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PayPal "buttons" can do more than just collect funds.

5/12/2015

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If your small business only sells a handful of items on your website, you do not really need to pay your host's typical $20 monthly upgrade charge for their optional "shopping cart" software.  PayPal let's you create various buttons, e.g., buy now, add to cart, subscribe, donate, checkout, that provide basic shopping cart features for free.  That is, you can allow users to select colors, or sizes, as well as shipping choices by simply copying and pasting some code from PayPal's website onto your website pages.  They offer various customizing options, so do not think that you are just limited to a button that only transfer funds.

To access these features, just go to PayPal and either upgrade your personal account or create a free business account.  Click on the "tools" menu item at the top of your account's home page, and select PayPal buttons to get started.
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Get Some Help to Avoid Stale Content

3/12/2015

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And, yes, I am as guilty as the next.  In particular, blogs that lack any recent postings send at least two messages.  First, you have probably gone out of business but haven't run out of your current website hosting contract.  Or, you are too busy to bother with trying to help your customers unless they want to buy something.  Either message is very damaging to your small business.

If you don't have the time to create content on your own, remember there are inexpensive services where you can cheaply hire professional help like Elance.com, Freelancer.com, Guru.com, or Fiverr.com.
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Don't Hide from Customers

3/12/2015

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I continue to encounter small business clients who are reluctant to post their real contact information on their website.  I always encourage them to post a physical address, a phone number, and an email address so that it is abundantly clear that they are proud of their business and stand behind it personally.  If you are leery because it is a home-based business, then get a P.O. Box, a separate phone number, and an email address based on their website's domain name because an anonymous website contact form is just not enough.  Otherwise, anyone, myself included, will assume that they are just as likely to be some ripoff artist based in eastern Europe or Nigeria.  If you want someone to trust you with their money, then you better trust them first.
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    I developed large-scale systems, both commercial and aerospace, for 40+ years.  There were lessons learned, but the joy of successes more than offset a few pains.  Hopefully, my experienced counsel will help yours be mostly fun.

    Now, I'm often golfing and riding my bike as seen above.  I'm the handsome dude in the brown leather jacket near the middle.

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Managing System Development 101 5-Star Amazon Testimonials:
The book "Managing Systems - Development 101" by James T. Karam is written with the engineer's perspective in mind, specifically targeted towards those technical types who find themselves advancing into positions requiring managerial and oversight responsibilities, in addition to their technical expertise.
As a specific technical type moving more into a managerial role myself, I found the book an easy read (being only 111 pages or so), but dense, in the sense that there are a lot of benchmark figures and information that are hard to assimilate in one simple reading. I'll be using this book as reference in the future.
Duane A. Kaufman, 2010
This is great outline of succinct take-home messages. The subject material is timeless, and as new systems evolve, the advice from this author will remain relevant.
Francha Barker, 2013



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If you are an expert on product development and systems design, read this book. You will certainly come away with additional tools for your toolbox.

If you are a novice or a leader of a product development function, read this book. You will gain valuable insight into the product development process that will enable you to learn, lead, and prosper.

The book is practical and hands-on -- no pie in the sky theory stuff produced by some consulting company.
T. Anderson, 2007