Small Business Loans

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Packing Popcorn needed on Sunday....?

Does anybody know where I can purchase this on a Sunday? It is urgent and I cannot think straight. I need any kind of packing material for a shipping box! HELP!


Thanks ahead of time.



Kinkos-Fed Ex is open with that; Office Depot etc carries some packing material; Target has some as well (probably Walmart too)

What is the best tool to manage my ebay sales with?

What software/tool can i use to manag my ebay sales?





Ill be selling the same 4-5 items so it will get confusing as ill be (hopefully) selling hundreds of them. What tools/software can you recommend that make it easier to list items, print shipping labels, track sales etc?



I am really happy with Auctiva - the price is right (free!) and it has a nice inventory management feature to do exactly what you're looking for. It can be a little slow sometimes, though.





Another option is Seller Sourcebook - I haven't used it myself as I only post about 5-10 items per week, but I know PowerSellers who rave about it. I think it costs about $10/month or so.




You can use one of ebay's selling tools.





At the top of ebay's homepage click on Site Map. Scroll down to Selling Tools. Choose Selling Manager, Selling Manager Pro or Turbo Lister. Which ever one is better for what you would like to do. I recommend Selling Manager Pro because you can automatically list and relist items and leave feedback automatically. You can always use paypal bulk shipping tool to print out your shipping labels in bulk.

What are some products that are not in the Spain market?

It is for a business report.


I am trying to find products that are not in the Spain market.





Any help would be appreciated, thank you.



Any British food.

Do i have to sell what i won?

i have hospital bills, need to pay..


do you think its okay to sell it?


i just won a digital camera.


was it ok to sell or it will cut your luck if you sell what you won... was it true?



Sell the camera and pay your bills. There is nothing worse than the drowning feeling of debt. Not to mention what it will do to your credit rating. If you have a way to pay off or pay down your hospital bill, take it.


You were lucky enough to win a way to pay a bill, the camera won't be missed, neither will the interest fees or the stress of the hospital bill.




There's no such thing as luck, it's kind of a joke, or story. Don't worry about it.




Sell it, bills are more important than worrying about luck.




sell it




yes

Would you please answer my ebay question?

Go into my questions and look for the other question.



Okay...

Question about Reselling?

So, this just popped into my head and I was wondering if it was legal. Most businesses get their products from distributors across the country, and this is a variation of that.


Say you start a business(not online) based upon reselling items the same way except the way you collect those items to resell is by places like Ebay/craiglist, or more reputable online


distributors like Newegg.ca and others(collecting receipts and what have you for these items also).





Any ideas on how or if that is legal?



yes

Will I win this small claim, customer refuses to pay me for freelance job?

I am a graphic designer. I accepted a freelance contract to put together a publication for small publishing company for $1500 (worth 3k industry standard but I needed the money).


I had them sign a simple contract. They failed to fulfill several of the agreements. They were late in paying the "starting fee". The duration to complete the project was reduced. They were terribly disorganized and unprofessional, sending me material up to the night of the deadline, never providing a proper master list etc. They had me ship directly to printer without reviewing/approving it themselves (despite my recommendation).


As a result, 1 editorial was omitted that I had received and should have included. I was notified of this after sending the first 30 days past due billing notice. I responded at that time, explaining what must have happened and apologizing. Now after more than 60 days past due they have failed to pay and demand I discount my price. I feel that they were equally responsible for the error, and I fulfilled my obligations under the contract. I completed the job as agreed even with the reduced deadline. There were no specifics on accuracy/quality etc.





If I go to small claims what are my chances of winning? I've been told by the better business bureau that I met my obligation, despite the omission (since there was nothing in the contract) but I'm worried this will get dragged out and I'll never get my money.





I can't afford an attorney. Does anyone know of free legal resources (online or otherwise) that can help small business owners?



First, I'm not a lawyer, so this isn't legal advice.





Second, it's impossible to predict what can happen in court; even lawyers will tell you that.





However, I do have 35 years of writing, editing, and publishing experience--newsletters, magazines, etc.





OK. Most of what you describe has no bearing on the issue.





The key sentence in your question is: "They had me ship directly to printer without reviewing/approving it themselves (despite my recommendation)." It was their responsibility to review what you sent the printer. It sounds as if they waived that responsibility. If so, then you should be off the hook. Additionally, didn't the printer provide a blueline or PDF proofs to them? If so, that would further strengthen your case, but even without that, if they declined to review the material, then the responsibility is on them.





