We’ve launched version 7.0 of our service which includes many new improvements!
- Faster phone support, and less need for it
- Faster email support, and less need for it
- Client dashboard where they can manage their own account
- Improved service plan which includes a more well rounded approach

We surveyed our clients, about 1,522 responded to our survey of what they think would drastically improve everything for both them and us, and we listened. It was hard work, and very expensive, but we implemented fantastic new features, without raising our prices.

So far the response has been fantastic, thank you so much to everyone who keeps in contact with us.

Some of our favorite twitters in September:

“Overflow Cafe moved us to page 1 and our sales increased by 130% in about 14 months. Advertising costs are down significantly” – client

Grow your business one step at a time. If you do one thing each day that moves you forward, you’ll reach your goals, so don’t sit still!

“Our sales are up almost 320% after 12 months thanks to Overflow’s marketing services. They do good work and we are impressed.” – Terry

This shopping perk has gone from a rare bonus to almost an entitlement in consumers’ minds. Nearly half of transactions last year involved free shipping, and 61 percent of consumers say they will cancel their purchase if free shipping isn’t offered, according to a recent comScore survey.

There’s more than one way to offer free shipping, though. Each has its own drawbacks and advantages. Here’s a look at seven types of free-ship offers, as compiled by the website FreeShipping.org, which collects information on free-shipping discount codes.

1.All free, all the time. This offer is rarer all the time, but some retailers do offer totally free shipping. L.L. Bean, Nordstrom and Sears are among the major retailers that offer this deal, FreeShipping reports.
 
2.Free shipping — to members only. Think Amazon Prime here. You pay an annual fee to join the ‘club,’ and then your shipping is free. FreeShipping.org describes this mode as “increasingly prevalent.”
 
3.Free shipping with a minimum order size. This one has been making America buy one more item than we really needed probably since catalogs were invented more than a hundred years ago.
 
4.Free shipping, only on certain items. A tried and true method for getting rid of the item you’ve overstocked or that has the best margins. Providing a preference for free shipping drives customers to choose the items you’ve put the free shipping offer on over your other goods.
 
5.Free site-to-store shipping. This one is gaining ground too, especially with big chains that have many locations. In this scheme, it’s free if you’ll drop by the store to pick it up.
 
6.Free return shipping. Nearly everyone does this in apparel. Otherwise, there’s basically no other way to get you to buy the stuff via catalog or online.
 
7.Flat-rate shipping. OK, it’s not completely free, but it usually represents a substantial discount over what consumers might have paid for shipping otherwise. So part of the shipping cost is free, and the cost is contained at one low rate to prevent unpleasant shipping-bill surprises.

Here’s the original article: http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/220215

Q: Which business apps should I put in the cloud, and which should I keep in-house to avoid a security breach?

Cloud services are rapidly becoming a more efficient, more scalable and less costly way for small businesses to manage data, applications and websites. Both public and private cloud services let businesses keep IT overhead low while encouraging flexibility for users to access corporate data from just about anywhere on any device.

But some high-profile outages and mishaps within the last year serve as a reminder that outsourcing IT to the cloud does not come without risk. Last April, a cloud data center outage affected Amazon Web Services clients. A Google Gmail outage two months earlier resulted in some business clients losing e-mails.

Read the rest of the article here: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220230

Entrepreneurs need to keep up with the new business-related words and lingo that pop up almost every day. The publishers of the Concise Oxford Dictionary have added 400 new words to the 12th edition of the publication, so we thought it might be useful to take a look at the new terms. Turns out several apply to business.

We’ve selected the 10 need-to-know new words. Whether or not you start using them in your own business dialogues is, well, up to you.

1. Light-bulb moment
Definition: (noun) A moment of sudden realization, enlightenment, or inspiration.
Example: “Sales at my company were plummeting, but then had a light-bulb moment and knew exactly how to turn things around.”

2. Cross-functional
Definition: (adjective) Denoting or relating to a system whereby people from different areas of an organization work together as a team.
Example: “If we’re ever going to boost productivity, everyone will need to improve their cross-functional capabilities.”

3. Retweet
Definition: (verb) On the social networking service Twitter, to repost or forward a message posted by another user. (noun) A reposted or forwarded message on Twitter.
Example: “My company is blowing up on Twitter. My posts are retweeted constantly.”

4. Geolocation
Definition: (noun) The process or technique of identifying the location of a person or device by means of digital information processed via the Internet.
Example: “Business is up at my restaurant since I started this geolocation-based mobile marketing campaign.”

