This is a guest post by Joshua Bitton, a freelance writer for Echo Sign online digital signatures.
Modern technology has opened up so many doors for entrepreneurs and sole proprietors, making it easier than ever to start and run a business. With the ability to get email, phone calls, and even credit card payments on the go, and with Internet tools such as shopping carts and e-signatures, business owners today have fewer logistics to worry about when it comes to running their companies — leaving you more time to do the stuff you got into business to do, in the first place.
Online Store, Shopping Cart, Etc.
The Internet has been a favorite business solution for years, but today its capabilities are better than ever. Even more than simple business websites with “About Us” and “Contact Us” pages, company websites these days have sophisticated tools such as online stores, shopping carts, and the ability to accept payment online. In addition, many software programs for businesses now allow your customers to make appointments or fill out a request for service online, saving you time and money from having to pay an employee to do that for you.
Electronic Signatures
Did you know that e-signatures are a perfectly legal form of signature? Ever since President Bill Clinton signed a bill into law making electronic or digital signatures legal and binding, it has enabled companies to do business over the Internet with more ease than ever. If you aren’t set up to collect a legally binding electronic signature, consider a service that will do it for you — you simply give them the signer’s email address and attach the agreement the individual is signing, and the service does the rest.
IPhone Credit Card Payments
The iPhone is the perfect business tool for small businesses and entrepreneurs. One of the greatest business solutions is the ability to take credit card payments with your phone. No more expensive card readers, and no more PayPal — you just have to download an app and, in some cases, buy a tiny little reader that plugs into your iPhone’s audio jack.
There are different services and apps available to enable you to take payments with your iPhone. Most allow you to either key in the credit card number (if the card isn’t present, such as in phone or Internet transactions) or swipe the card using a device that plugs into the audio jack. This is the perfect business solution for small businesses and sole proprietors such as freelance writers and designers, hairstylists, even veterinary practices who make house calls.
Hosted Groupware: Shared Email, Calendars, and Task Lists
Email is one of the modern age’s greatest inventions. Business that used to be done via expensive long-distance phone calls and snail mail can now be resolved quickly and cheaply with a few emails. But when email is the cornerstone of your business, it is especially important that you have a good system in place.
Hosted groupware enables all employees to access their email from any computer or device — some services are even available on smartphones and iPhones. In addition, employees have access to shared calendars, task lists, and all the other tools they are accustomed to using on their computer — only these tools can now be accessed by any computer or compatible device, enabling everyone at your company to keep in touch, stay organized, and above all, do their jobs better than ever before.
Toll Free Numbers and 800 Call Forwarding
Cell phones and more inexpensive toll free services have freed up many small business owners and entrepreneurs. You are no longer tied to your business line: You can get an 800 service to forward your toll-free number to any line, even your cell phone. Some services even allow you to change the number your calls are forwarded to throughout the day, to reflect your availability. Business solutions like this allow you to run your business without putting a damper on your life.
About the Author: Joshua Bitton represents EchoSign, the leader of the 2nd generation of electronic signature solutions – 100% web-based, fully digital signature solutions that do not require digital signature pads, digital certificates or scanning software.
Joshua
Latest posts by Joshua (see all)
- 5 Modern Business Solutions - November 22, 2010
I think the electric signature business might be a great idea
And I think it could be really profitable
Do you know how much people could earn on that business?
I know someone ho had a IPhone Credit Card Payments business. And it really has been a gold mine or him.
The investment wasn´t huge but he managed to make it profitable
Business Solutions help companies get more out of their business by providing faster and easier transactions.
Jonathan would love you to read ..Surecom’s Guide to The ChatBot
Due to fast coming changes in business, the view of people has has been changed toward current businesses and to meet up the business requirements with keeping them in the mind such listed solution could be effective and help to establish better business credit. Thanks for the nice article.
Love the iPhone credit card solution. I will be making a point of investigating further and pushing this solution through our organisation, it is just so user-friendly.
Methods of running business have improved considerably with internet and adopting these methods will surely improve your business.
The online shopping cart and hosted groupwares such as google docs are among the best. The hosted groupware works a lot for homebased writers like me. Its makes monitoring of outputs easier for me and friends who are in the same line of business.
pinky would love you to read ..Is A Instant Approval Credit Card Right For Me
Technology evolves rapidly and one way of keeping up is getting updates regularly, thank you for this post.
Web Marketing Solutions would love you to read ..Crazy Affiliate Summit West Contest Entry
Technology is ever changing, but it is not going anywhere. It is necessary for your company to accept that and go with the flow.
Yes I think modern technology has opened so many doors for entrepreneurs. I think iphone is perfect business tool for business and entrepreneurs, There are so many services and apps available in iphone which enable you in payments.
Technology will benefit more for our business in this era so i think every entrepreneur should focus on that yes smart phones and I-phones will be backbone for business in 21st centaury.