As a side note, if you're discounting $3,000 jobs to $1,500 and don't have enough money for a lawyer (look, you can get some legal coverage from outfits like PrePaid Legal for about $40 a month), then you might want to rethink your current career path. You're probably an excellent designer, but it takes business savvy--and the guts to stand up to toxic clients--to stay in business.





Good luck.




Yes you will win, but you will need a lawyer because if you do it your self, it will drag out. I filed for a small claim and tried to deal with it myself but it dragged out for 2 years. I got a lawyer and he took care of it in 4 months. I garnished their wadges and finally got my money back.


Also it depends on if they owe more than you will pay out of pocket to settle the case.





Good luck.




It is impossible to say without reading the contract. If you state clearly what you were being paid to do, and when you were to be paid, you should not need an attorny, and will likely win an uncontested settlement. However, that doesn't guarantee they will pay you, and good luck collecting from the deadbeats.




If I were you, I would negotiate with them on their offer to reduce the price and get this over with, and chalk it up to "lesson learned" because to pursue this is small claims court would cost you more in time and money than what they owe you...do the math...





Your time is worth money...when you do the math, you'll see that the best thing to do is try to be reasonable (even if you don't feel it) and get them to pay you by reducing the price...you've already lost too much in this situation, so let's not throw good money after bad...





That's what I would do...if I were you...(Son of an Attorney...that would be his recommendation...)





(Also: Don't ever let the customer or client see you act angry or say anything in anger...rule number one...always sound and "be" reasonable and accommodating (even when the situation makes you want to punch somebody in the nose...This is all advice my own Lawyer Dad gave me when I got out of college...)




First of all, I have to say that I am an attorney and I have to agree with some of the other comments. Specifically, there is no guarantee you will win. But it sounds like a pretty simple case because you are not getting paid for the work performed.





More importantly, I wanted to comment on the comments this thing can be dragged out over time and you need to hire a lawyer. I do not necessarily agree with that comment because Small Claims Courts are just that ~ courts for small claims. They are designed to handle these types of disputes in a quick and efficient manner. They are also designed for people to address these disputes without having to get a lawyer (this does not mean you can't get one, or the other side can't get one because they can).





I suggest you contact the local Justice of the Peace office for Fort Bend County. I am sure they are even on the web. When you call, they will tell you the method and manner of filing a small claims. You might be surprised how quickly this can get resolved. I am not saying it will be resolved in days, but it might take 60-90 days.





Anyway, I hope this helps.

Can I validate a doctor

I supervise about 25 employees and have 2 with slight attendance problems. Employee #1 called and said she broke down on her way to work and her car was being towed to the shop. When I asked for a receipt, she admitted she lied and said she was really at home but was fighting with her boyfriend. I wrote her up for dishonesty and told her she would be terminated if it ever happened again.





A few days later, employee #2 said she couldn't come to work because she had an infection and headache and was going to the doctor. I asked for a receipt again. Employee #1 came and said it was a lie and employee #2 was really going to a concert. She said employee #2 told her she was faking a receipt for me.





Today I have the receipt. It is not signed by a doctor and it has no phone number but the address is there. I googled the address and it has the name of the doctor at that clinic, but she got the first name wrong.





Do I confront her?



Due to hippa the doctor''s office can not say anything but I would call the office and speak to the office manager and just ask if she can confirm that this receipt is from the doc's office.




I think so, I think you need to ask her for the phone number (she will probably give you the real one) and ask the doctor about it.





I would give her one more chance before you confront the doctor, to admitt it, though. And have the consequences of employee #1. If she gives you the phone number and figure out it was fake, terminate her.





If employee #1 was lying, terminate her.




I don't think legally you can. HIPPA law prevents doctors from releasing personal information. Also ask yourself does employee #1 have a problem with employee #2? It sounds awfully suspicious that she would say this about a fellow employee just days after she got in trouble for a similar thing.




Yes, confront her. Your employees right to privacy says that they cannot discuss any personal information, but they might be able to validate whether or not the person was treated there. Do you have an HR department you could safely refer the matter to?




That doesn't even sound like a receipt. I say confront her.

How much should I charge an hour?

For 9th grade Science (Physical Science) Tutoring. Next year to the Freshmans. I was thinking like $20.00 an hour, but there just Freshman. Hmmm...



I think $20 is a good rate. I know other kids that are charging $20.




