As with all auction sites, be sure you deal with reputable people and carefully read the product terms and details.
4. The Phonebook The phonebook is another great place to find unique sources. Remember, the more unique your source is, the less competitors you will have. Also, since your phonebook only deals with local suppliers, you will save a lot on shipping, or might even be able to pick up the supplies on your own, which will save you money and will give you the chance to personally inspect the products prior to purchase. Don't have a yellowbook? You can conveniently find basically the same information at www.yellowpages.com
5. Government Auctions Everyone knows that government auctions are a great source for wholesale supplies, yet many people are confused on how to go about finding them. First, I would suggest using Google to search "(Your County) Surplus Auction". This will usually direct you to your County's government auction sale. If not, go to your township or county website and take five minutes to search for information. Five minutes is all it will take, but many people just refuse to look. Then, make sure you look in local papers for government sales too. Remember, they usually only post in one paper, so you must search through several until you find the right paper with the government auction posting. If you put in about 30 minutes, you can get all the information you need about your local government auctions. Be sure to get the information from your local government's actual website, not some third party website.
6. Wholesale Directories There are a few wholesale directories online. Sources such as Wholesale Checklist are of quality because they do not take money for placement, hand picking out quality resources to be listed. Many other directories are great places to start searching for wholesale sources too.
7. Search Engines Search engines are probably the worst place to look for wholesale sources, yet you cannot neglect them. First of all, if you find a source on a search engine, chances are thousands upon thousands of other people have found that source as well. This means many competitors are against you. Also, there are many scams on the internet, and search engines cannot weed them out for you. If you have a very, very specific need for a source, then a search engine might be okay, but do not rely only on search engines.

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How NOT to Earn $10,000/Month with Google Adsense.

Here is an explanation why "expensive keyword" isn't equal to "profitable keyword"
Almost all AdSense publishers are looking for the most expensive keywords. Let's have a look at the top 100 most expensive keywords. But first let's add 2 extra columns to the list: clicks/day and cost/day by Google AdWords estimation:

Have you noticed that keyword price result in ZERO profit if there are no clicks? It's cost/day (keyword price X clicks/day) that makes you rich, not keyword price itself.

Here is the list of the most PROFITABLE, not the most expensive AdSense keywords:

Keyword	Cost Per Click	Clicks/Day	Cost/Day
insurance	$17.41	49,893.5	$868,645.81
hotels	$3.52	200,636.0	$706,238.75
film	$2.88	183,044.0	$527,166.75
home	$3.89	102,282.5	$397,878.91
car	$5.09	52,069.5	$265,033.75
schools	$4.13	60,913.0	$251,570.69
acting	$2.28	106,337.0	$242,448.36
credit	$8.67	25,705.0	$222,862.34
cheap	$2.71	82,139.5	$222,598.05
digital	$1.70	130,607.0	$222,031.91
hotel	$2.38	84,776.5	$201,768.06
film schools	$5.64	35,501.5	$200,228.45
software	$3.23	61,259.5	$197,868.19
new	$2.17	90,415.0	$196,200.55
auto insurance	$29.48	6,453.0	$190,234.44
rental	$5.97	31,635.5	$188,863.94
free	$1.06	172,680.5	$183,041.33
travel	$5.02	35,084.5	$176,124.19
auto	$7.28	23,610.5	$171,884.44
video	$2.01	83,295.0	$167,422.95
mortgage	$13.03	12,172.0	$158,601.16
flights	$1.91	75,692.0	$144,571.72
editing	$2.37	57,747.0	$136,860.39
refinance	$20.01	6,827.0	$136,608.27
loans	$9.38	13,966.5	$131,005.77
uk	$1.43	86,623.5	$123,871.60
computer	$3.67	33,043.5	$121,269.64
buy	$2.06	58,840.5	$121,211.43
extended stay	$20.13	5,758.0	$115,908.54
home insurance	$18.75	6,152.0	$115,350.00
training	$3.60	31,112.0	$112,003.20
travel insurance	$11.29	9,861.0	$111,330.69
cars	$3.90	26,198.5	$102,174.15
debt	$9.17	11,104.5	$101,828.26
furniture	$1.76	57,463.5	$101,135.76

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10 Top Tips for Successful Networking.

1. Recognise the importance of networking

Ask any successful business person and they will tell you that above all else networking skills are absolutely vital to grow your business. Networking can increase your market share, help you gain new ideas, provide work and perspectives on life and business. Speaking to one person can potentially give you access to over 200 clients and suppliers.

2. Aim to become visible

You need to let others know you exist and what you do by becoming highly visible and being set apart from the crowd, which is what good networking skills can provide. Be seen and get known. Look for interesting events to go to; clubs, associations, meetings, seminars, conferences, presentations, breakfast briefings, lunches, or start your own networking club.