5. Contractionary
Definition: (adjective) Causing or relating to the contraction of a country’s economy.
Example: “This darn contractionary economy has really stifled my business growth this year.”

6. Cyberbullying
Definition: (noun) The use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature.
Example: “This person won’t stop harassing my business over Twitter. He’s practically a cyberbully.”

7. Textspeak
Definition: (noun) Language regarded as characteristic of text messages, consisting of abbreviations, initials, emoticons, etc.
Example: “If you even think about using textspeak in our marketing copy, I will not R-O-T-F-L. For the uninitiated, ROTFL stands for rolling on the floor laughing.”

8. Webisode
Definition: (noun) A short film, advertisement, or episode of a television series, made for online viewing. A blend of Web and Episode.
Example: “For our next webisode on YouTube, let’s think of a way to incorporate customer testimonials.”

9. Denialist
Definition: (noun) A person who refuses to admit the truth of a concept or proposition that is supported by the majority of scientific or historical evidence.
Example: “I’m the boss. I’m always right and you know it. Stop being a denialist.”

10. Bajillion
Definitiion: (noun) An extremely large number.
Example: “I’m an entrepreneur so, obviously, I have a bajillion things to do.”

See original article here http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/220228

On the front-door frame are horizontal lines with names and dates marking the heights of the neighborhood kids who have wandered in. To the right is a corner with antique guitars, banjos and mandolins. Over the years this 1914 building has served as everything from a general store to a gas station to a hair salon, and there has always been a place for locals to strum. Most shops with costly instruments on display wouldn’t allow just anyone to pick them up and play, but for Cirimelli, the functionality of an antique is part of what contributes to its value as an objet d’art.

Cirimelli, an interior designer, and her husband, a music producer, relocated to this bucolic town from California in 2003. She opened Serenite Maison as a way to continue to offer clients her chic, history-inspired designs.

“We brought French chandeliers to the town of Leiper’s Fork, and they truly embraced it,” she says. Serenite Maison outgrew its 300-square-foot space in just nine months. Less than a year later, the store was too big for its new 600-square-foot location. More than seven years ago, Cirimelli moved into the historic current space, which has more room for the general-store counters, pie safes and other oversize pieces she favors.

Cirimelli stocks a few new items at the request of locals (like soaps and candles), but the majority of her inventory is made up of vintage pieces she finds on picking trips across the U.S., England and France. Cirimelli is a friend of Mike Wolfe of American Pickers fame (Wolfe was a picker for Marty Hunt, a Leiper’s Fork matriarch and Serenite Maison’s landlord). Cirimelli appeared on the History channel TV show in the second season, helping to design a project for actor William Shatner, and the two share finds from their travels. Like Wolfe, she is drawn to formerly functional pieces, and encourages her clients to reuse pieces for more than strictly decorative purposes.

Read the original artlce here http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220180

“Everything is different now. So much is worth so much less than it used to be,” says antiques expert Terry Kovel. “Styles and tastes have changed.”

That transformation of the antiques and collectibles segment corresponds with an influx of new full-time and part-time sellers. Online marketplaces like eBay and Etsy offer established digital channels for fledgling dealers to reach customers across the globe. Antiques shows, flea markets and church bazaars present opportunities to interact with collectors up close without paying rent on a retail space.

Read the rest of the article here: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220182

Read the full article here: http://smallbusiness.aol.com/2011/03/18/meet-the-10-year-old-ceo-of-a-500-000-family-business/?ncid=webmail

During the month of February we’ve seen a few of our clients fail and a few of them succeed, it’s not always a science, so don’t be discouraged. Business is tough for everyone, even large corporations that enjoy large profits.

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–  

  Groupon Raises, Like, A Billion Dollars

 Investment to Continue Rapid Growth of Global Social Commerce Platform

 Today Groupon announced that it has completed a $950 million round of financing. Groupon will use the funds to fuel global expansion, invest in technology, and provide liquidity for employees and early investors.

 The financing consists of several venture capital firms and late-stage investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures, DST, Greylock Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Maverick Capital, Silver Lake and Technology Crossover Ventures. Allen & Company LLC acted as financial advisor. Previous funding rounds were led by New Enterprise Associates, Accel Partners, Mail.ru Group and DST.