Wrong question.





You should be asking, "Am I qualified to tutor anyone?"





And the answer is, "No. Given your grasp of the English language, you should not be tutoring anybody. You should be taking remedial English courses."





If a person with your poor grammar and spelling showed up to tutor my child, I would kick you out in less than 5 minutes.




maybe ten a good rate because they are just freshman give them a break they are going through a lot of changes because they are just new in high school

What

I%26#039;m purchasing 60,000 business in California and seller%26#039;s agent is asking for $3000 deposit. Is that normal? I was planning to put just 2% of the purchase price. There is no competitor and this business been out in the market for over a year. Do I have a good leverage to negotiate?





Thank you for your help!



In this environment, the buyer rules... I would inform him that you are willing to put down 2% only. If he is unable to accept this, then I would find yourself another business to buy... And yes, you always have leverage as long as you are willing to walk away. And walking away should always be an option...





Also, be careful with this %26quot;no competitor%26quot; argument... If the business was so good, then the seller would be an idiot to sell in such a depressed economic environment. He is selling because he has to, and this one fact should naturally depress the price...


%0D%0A

I am working on my home website and would like opinions on any changes needed?

i need blunt, unbiased input. i am starting to work on it so there isn't alot of info on the site i will be adding links to my affiliate sites (walmart, budk, happy bunny, etc). i also have two other sites, these are the stores.


www.iceislimited.org


www.shopsbyiceisonline.com


www.webshopsbyiceis.com


i will be using the profits to fund the more philanthropic side of my business-helping homeless families get back on their feet



Hi. First off let me commend you on what you are doing! May God bless you in every way towards the success of your heartfelt project.





Your first listed, www.iceislimited.org, site still needs some work as you know. You may want to add a Contact tab, possibly move your mission statement to the Home page. The Section "OUR MISSION" may also need separated, parts about ICEIS going on Home page and other parts about yourself onto the About Us section. This will not only help organize it better, but will separate it for easier reading. I found that most people will not even spend the time scrolling down a page so they may miss important content that you may have towards bottom of the page. Always check for typing errors, but I know you are not quite done with it yet. The fonts, for the tabs, should all be in CAPS or all in Upper and Lower case. In your FAQ section, you can place your own questions/answers in there to start with, something you perceive someone asking. Example: someone might ask you if they can sell things on your site or link to your shops, so you can put that question and answer in there just in case a visitor is already thinking about it. Your legal info tab, not sure it is my pc or what, but it comes out with one document over the top of another. You maybe want to just put 2 links in there that take the visitor to both documents for full readability.





www.shopsbyiceisonline.com looks ok





www.webshopsbyiceis.com looks ok visually, but I checked your source code and your are missing meta tags and keywords. The search engines will never find your site without them.





Hope this helped! Good luck!

How do you get your money on ebay?

So, i have so much clothes that i don't wear anymore and don't really want it. i heard about platos closet and was thinking of taking my stuff there. now that i researched it, i found out they only want things that are "in" right now and you don't even get that much money for it. after that idea, i thought of ebay. how exactly do you get your money once you sell something? do you get it in cash? is it worth it to try platos closet and/or ebay?





HELP!!!!!



you get it through paypal. it goes into your paypal account. after that you can have it trasferred to your bank account for free, put on a paypal debit card for free, or pay them to send you a check

What do people want to buy?

I would like to make something that people want so I can sell it, but I don't know what people want to buy, I understand different people want different things, but can you give me a few ideas? Thanks!!



Mostly because it sounds enticing. Say, you want to sell some potato chips, that you say are amazing, but incidentally, they are horrible. Saying they are amazing can have a negative or positive impact. A good thing to sell is probably some software (Such as a game made on RPG Maker), home-made cookies at your school or work office, etc. I would recommend the RPG part if your a hardcore gamer (Sorry, I'm just presuming your a little young)




Nothing. The economy sucks, people are buying only what they absolutely have to. This is the worse possible time to try and start a business.

I wanna find out all about how long u can work.......?

well im 13 and want a part time job like after scool and sundays and stuff. I just wondered what the rules were and what jobs i can do that i could be paid for because i need a bit of extra money seeing as i am going to have to start paying for stuff in year 9 and that so..



All I can think of for your age is a paper round.


My son is 13, and gets paid 22.50 a week. It may differ where you are. He does the morning, and afternoon rounds.


I dont think you can work b4 7 in the morning at that age.





