Top Dawg Business Blog

A Purchase Order, often just shortened to PO, is essentially a contract to purchase something. You might decide that you will accept Purchase Orders from an established customer who makes frequent or larger purchases. You would then deliver products and services per the PO, and issue an invoice to the customer for payment upon receipt or within a specified payment term (15 or 30 days is pretty standard.) In order to do business with some larger entities, you may have to accept POs, because their purchasing departments may not have the ability to pay you by credit card, check or PayPal.
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24/7/365 refers to customer service or technical support that is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Spoken as “twenty-four-seven” or “twenty-four-seven-three-sixty-five,” it means phone lines or live chat or email response are open all the time, and don’t take holidays.
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Q - What are some advantages (legal, financial, personal) of being self-employed?

There are many advantages to being self employed as opposed to being employed by someone else. Here is a list of some of the benefits of being self employed:

PERSONAL:

• Be your own Boss
• Set your own schedule
• More time with your family
• Choose the direction for your business

FINANCIAL:

• Be your own Boss
• Tax benefits and reduced taxes for being a business owner
• You directly control the pace at which your business grows
• Your income can grow based on your efforts

LEGAL:

• Tax benefits and reduced taxes for being a business owner

Q - How can I market my home based business off-line?

A - There are many ways to advertise your home business off-line. Networking with co-workers, neighbors, and random people who you wouldn’t ordinarily talk to allows you to announce to everyone you come in contact with that your new business is open. You can join network groups and business seminars, hand out fliers and business cards locally, or even sponsor youth sporting events.

Q - What are the first five steps I should take if I want to set up my home based business?

1. Think About your Goal – What do you want as a result of your home based business? Do you want more free time? More income? Less Stress?

2. Research - Find all business opportunities and home based businesses that will help you reach your goal.

3. Narrow your search to a Top 3 - Find products and services that you feel passionate about providing your customers with. If you can naturally get excited about the products you offer, your customers will see you and your business as a trusted source for information about that product instead of a company trying to make a quick buck.

4. Determine what you are willing to do to reach your goal. Are you willing to put in the extra time on nights and weekends to make your business grow? How about allocating some extra spending money to marketing or advertising your business? What sacrifices are you willing to make to see your business succeed?

5. COMMIT! COMMIT! COMMIT! – Once you have done the research on the home based business that is right for you and you decide to move forward, you must commit yourself to making it successful. Some of the most successful people in the world are people who dedicate themselves to staying focused on their goal, and work hard to make consistent progress.

Q - Do I have any legal obligations as a franchise owner? What are they?

A - Yes. As a home business owner, you are still required to have a business license in your state and possible even your county, depending on state regulations. As a business owner, you will be required to report all sales tax collected through the duration of your business.

Q - I have never sold anything before, what is the best tip you can give me for beginning in sales?

A - Sales are easily made when you are offering a product that is in high demand. Often times, you will have to find a niche with your products to separate your self and your business from the rest of the pack. Maybe your niche can be a unique product within the industry, or unique services that none of your competitors offer. This will help your business stand out from the rest. And once you find your niche….. Dominate it!

If you provide customers with products their looking for, you will never have to push to make the sale. When your selling a product or service that everyone needs, your not going to have spend too much time convincing the customer to buy your products. By opening a store on the internet, selling has become much easier. People can actually search for your product or service nation wide, so it becomes easier and more cost effective to sell your products and services online if possible.