 In the last year, Groupon has been called “the fastest growing company ever” by Forbes Magazine and “America’s best website” by one of Groupon’s television commercials. In 2010, Groupon:

 Expanded from 1 to 35 countries

• Launched in almost 500 new markets (from 30 markets in 2009)
• Grew subscribers by 2,500% from 2 million to over 50 million
• Saved consumers over $1.5 billion
• Worked with 58,000 local businesses, serving over 100,000 deals worldwide

 “We’re thrilled that Groupon has earned the confidence of some of the world’s most respected investment firms,” said Andrew Mason, founder and CEO of Groupon. “With their support, we will continue on our mission to change the way people shop locally and serve the world’s local businesses.”

Small business owners face many financial management challenges as they operate their businesses. It’s the beginning of a New Year and most small business owners are making their New Year’s Resolutions about their businesses. Here’s what you should promise to do about your finance operations in 2011!

1. I promise to better manage my cash flow.

   Cash flow is the life blood of any business. Even if you show a profit on your income or profit and loss statement, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have enough cash flow to pay your monthly bills. Your firm will fail if you focus only on profit at the expense of cash flow. Many individuals new to business have to learn this the hard way – by running short on cash. It takes cash to pay your suppliers, meet your payroll every week, and outfit your office. Prepare a cash budget at least monthly and a Statement of Cash Flows along with your other financial statements. It will make running your company so much easier and will help maximize your profit in the end. Cash management is crucial for all firm operations.

2. I promise to prepare a business budget at the beginning of every budgeting period, stick to it to the extent possible, and change it with thoughtfulness when need be.

   The budget for your company is your plan of action. Determine what you want your planning period to be and determine what your budget should be for that period. Your first step should be to put together a budget worksheet with entries for both the income you expect to receive and the expenses you expect to incur during the budgetary period.

   It is always a good idea to establish your budget worksheet upfront and, even if your firm does not receive income from every source or have every type of possible expense each planning period, have a line item for it just in case. Any deviations that you have to make from your worksheet should be reflected in your next budget planning period.

3. I promise to focus on ways to increase my sales revenue during 2011.

   If you don’t accept credit cards, now may be the time to start. If you don’t have an online sales presence, you may need to investigate the possibility of establishing that presence. Anything, within reason, that you can do to reach your customer base that will pump up your sales revenue may help increase your profit and cash flow during 2011.

4. I promise to better monitor my customer’s credit accounts during 2011.

   If you have made the decision to offer credit to your customers, then you have to keep an eye on how your customers keep up with their payments. Preparing and monitoring an aging schedule of your accounts receivable will allow you to do that.

5. I promise to keep better track of my inventory during 2010.

   Inventory is the least liquid current asset that your company has. In order to get rid of it, you have to find a buyer, which isn’t always easy. You want to hold the least amount of inventory that you can to satisfy the demands of your customers without stocking out. There are costs to holding too much inventory and those are costs you want to minimize. Many small businesses do not keep a close enough eye on the amount of inventory on their shelves and end up cutting into their profits because of it.

   Generally, about 80% of your sales are generated by 20% of your inventory investment. The rest of your inventory may be dead or slow-moving inventory. Resolve, in 2010, to go through your inventory and make more of it productive and less obsolete.

6. I promise to focus on setting a reasonable price for the product or service my business offers.

   In a recovering economy, a business should focus on three factors when pricing a product or service. Those factors are market demand, the cost of production, and the markup on the product or service the firm simply has to have to operate. Those are the factors a business owner must take into consideration when pricing their product or service for the market.

7. I promise to analyze my financial statements each accounting period and try to forecast the future for my company.

   The only way you know how your company is doing is to analyze the financial statements you develop at the end of each accounting period. You need to use financial analysis to look at trends in your company and to compare your company with other companies in the same industry. This is called comparative financial analysis. You can then make adjustments to get your firm back on the right track if you find any problems.

8. I promise to keep better tax records in the future.

   If you use a computerized accounting program, this resolution should be pretty easy since the software will do the work for you. But remember the old computer adage! Garbage in, garbage out! Enter your accounting receipts on a daily basis. Your software is only as good as the information you give it.

   The only way to keep the end of your tax year from being a nightmare is to keep good tax records. It doesn’t matter who does your taxes – you, your bookkeeper, or an outside CPA or accountant. You are ultimately responsible for supplying the receipts and documentation as well as paying the bill. If you will keep your tax receipts organized during the tax year, then the end of the year will be easy.

   Organized receipts serve other purposes. They make it less likely that you will be audited by the Internal Revenue Service which no one wants. They ensure that you find all the deductions to which you are entitled which lowers your tax liability. They are at your fingertips if you find a mistake on a past tax return and need to file an amended return. Don’t forget that keeping track of the mileage that you drive for business purposes is part of this process.