Other than leafleting, you could try doing jobs for family, friends and neighbours. Washing the car, mowing the lawn....a regular babysitting job will help bring in some extra cash!




you need to look up federal and state child labor law and this will give you the information that you need

How to learn to become a contractor?

I want to become a licensed contractor before I start to build my own house.



You need either a 4 year degree like a ba or 4 years experience in the field and then you qualify to take the test. There are plenty of GC test prep websites just google it

How much money can you make by owning your own bake shop?

That depends on one heck of a lot of variables. Your cooking skill, your business acumen, your advertising, your presentation, your work ethic, your location, your target market, the condition of the economy and how it affects demand for your product in your area, etc.





You could make a lot of money if you are lucky and play everything right, and have a great product to offer. Most often, with small standard businesses like this, you struggle to break even for years while building your clientele. You could lose your shirt from poor choices or simply bad luck or bad timing.




ummm well it all depends on the amount of business u get


sooo if u get good business...u get paid ALOT


if not....its gonna be tough




It depends where the location is and no offense...how well it tastes




A lot.

I am trying to start a small candy bizz, but I am having trouble with my selling price..?

how much would you expect to pay for one pound of hand made/pulled %26#039;hard candy%26#039; sticks? I know it depends on if the candy is good..I have given out 3 batches so far and everyone loves the candy and thinks the flavoring is just right. So how much would you want to pay? A pound is a nice amount, bigger than a handfull. So your in a candy shop, you%26#039;ve tried it, you like it and you want to buy some. I want to avoid that surprised look that I usually give people just before i walk out of the shop after they tell me how much it cost. Some of these places are crazy with their prices..i dont want to do that.





Thanks for your opinions



start by looking at the cost for you to make the candy, take into consideration all the ingredients, add to that the cost of utilities used to make the candy. next look at your indirect costs , packaging, insurance rent ect, next calculate your labor if you have to cook for 3 hours to make 30 lbs of candy your time is worth something. Add all those together and devide that by the quanity produced. Last item is your profit, look to get from 25% to 35% profit on top of the above costs.


%0D%0A

Chickens and feeding.?

I have around 80 hens and about seven roosters.


My question is how much do I feed them I always have plenty of feed. But


Could I be over feeding them? . also I am getting a few to many roosters


What is the right amount ?how many rooster to a bunch of hens ?thank you



you can have one rooster and 80 hens but I do not think he could get to them all I think 10 or 11 to one is a good ratio





I usually feed about 1/2 cup scratch per bird are they caged or in pen or free range?




It only takes one rooster in my experience.. but I like to hear them crow all hours day and night.. really.. we keep feed out but they eat poop and sleep and lay eggs .. so not sure the right amount we just know our chickens.. yes a bunch have names...and are more like pets... Have had to give away some roosters as they were mean mean.. like attack roosters but some are good to keep the hens safe.. have some no account male ducks who've let the females be eaten by something// I just know my critters is all.




just keep on giving them food and when they are full they will stop eating

Where is an online place that i can barter?

www.craigslist.com




Type "barter" and other key words like your city or state at Yahoo.groups

How to sell things online underage?

Hi, my brother has a lot of unwanted stuff(Mainly cards) that he needs to sell. He is under 18, but I am 18 and have a credit card/paypal account. Is there any way for him to sell his things online(I will inspect his sales), even though he is a minor? He will most likely sell his things through eBay.



So why not work together, operating under your name, and let him see all the details. Give him most of the profit or work out a share scheme until he is old enough to do it himself.




Make him an account. If he buys things, just whoop his ***. You are older anyways. I don't see how that is a problem. Making him an account seems pretty simple.

Starting a small business on ebay?

I am planning on starting a little business on ebay. Nothing big, but hopefully I can get a little pocket money out of it (I'm a poor college student lol). I'm going to make lotions, bath salt, etc and sell them.





Will I need a license for this (since I'll be making the stuff that I'm selling)?





Also, I've heard about a tax id. Will I have to get one?



If you are selling it under your own brand name then yes you need to have a license for it as well as tax id for physical products.





If you are doing as your hobby then I think there are many people on Ebay who does the same thing without having the license and all those things. You rather check out Ebay's Terms and Conditions on their website before starting your small business . Or you can also speak with their customer representatives related to their terms and conditions.





In this way you will get a better idea of how to sell on ebay in a proper way. I recommend you to check out ebay website.