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Keeping Your Business's Finances on Track
One of the biggest benefits of operating a home-based business is that it doesn't require any formal training or experience. After all, some of the most successful individuals never attended a single business-related class or workshop.
The only...
Small Business Administration (SBA) Loans for Women
There are a number of options available to women for obtaining
small business loans. One of the most well-known types of
business loans available for women is through the Small Business
Administration (SBA).
The Small Business...
Small-Cap Stocks: The Beginning Of The Journey
When an individual investor wants to roll up his sleeves and do some research in the pursuit of the next big winner in the stock market, the place many start is in the small cap sector.
As with the other capitulation sizes (capitalization is a...
Stock Market Trading .- Small cap & micro stocks go up and down ... How can you benefit ?
Success in small cap & micro cap stock trading like with any other business in life comes from being able to see the big picture and from paying attention to the small details. Let's say for example that you are a business owner and you have a...
Web-Site Savvy for Small Business Owners
Home-based business owners don’t have an inordinate amount of time or money to dedicate to hosting, building or maintaining a website. But you should note that the internet plays a part in the daily routine of 88% of Americans, and of those, 92%...
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Honesty in Business
What I want to discuss in this article is the basic idea of honesty. The internet is a wonderful place to do business, but with the continuous flood of spyware, malware, and spam, it can be a horrible and very frustrating place for the average user. I am amazed, but not surprised, by the unethical practice of businesses using popups and spam to sale a product. It isn’t surprising because the fact is that those business practices work. Any of us that have worked in this field for awhile know that traffic is king.
My experience has been one of honest return for honesty when dealing with customers. Maybe it’s not a quick buck, but I can look at myself in the mirror in the morning and know I did the right thing. I would rather have a customer for life than a fly by night sale to a customer that I tricked into buying my product. It isn’t always about the bottom line of making cash. It should be about service and product value. Over the past couple of years I have had more business cleaning up computers that have been completely overran with viruses, trojans, and spam than I’ve done computer builds.
The number one complaint is ‘I just want to be able to use my computer, not worry about viruses and trojans and updates!!!’
Do I profit from unethical business practices? Yes I do, when I spend an hour cleaning up a computer. Do I take the time to teach the user? You bet I do! I typically spend an hour to two with a client after I do a cleanup or new computer build, explaining to a client some of the several things – not to do. Do I lose money with this practice? Yes I do, but only in the short term. I gain respect from the client though and that customer will always come back prepared to gladly
spend some more money with our company.
The one major challenge with doing business online is that we don’t always get to be face to face with our customers. Even so, there are ways around this that will bring value to your customer and value in repeat business. It doesn’t cost that much to call and thank someone for their business. It doesn’t cost much to send out a thank you card. I think at times we forget that email isn’t the only way to communicate. With the prevalence of spam it isn’t always the best way to communicate either. It’s too easy for that email to be routed off to the trash can by an over vigilant filter program.
The internet can be a very impersonal place. It is ethically challenging to all of us who try to sale a product or business online. Is there a chance of giving away too much with little return? Of course, that is always a chance we take when we offer advice or tips to a customer. I can guarantee that over time, the word gets around, and your business will develop a core group of customers who value your service and will tell others. Being a small business is a challenge in the fast paced retail world of chain stores. We can’t offer the huge discounts the major chain stores can, but we can offer service value for the product. I challenge anyone in the IT industry to take that little bit of extra time to teach users the do’s and don’ts of surfing the web. It will benefit your business and benefit the customer as well.
About the Author
Eric Graves is a Senior Computer Technician at ARCH Computing Services. His computer knowledge and interpersonal skills have helped the company to grow at a remarkable rate. He’s currently completing his BS in IT Management.
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