I think we are just starting to boom into the Mobil Device World. We are only getting the tip of the iceberg and technology it is already doing great things. With this kind of technologies in our hand, it has been easier for entrepreneurs to launch websites and make money online…I personally have my online store for some of my products.
This can be another year for the Mobil device world and ready to see coming new great things….
Luis Posselt would love you to read ..Why Word of Mouth Marketing is too Important
Thanks for such great post. I think shopping cart website would be the exact option for sell your products locally or internationally.
According to me smart phones and iPhones has provided revolution in the field in the field of e-commerce
For electronic signing I suggest using echosign : http://www.echosign.com/
Paul would love you to read ..Free eBook – ultimate list of WordPress plugins
If you do not have a lot of money to start off with , I feel that a online shopping cart would be best. You would first have to find a supplier that you can trust and then from there it’s a waiting game. You will have to market your site.
That is cool!
Having online business presence is the solution for many logistics complexities…
Electronic Signatures are blessing.
thanks for such a nice post
The ease of iphone purchases has to be one of the most exciting developments of the last decade. Imagine being told in 1995 that people would be able to download an album by tapping their phone twice?
What does the future hold in store?
Now a days iphone is very much famous for their new technologies. And now it is also used for its credit payment technology. That make our so much of work easy.
Yes Priciyana,
Not to mention that when you pop on the web with your iphone and do a Google search for coffee, Google points you to the nearest coffee shop locations and you can go and get a drink immediately. Technology is wonderful.
Yeah!I agree with you that Internet today developedlop our social life. From store to mall to online shopping. Most of the people today prefer online shopping because they find it more convenient than going to the mall. Aside from that if you are away from town you will just browse on the net and then you can choose what you like from different array of online products on your monitor you will just click it and you don’t need to go to the cashier, credit card will do. This system is very helpful for those people who work 24 hours a day.
Tampa Criminal Defense Lawyer would love you to read ..Florida DUI News – Tampa Man Pleads Guilty To DUI Manslaughter Charges Now Awaiting DUI Sentence
Its a amazing post, i will follow these business solutions when my business reaches it’s release date….doing business is not a easy task, its very hard but such a kind solutions makes it easy…
thank you very much for sharing this…
Very good insight Joshua!, these are the best solutions I have read this month. Thanks for sharing!
I thing these are valuable tips for Business solution. Instead then other business online shopping cart low investment business. We can do it on commission base too.
Thanks for this great post.
Dog cremation urns would love you to read ..How to Buy Funeral Urns for a Pet
These are probably the ultimate business solutions!
With the aggressive shift towards the online business and customer relying more and more on internet,these solutions are the way to survive in the market for all the businesses..
Very helping article
thanks for sharing!..
Businesses who are not capitalizing on these business solutions are missing out. Because the internet has changed the way we live so much. Businesses have to try and reach their target market in a different way. I feel that the business that adapt and utilize these 5 modern business solutions will be the ones who will be open for business for many years to come.
Some good resources there Joshua. Some of them like the toll free numbers and shopping carts are common. I hadn’t heard of the device you mentioned for the iPhone to read credit cards. That could be a great cost-saver for the small business owner. Not to mention it would make taking payments easier if you were mobile like a tradesperson.
I have been waiting for our phones to turn into payment solutions for such a long time now. It makes perfect sense, if everywhere accepted them I could do away with money all together!
Tom would love you to read ..Wireless Parking Sensors UK
If you start it right you definitely earn a lot now. But also remember the Reputation Management is very important as your business is getting bigger.
A great post! I will definitely be considering these when my business reaches its release date! Thanks.
i would like to try online store-shopping cart if can save enough money, maybe will start with amazon.
igoydude would love you to read ..Globe Tattoo Broadband Internet Download Speed is Amazing
I’ve had an online store for quite some time now and tools have definitely gotten a lot better since I started. I’m in no way a techie and I had to hire someone to add a PayPal checkout and a shopping cart to my site but nowadays, even I can add it myself! So many things have gotten easier to do.
We live in the world of competitions and it is necessary to do things that help you to develop and build your business strong. The important way is to use the best technologies so that you are giving the best and latest techniques to your customers. I am sure that the above post will help a lot of people to make their business strong and grow. I have really liked the post and i am sure most people will gain a lot of benefit from it.
hmmm
Thats cool tips to get a small stand in business,,
keep it up
yes, an online shopping cart is one of the most affordable ways to start a business with!
yes these’re great modern tools business but we don’t forget the power social network like facebook. But choose fans page than paid ads, thanks
Much of the web based business is working on these modern ways but these are not affordable by very small business men.
I agree with the top forms of business solutions in you post. But i have read some post with major concerns with data security on iPhone. Do you think this is less a risk to transact through credit cards on iPhone.
Great post ! I think Iphone is really great tool for small business because now it is very popular in the world, and you can start it easier. Thanks for your sharing, very useful !