3. Take care of your image

To have success in networking you need to maintain your self-esteem and build your confidence. Consider how you dress, speak and maintain your body language; aim to present a professional, positive image.

4. Always be positive

By having an open “can do” attitude and having the belief in giving and sharing as well as offering assistance your reputation will soon grow.

5. Treat all events as networking

Going into a specific networking event you may experience fear and trepidation but there is also the thrill and challenge of who potentially you might meet. However we all have all sorts of events we attend which are in effect networking ie meeting people to build mutally beneficial relationships. The networks we belong to can include schools, colleges, work, social life, small businesses, corporate businesses, family, neighbours, advisors or the church.

6. Build your relationships

You need to project an excellent image of warmth, approachability, understanding, knowledge, empathy, and an ability to engage with anyone.. Don’t forget your most powerful contact might not be the most useful to you. Above all be genuine. You should take an interest in everyone you meet, remember their name, listen acutely to them to understand their needs and how you could assist each other. Tact, reassurance and the building of trust are also the hallmarks and vital components of relationship building. Be relaxed and stay interesting.

7. Develop the ability to “small talk”

Being able to talk to anyone about anything is a valuable skill in its own right and essential in networking. Being able to initiate a conversation means you are more likely come into contact with people who may well turn out to be invaluable contacts. Small talk can be difficult but have a few stock phrases up your sleeve such as “How did you get started in…..?”, “What do you particularly need to succeed?” “Where are you going with it next……?”

8. Develop active listening skills

Networking is not about selling it is about listening to the other person and showing them you are interested in them by active listening. Allow others to open up & talk freely. Give you’re your undivided attention even if it is only for five minutes. Take an interest in what’s said and acknowledge this by nodding or agreeing. Use positive body language such as facing them with lots of eye contact. Used subtle mirroring techniques (body language copying) to develop rapport.

9. Use your business card

With the many people you meet this is the only way to maintain the initial contact. 90% of businesses have no card and only 25% have a card that is up to date and informative. At the very least your own should have on it your name, address and phone number and ideally your email address if not your website. Try to include on the back your skills focus to help others identify what you have to offer. You should also create a tracking system to identify and remember all those who you meet.

10. Be organised

Keep a written list of everyone you know and everyone you meet and what they do or keep a database. Write memory joggers on the back of business cards. You may find it useful to keep a diary of who you meet and where and any mutual contacts for future reference.

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10 Business Oriented Service Businesses To Start Today

Business-Plan Consulting
Not only is a business plan crucial in obtaining bank financing, but also it's an invaluable tool for anticipating and tackling a business's inevitable ups and downs. With your writing skills, spreadsheet know-how, and general business savvy, show clients how to present their best-laid plans

Packing and Unpacking Service
Packing up to move to a new home or office not to mention unpacking on the other end is enough to leave one feeling upended. Thank goodness for packing and unpacking entrepreneurs who, with their hassle - and timesaving services, make moving seem so easy.

Specialized Staffing
Helping clients meet their workforce needs is a matter of finding a niche and filling it--and keeping up with human resources trends. Work your way up in the industry by developing a roster of specially skilled workers, then use your "people skills" to build your business.

Bookkeeping
Though today's software makes keeping your own books easier, it doesn't make it much less time-consuming. That's why, for business owners with little time to spare; a bookkeeping service is not only a time-saver, but also an asset.

Referral Service
For referral-service entrepreneurs who act as a "welcome wagon" to newcomers getting to know new as well as existing businesses pays off in more ways than one. Local companies pay to get their services introduced to newcomers, while these new customers pay for a little friendly advice.

Executive Search
Take your business to a "hire" level: As an executive-search specialist, help busy clients find the right man / woman for the job. Your job involves placing ads and conducting interviews to screen potential employees for clients. Put on your best interviewing suit, and get down to business.

Long-Distance Reselling
By buying time in bulk from wholesalers, long-distance resellers ring up sales by servicing long-distance consumers--often at significant savings. You make the call: Either purchases the telecommunications equipment you'll need now, or rent it and simply focus on the marketing of your service.

Professional Office Consultant
It's one thing to spend a day at the office, and another altogether to run the office. As a professional office consultant, you'll oversee such responsibilities as marketing, insurance and daily operations for professional lawyers, doctors or other specialists--while leaving the rest to the "pros."

Office-Support Service
Typing, filing, sorting mail, entering data, and answering phones are just a few tasks an office-support service can perform to help out harried business owners. Hand out business cards to every businessperson you know--and get ready to spend a productive day at the office!

Seminar Promotion
If there's one thing consumers can never seem to get enough of, it's information. Give them an earful by planning and promoting informational seminars. You don't need to be an expert yourself; just schedule the speakers, reserve a location, promote the event, and get ready to collect the profits at the door.

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