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Feature
Article:Two questions: What do big burley weightlifters and little wiry computer
geeks have in common? How can you avoid bad debts on-line?
The answers are in today's article. Today we continue our examination of research done by an international bank into the most common reasons for business failure. The bank found that most small businesses fail for the same avoidable reasons. Of course, doing business on the Internet can be very different than doing business off line. The purpose of this series of articles is to examine each of the top nine reasons for small business failure, and sketch out the implications for online businesses. Here, again, are the top nine reasons for small business failure. Why Businesses Fail ------------------- 1. Poor choice of location 2. Taking cash from the business too early 3. Not moving with the times 4. Under/over pricing 5. Over-optimism 6. Not pursuing bad debts early enough 7. Health problems of the owner 8. Lack of research 9. Partnership problems In this issue we discuss numbers 6 and 7. Avoiding Bad Debts On-line -------------------------- One of major mistakes small businesses make is not pursuing bad debts early enough. When someone owes you money, it is sometimes uncomfortable to make the necessary phone call to ask for payment. For online businesses, there are three things that make bad debts a particular problem. Firstly, your customers are typically unknown to you. Often the only link between you and a customer is an email address. Email addresses are easy to forge and cancel, which makes tracking down delinquent customers very frustrating. Secondly, your customers are spread out all over the country or the world. For small debts, it may not even be worth your while to make phone calls, send faxes, and write letters chasing up the money you are owed. Thirdly, if you are involved in some reseller, or MLM, programs then you need to be concerned that they will calculate your pay accurately and pay you on time. Often these companies issue their checks only once per month and take two weeks to calculate their accounts. It can take a further two weeks for the check to arrive in the mail. In the mean time, you are left wondering when, and if, your money will materialize. What to do? ----------- There are a few of things you can do to minimize the risk to yourself, and to your potential customers: 1. Be somewhat suspicious of temporary email addresses, such as hotmail.com, yahoo.com, rocketmail.com, aol.com etc. Of course, people with such addresses are not necessarily untrustworthy, but those places have become notorious hiding spots for dubious characters. 2. Request payment up front. Gradually extend privileges only to your best long-term customers. 3. However, keep in mind that your customer may be justifiably concerned about sending money before she has the goods in her hands. In fact, your customers are equally worried about this kind of "bad debt" as you are. Earn their trust by providing information about your company, its history, its physical address, phone number and fax. Be personable and friendly. 4. Accept credit cards. There are occasional problems with fraud, but by authorizing the payment you can minimize your risk of bad debts. 5. For large orders, do some research on the customer. Try to find an address or phone number. Call to speak with the person who placed the order, and confirm the order before you fill it. 6. Investigate all reseller programs before you join. Kevin Needham is preparing a book on how to evaluate reseller programs. You can sign up for his free mailing list by sending an email to: <mailto:web-profits@inetexchange.com>
Health Hazards of On-line Businesses ------------------------------------ Health problems can strike at any time. When a serious problem arises, you may find yourself unable to devote the necessary time and effort to keep your business running smoothly. Many businesses fail for precisely this reason. Quite apart from the obvious reasons, it makes "cents" to keep your body fit and healthy.
Of Mice and Men --------------- What do big burley weightlifters and little wiry computer geeks have in common? Sore backs and sore wrists. Running an online business comes with particular health risks. Working with computers is associated with a number of specific health problems: back pain, aching wrists, weakening vision. You owe it to yourself, and to your business, to avoid these common health problems. Back or wrist pain can keep you away from your computer for days - and if it becomes serious, permanently. If you think that the IRS is the major threat to your business, then think again. It might be CTS instead. Do you ever feel pain in your hands, wrists, fingers or forearms? Do you notice clumsiness or loss of co-ordination or strength in your hands? If so, then you may be developing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS).
"The carpal tunnel is a very crowded, narrow passageway on the inside of
your wrist, filled with nerves, tendons, and blood vessels. When you engage
in quick, repetitive actions with your hands and wrists hour after hour,
day after day, you can irritate and traumatize that narrow area. Inflammation
and swelling might result, producing tingling, numbness, and pain in the
hand. When that happens, you have carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)." According to specialists, CTS is due to the way we work. "Bad typing posture and poor ergonomics of standard qwerty keyboards are two chief causes of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) - a form of repetitive stress injury (RSI)" reports W.D. Wang in the Computer Times.
If you are already experiencing the symptoms, it's not too late. Check out
Wang's article, which is filled with ways to avoid this painful - and
unprofitable - syndrome: "Keyboards should not be a pain in the wrist". Don't let your health, or your business, be affected by avoidable health problems. Resources:
Check out the Fitness Zone's article on
CPT:
For a somewhat technical discussion of CPT, see Kim Dyke's
paper.
By Paul Needham
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