What You Should Consider And Ask When Applying For A Business Loan

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With the economy thriving in many areas, small businesses are cropping up at an unprecedented rate. If you are like many other entrepreneurs and need additional cash to either start or expand your company, obtaining capital from a business lender is one of your best options. Before you sign on the dotted line, carefully scrutinize credible reviews to find the firm that makes the most sense for your business.

DOES IT COVER SPECIFICS ABOUT FINANCING?

Although loan company reviews are a dime a dozen, the ones you pay attention to should focus on the important preliminary aspects of all loans. Consider crucial factors that include the following:

• How long is the application process?

• What rates will you pay?

• What are the minimum and maximum loan amounts?

• What are the terms of the loans offered?

• What are the qualifications, including minimum credit score?

Any review worth its salt will exhaustively cover all of these topics so that you can begin to weed out unsuitable options.

DOES IT SPECIFY CERTIFICATIONS AND ACCREDITATIONS?

When hitching your company’s wagon to a lender, you are initiating a relationship that could go on for several years. Therefore, you should make sure that the loan company reviews you consult specify the steps that companies have taken to follow industry best practices and ensure the security of their data. Organizations that many lenders join include the Better Business Bureau, Norton and McAfee.

IS IT OBJECTIVE?

It is your job to critically view any content that you find on the internet, and that includes business lender reviews. To that end, consult reputable sites for legitimate customer testimonials. A good starting place is the Better Business Bureau, but there are many more. If a particular lending company seems to be garnering a great deal of negative testimonials, this is often a very obvious red flag that should encourage you to look elsewhere.

DOES IT PROVIDE LINKS TO PRESS COVERAGE ABOUT VARIOUS LENDING COMPANIES?

Many lending companies make it a point to attract as much positive media exposure as possible. By the same token, there are times when the press uncovers aspects of an organization that are less attractive. In both cases, you should want to be aware of what the media are saying about your potential lending partner. Good reviewers will link to relevant articles and videos.

DOES IT SPECIFY LENDER CONTACT INFORMATION?

Finally, you … Read the rest

One Significant Advantage of Virtual Meetings is That Team Members Can Multitask During Them.

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If you have ever gone through the torturous task of moving from one residence to another, you have just a small inkling of what today’s corporations are going through. To deal with the mountains of proprietary customer data in endless rows of moldering file cabinets that are weighing them down, many employers are now using e-technology to get them out from under the yoke. Your team could also gain a lot by using a virtual data room.

WHAT IS A VIRTUAL DATA ROOM?

No, it’s not a man cave for a nerd. Think of a virtual data room (VDR) as an online repository for your company’s or team’s key documentation. It’s the corporate counterpart of the music storage services you now use in lieu of keeping thousands of CDs on racks in your living room.

HOW A VDR CAN HELP YOUR TEAM

Moving your critical data into a VDR can provide several advantages for your team, for company leadership and for investors and acquirers. For one thing, all information is accessible to authorized personnel from anywhere at any time, 24 hours a day. As a result, productivity is enhanced while the likelihood of data breaches is minimized.

Turning your data into a paperless, digital form involves a one-time investment of money and manpower. However, the upsides are compelling. Since office supplies such as paper products are no longer needed, costs are reduced, and so is the need for storage space. In the event of some sort of natural disaster or catastrophe, all of your data will remain safe since it is stored in the cloud, far away from your physical plant.

Furthermore, your ability to do due diligence and complete a time-sensitive and multi-faceted deal is enhanced by a VDR. All documentation can be reviewed by each party involved, either simultaneously or at different times. Thanks to features such as the ability to search documents for keywords, tasks can be completed in a more thorough and efficient way.

Finally, a VDR is, by its very nature, transparent. It provides those with administrative privileges access to all information about the documents stored in the VDR, including everyone who accessed the records and how often. This type of report can help you to gauge investor interest and plan your strategies accordingly.

Unlike those rows of file cabinets that are polluting your space and making your assistants crazy, your VDR can provide a … Read the rest

This is The Legally Accepted Payment for Goods and Services.

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As any customer or business owner knows, there are numerous ways to pay for a product. Increasingly, cash is taking a back seat to other more secure, convenient and portable solutions. If you own a small business, it behooves you to get a sense of some of the most best payments options available to you today.

CREDIT CARDS

They have changed a lot since they were first introduced by MasterCard in 1966. These days, the customer generally inserts their card into a credit card reader that “looks at” the card’s chip. Depending on the merchant and the brand of card used, a signature or PIN might be required. The encrypted information is then sent from the merchant’s point-of-sale (POS) system to the payment service provider, which gets in touch with the merchant’s bank for authorization. The bank then contacts the issuer of the customer’s credit card. If the payment is accepted, the information is relayed to the merchant’s POS system. Believe it or not, all of this happens in a matter of seconds. The process is fast, secure and available virtually anywhere.

