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Everyday businesses across the nation have and will be faced with tough choices. Some days it could be a random vendor who walks in with a deal that is better than the one they have with their current vendor. Other days it is a disgruntled customer that is not satisfied with a refund and one needs to decide how to handle their complaint. It can even be as basic as deciding which product should go where when setting their store up for the holiday season. Simply put, business owners cannot afford to be indecisive.
Business owners who cannot make the tough decisions will be weeded out of the industry as fast as they got into it. Opportunities are missed when seesawing between options which could have detrimental effects on a business. This is why procrastination in business is a spoiled apple to its success.
Esteemed motivational speaker and author Larry Winget said that “If it’s a good idea, do it today. Not tomorrow” and added, that “a good idea rarely gets better over time.” This is important for all business owners to understand. If it is a good idea why put it off?
In most cases business owners and professionals procrastinate over a big decision rather than making them in fear of doing the wrong thing. They want everyone to be happy but need to realize that is not a possible outcome in the business world. You know that some will not be happy that you’ve decided to expand your stores hours after research suggest that the extra hours will increase sales. You mull over this decision for a few days unsure of what the outcome will be even though it is in the best interest of the business for the hours to be extended.
Over the years there have been numerous decisions that business owners needed to make regardless of the industry they were a part of. There are numerous decision that business owners, boards and executives make on a daily basis that affect the company any everyone employed by that company. An example is deciding whether or not to have self check-out. This type of technological advancement can cause grief within a company. Some feel they are necessary as customers will use them for their speed and convenience, and others disagree as they see it as taking jobs away from middle class citizens. A decision like this can be mind boggling for a small business as many small businesses are preferred for their ma and pa feel and the fact that they are a local business, supporting the local economy. But the decisions are not always this tough.
When deciding on things that evolve with technology such as self check out registers a business owner needs to understand the needs and demands of its customers. As said before, not all upgrades in technology involve a highly debated issue.
Business owners need to decide if they are going to be cash only, accept cash and checks, or be open to all payments including credit card processing. The willingness to accept credit cards has never been at the level it is today. Past methods of credit card processing involved the recipient to manually swipe a customer’s card and in turn send it to the company who would then fund the businesses account. This process could take days and could be a hassle for a small business that is dependent on those funds. This all changed when Visa came out with the first magnetic stripped credit card in 1979. Since then credit card processing companies like North American Bancard have been coming up with newer, faster and more secure terminals.
These terminals consist of traditional dial up connections, a faster broadband connection and even versatile wireless terminals. They all come with a merchant account that adapts to the needs of a business. Merchant account providers also offer check acceptance services, cash advances and can help establish a rewards program at your store.
Are you a pizza shop that is looking into credit card processing? You would be best off making sure your merchant services account included over the phone and online credit card processing to provide your customers with the most opportunities to pay. It is almost a no brainer for a business to accept credit cards. Almost everyone these days carries either a credit or debit card. Banks even offer you a debit card upon opening of a checking account.
Now is the time to take the advice of Winget, and make your decision now. If you think it is a good idea to provide your customers with an infinite spending limit, enhance the amount of potential customers to your store and provide payment options to the three major methods, check, cash and credit cards, than you have your answer. “If it’s a good idea do it today. Not tomorrow.”
