Full-time Employees or Independent Contractors –Which to Choose?

Melanie James — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 08:54:58 +0000

If you have been managing your home business for a year or longer, perhaps you are considering about hiring employees. Home based business entrepreneurs have two choices- to hire permanent employees or to hire independent contractors. Before making a decision, always weigh the pros and cons of each choice.

Consider Your Options

In order to decide whether to hire full-time workers or freelancers, you need to distinguish the task at hand. What kind of tasks do you need to designate to a worker?

If you need a personal assistant in your home office to do your filings, prepare your documents, answer calls or look after you shop, then what you need is an in-house employee.

However, if you need assistance in marketing your online shop, maintaining your website, or other tasks than can be done online, then you can consider hiring a freelancer.

When it comes to salary, you are more likely to spend more if you’re going to hire an in-house worker. Aside from the monthly salary, you will need to provide your employee with benefits and contribute to their insurance and retirement fund. One advantage of having an in-house employee is that you can directly supervise their work. You can give them instructions and observe their work at any time.

On the contrary, an independent contractor doesn’t require a regular wage nor any benefit. Independent contractors are paid based on their input alone so obviously, you save more. Freelancers can work from their place so you don’t have to pay bills for the electricity or internet connection used to perform the tasks.

Hiring A Freelancer

If you have decided to hire a freelancer or an independent contractor, see to it that you get to know the background of the applicant before hiring his/her service. You need to make sure that your freelancer would be capable to deliver the job on time and the output would meet your expectations. You need to make sure that the applicant has a reliable computer system and internet connection to avoid delays or absences.

Hiring an independent worker who already has experience on the job is best. You’ll want to check the portfolio of the applicant to see his/her previous clients or the companies he/she have worked with. Lastly, if you think you have found the right person do the job for you, prepare an Independent Contractor Agreement and see to it that the contract clearly defines the duties you expect from the worker, including the exact amount of payment you intend to give.

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About the Author:

Melanie James has spent the last 14 years working with businesses to implement quick, effective and inexpensive changes to their businesses to increase productivity and their bottom line.

Accepting Credit Cards – the Way to Building Up Your Customer Base

Melanie James — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:48:15 +0000

If you’re looking for an effective way to increase your customer base, then you should definitely consider accepting credit cards. Whether you’re into selling products or offering services, your business will be a lot more effective if your going to use credit card marketing strategy.

The Age of Plastic

If you still haven’t realized it, you’re living in the plastic age, where credit card is the new money.

Yes. With the convenience that credit cards bring, most people prefer to use them as payment compared to cash whether they’re shopping in a regular store or purchasing from an online market.

Just think about how much your business will be missing out if you go on marketing without accepting credit cards. Your business probably wouldn’t have much improvement for the years to come if you won’t accept credit card payments.

Are Credit Cards Safe?

Some business entrepreneurs reason out that customers are really afraid to make online transactions. True, there may still be a lot of people who are hesitant about purchasing through the internet because they fear credit card fraud and identity theft. However, many businesses have gotten over this obstacle by providing a secured website for their customers.

In fact, many customers are willing to purchase online using their credit cards as long as they are assured that the website is secured and that the online marketer is a legitimate one. Because credit cards allow them to shop conveniently even with their busy schedules, more people still prefer to do online shopping rather than go out of their way to visit the mall or regular stores.

There is a big market of online shoppers out there, and your business needs to reach out to this online market. Yes, you too can strengthen your business and acquire more customer base by providing a secured website that allows customers to use their credit cards and make purchases securely.

Protecting Your Customers

If you’re going to accept credit card payments, one of the first things you should check is that your payment processing page uses Secure Socket Layers (SSL) of at least 128 bit.

This will be reflected with padlock symbol that users will find at the bottom of their browser’s window.

The padlock symbol indicates that the webpage uses security encryption that protects all the information that is entered in the page. With this credit card strategy, you can be assured that your customers will be more confident in making online purchases from your business.

Don’t forget to provide a customer support system for your business as well. When your business accepts credit card payments, you can expect to receive a lot of inquiries from your customers.

Prove to your customers that you’re a reliable business company by responding to their queries quickly and efficiently. Let them know the status of their orders and the purchases they made and assure them that they have made business with the right online merchant.

Truly, accepting credit cards using a secured system will increase your customer base and productivity significantly.

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About the Author:

Melanie James has spent the last 14 years working with businesses to implement quick, effective and inexpensive changes to their businesses to increase productivity and their bottom line.

Merchants Center.com » Business Entrepreneurs

Full-time Employees or Independent Contractors –Which to Choose?

Accepting Credit Cards – the Way to Building Up Your Customer Base