Clickbank has it´s own inbuilt shoppingcart which is free, so people who make their own products and sell them on clickbank has a lot easier to get affiliates because of this.Clickbank takes care of everything and it supports PayPal as well these days.
Online shopping is the best as in today’s.. As per my consideration, online shopping is the easiest way and convenient option to attached with latest technology… Thanks so much…..
I would personally go with digital signatures as they are gaining popularity this season. By having a digital signature you are in fact proving the document to be valid. You are assuring the recipient that the document is free from forgery or false information.
I think technology has certainly helped small businesses and big businesses as well a lot in the present days. Online stores, toll free numbers, online printing, online payment what not. Everything has become so swift and easy for the business who can now rather put more effort on increasing their productivity
Shiva would love you to read ..Hostgator Black Friday 2010 Special Promotion – 80 Discount
iPhone really is taking over lots of market share from the phones and it does have the great capabilities… Its pretty neat to be able to pay for anything like that but it is also easier to track people…
Well i guess technology is evolving and it is a good thing, its also making us lazy just we need to be sure that we have a system that makes sure that our privacy is not in danger.
That being said i really like the convenience and its both easier and tougher to do this kind of business. Tougher to do this kind of business like the store since there is more competition (you might as well be competing with amazon) i think but also easier since the costs are lower (especially start-up costs) and market is more approachable.
I think the most impressive modern business solution of today is definitely IPhone credit card payments. This allows you to run an efficient business pretty much 24/7. Everybody wants to do things on the go and have the ability to multitask, and with the right app on your Iphone you can definitely do so.
The great thing about 800 numbers; they have become MUCH more affordable then they were just a few years ago.
Dennis Edell would love you to read ..The Time Has Come! The First New Network Blog – SBBC – is Being Launched! Read This Entire post!!
Online stores are a godsend to budding entrepreneurs. Not only do they virtually eliminate one of the biggest costs of starting up a conventional business, that is, putting up the brick-and-mortar establishment, they also give you the opportunity to sell to the whole world.
But my favorite thing is PayPal, which has been a great help as it allows me to receive credit card payments from people, in a free, secure platform (i.e., PayPal) that most people trust, even if I don’t have any credit card reading gadgets at all.
Online store & shopping has already capture the recent market, now Iphone payment & electric signature need to develop very much for the coming time.
Dr Batras would love you to read ..Flat Stomach Fast – Common Myths Debunked
Honestly speaking this is my first time to learn that e-signatures are valid form of signature that can be used in many transactions. Wow. Indeed technology is making its way on our generation. Just can’t imagine what will be the innovations that are going to happen in the future, eh.
Digital signature business is really in this season. By using digital signatures you are eliminating the possibility of committing fraud by an imposter signing the document. Since the digital signature cannot be altered, this makes forging the signature impossible.
I love the post. I am always looking for more ways to free myself up. I have fallen in love with my personal gift shopping online, maybe it is time to get with the times.
I think the internet is becoming a more propitious medium for business and it can even be the future on how we sell and buy our grocery and other products we might need.
Being set to with the necessary services to run such an online business is a great way to start your internet venture and it can lead to establishing an authority and trust with your customers much quickly.
Alex would love you to read ..Camioane tiruri
Can’t emphasize the online shopping cart enough. Make it that much easier to enable impulse buys.
These are great modern tools but I have to throw Social Media into the mix as well. With Social Media, we can monitor our customers and record/watch their interactions with our product and respond to any bad PR we might receive from them. Social Media is definitely a tool for the modern day business man.
David Clay would love you to read ..Auto Power Chair Lift 350
I agree with Andrew, some people dont realise what we have, always wanting faster bigger better, yet not fully utlising what we have now.
I’m not saying that running a business is easy, but with the vast range of tools, software, markets it is certainly a little easier to keep on top of everything rather than swimming around in paper work and chasing people on the phone.
There are surely great tools today that make owning and managing a business fairly easy and sometimes fun too. However, some people just can’t appreciate it, they complain if download is too slow, if there’s no signal. Truly, there are still problems encountered but at least it’s not that major. Just imagine if there’s no email. So I guess we have to be thankful and appreciate all this updated technology that makes life easier. It’s like the video I’ve watched the other day – everything’s easy but nobody’s happy.
The comforts of modern living and advancements in technology sometimes put me in AWE. Today’s businesses are lucky to have taken advantage of this new age. Imagine how much time, money and effort we can save now that tasks can be done online.
Tell me about it. Getting the word out even 20 years ago… yikes!
If you do not have a lot of money to start off with , I feel that a online shopping cart would be best. You would first have to find a supplier that you can trust and then from there it’s a waiting game. You will have to market your site.
Exactly!
When I read articles like this I really wish I lived in a more technology-aware country. Italy isn’t a bad place at all, but pioneering services somewhat lack… example: we got no Hulu, we got no Netflix, we got no OnLive, we are very behind in digital signature services…
At least collaborative softwares aren’t out of our reach, I am surprised Google opted Italy in for their Google Apps suite :p