CONTACTLESS PAYMENTS

In recent years, more and more merchants are harnessing the power of passive radio frequency identification (RFID) to streamline the payment process. A customer simply waves their contactless RFID card in front of a similarly embedded reader. Because no password authentication is required, purchases with this technology are generally no greater than $50 in value. Payments are fast, convenient and secure and can be linked to a smartphone. That being said, it is important to keep contactless cards in protective sleeves to prevent so-called electronic pickpockets from stealing sensitive customer data.

MOBILE WALLETS

You may ask what are mobile payments? Mobile payments are the next logical step after contactless credit cards. Once a customer sets theirs up in their smartphone to include their credit card numbers, CVs and expiration dates, the wallet securely stores the information. It can then be accessed when the customer wishes to make a purchase from a merchant that accepts payments from digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Android Pay. The customer’s security is enhanced because a wallet payment cannot go through unless a PIN or fingerprint is received and authenticated. Advantages include portability, convenience, security and the potential for having receipts emailed to the consumer.

The world of payment processing is dynamic. What is cutting-edge today may eventually become as … Read the rest

How to Attract Targeted Traffic to Your Plastic Surgery Website

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Plastic surgery can help people who have something about their bodies they do not like. This type of surgery can help a person become more confident because they can correct some of their natural “flaws”. Consider for one moment the other side of this type of surgery. People who have been scarred by accidents can get their looks back and can rejoin society because this type of surgery allows their injuries to be corrected. The trouble is that when people need this surgery they may not be able to find top quality plastic surgery clinics because the clinic managers may not be doing plastic surgery marketing that gets their name to all possible users.

Plastic surgery marketing is important for top quality plastic surgery clinics. The clients who are seen at top quality plastic surgery clinics are often referred to these clinics by other doctors, and by other people who have used their clinic services. If adequate plastic surgery marketing is done then more people will hear about the services, and more people will have the opportunity to use the clinic.

Plastic surgery marketing should include:

• Advertisements in magazines that are read by a variety of people. Do not simply take out advertising space in glamour magazines. You need to reach people from all classes, and all walks of life, so that they remember your name in the event that they need cosmetic procedures performed

• Online advertising is critical. The clinic should have a website that details their services, their experience, and that also provides information people can use to determine if this type of surgery is right for them.

• Advertising on local radio and television programming is a must for a clinic. You want everyone that might need your services to know where you are, who you are, how to reach you, and the services you provide.

• Doing volunteer work on occasion is a great marketing tool for cosmetic surgery clinics. The volunteering of your services will be seen as a humanitarian effort and people like to use the services of doctors, surgeons, and professionals that they think of as being humanitarian.

• People like to read informative articles about the different types of procedures that are available. Get a professional writer to write articles about the procedures in language that is easy to understand and publish those articles online, in local periodicals, or newspapers.

… Read the rest

SMS Solutions for Business to Boost Engagement and Revenue

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Introduction

Communication has never been as simple and easy as it is today. Unlike the earlier generation of people who had to depend upon pen and paper to communicate with others, the modern day folks can get their message across in an instant, thanks to the SMS revolution. Today, you can communicate with anyone across the globe and get your message across in a jiffy. This means you can send a text message to your friends, relatives, colleagues, etc and put your viewpoint across. But, did you know that sending SMS messages can also help businesses? Well, it is true. Small and big companies alike are waking up to the reality of how SMS marketing can help their business. Let us understand how messaging can add value to your business.

Cost Effective Market Strategy

It is a huge challenge for many businesses operating in a highly global and competitive environment to remain relevant and profitable. Hence, they work on various strategies to reach out to their customers and at the same time enhance their business potential online. One such strategy that most companies work on is to send SMS Messages to all their customers. Jen Comey with Textedly, “The cost of sending a text message is comparatively lower to other traditional ways of communication. Companies send messages in bulk to customers about their products and services often by hiring a reliable provider.”

SMS Provider

Hiring the services of a provider will enable you to set up your own high volume SMS campaigns by sending a text message to all your business customers. You can send your message to any number of recipients you want to. Most providers allow you to send either regular length or extended length messages of up to 918 characters. The best part is you can start a messaging campaign at your own convenience and as per your business requirements. Further, a provider will send all customer replies to your email address or in a spreadsheet so that you can download and review it later.

Bring in More Customers

Sending Sms messages in bulk can help in driving more customer traffic to your website. It also enables you to promote your company and its products directly to the customer’s mobile. Customers can also learn about the latest products and also know about the latest offers and discounts. Studies have shown that there is a 90% chance … Read the rest