Posted by Chad Gardner

With over 25 million small businesses , all in a wide range of industries, all needing a variety of products and services–and most willing to invest to improve right now–it’s important to take a look at how advances in technology have brought down the cost of implementing services like recurring billing and electronic invoicing for your customers, and how this can help your niche.

Recently, we’ve had an influx of customers from membership and contract-based businesses, like health clubs and gyms. So I wanted to share information we have learned from our day-to-day operations about how online payment processing helps this niche.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 100% [?]

Posted by Chad Gardner

Regardless of the economic climate, finding and retaining great employees is essential for a small business, even more so than for large companies. Most small businesses have limited resources and thus talent becomes one of the most important assets they have.

So the good news for 2009, according to a press release by TriNet, is that two-thirds of small businesses will be looking to hire. With the recent splash in the unemployment pool this year, there are undoubtedly top prospects available to help your company’s productivity and profitability moving into the New Year.

Looking at the projections going into 2009 might leave some skeptical, but small business hiring is up 3.3% in 2008, and 80% of respondents in the TriNet survey said they tried to hire this year. This is just point-in-hand that small businesses are able to run leaner than companies we see in the news on a daily basis.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 94% [?]

Posted by Chad Gardner

It is difficult to turn on the television or browse through most publications without finding analysts and professionals of all types declaring a gloomy outlook for the economy.  When coming across an article or post that may be negative, it’s important to remember that this is an opportunity to find solutions for the problems at hand.

For instance, there was a recent post on Small Business Trends discussing industries feeling the crunch the most that starts off:

“The year 2008 is turning out to be a tough one for small florist businesses. Sales are down nearly 15%.”

True, there are less consumers going out and purchasing flowers. But are these small businesses giving consumers more reasons to buy from them? According to research, online sales could increase up to 12% from last year — which is a market that needs to be tapped into if in-store sales are lagging.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 66% [?]

Posted by Lisa Hephner

Sale season has arrived and bargain hunters abound. It seems everywhere you look prices are slashed 70%, yellow clearance signs scream out deal, and consumers are carefully considering every penny spent.

On top of the holiday spending, this is the time of year when many gift subscriptions, club memberships, and service contracts come up for renewal, and consumers are thinking about the value of each one and whether they plan to continue it, or whether they can get a better deal elsewhere.

The result is price wars that can bring an increase in sales, in conjunction with a decrease in profits because of the deep discounts. In the case of rates for year-long service contracts, the profits lost from holiday price cutting reverberate throughout the entire next year. While large businesses can absorb the declining profits, small business often cannot.

The key to winning the holiday discount game is to develop offers that provide real savings as well as real value to both your customers and to your business. The following three discount offers do just that.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 56% [?]

Posted by Chad Gardner

A big PaySimple Thank You to Allison, Elissa, Sherri, Mark, Lonnie, and Matt!

With Thanksgiving just a day away, many of us are surrounded by friends or family (or hopefully have plans to be around loved ones). This is one of my favorite times of year because I am struck by a greater sense of awareness and a sense of gratitude.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, this is the perfect opportunity to recognize and show our appreciation to a group of co-workers for their altruism over the past month. Since I have been here, PaySimple has always enabled its employees to empower others, focusing on helping those associated with small businesses. Two weeks ago, a group of PaySimplers gathered outside of work on Sunday to cook a meal for families at the Ronald McDonald House for a chance to help empower our community.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 49% [?]

Posted by Elissa Beckman

When I started working at PaySimple 2 years ago, I knew that it was a special place. After six months, I was given the inspiring title of Empowerment Director, verifying once again just how amazing this company is. My favorite line quickly became: PaySimple doesn’t do Human Resources, PaySimple does Empowerment!

With a strong leadership team in place that provided guidance and encouragement, we were quickly able to create a culture and environment that attracted not only the brightest talent, but the greatest people. Since our team members were working so hard and giving us so much, we wanted to show them our respect and appreciation in return. Some of the many benefits of working at PaySimple include: Friday lunches and happy hours, participation in team sports, a relaxed dress code, free public transportation passes, gym membership reimbursements, and weekly recognition programs.

When I heard of the Denver Business Journal’s “Best Places to Work” competition earlier this year, I knew that PaySimple had to enter. After I filled out an initial application, we were contacted by Quantum Market Research to complete an employee survey. The survey categories included: team effectiveness, retention risk, alignment with goals, trust with co-workers, individual contribution, manager effectiveness, trust in senior leaders, feeling valued, work engagement, and people practices.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 51% [?]