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Ecommerce is booming. It’s estimated that this year there will be a staggering 1.92 billion digital buyers around the world – and that number is only going to grow as time goes on.

It’s no surprise that thousands of budding entrepreneurs continue to launch ecommerce websites with the hope of capturing some of this spectacular growth.  Although ecommerce may seem like it has been around for a long time, it’s still a nascent industry with a lot of room for growth!

In fact, estimates suggest that by 2040, 95% of purchases will be performed via an ecommerce website. Which websites do you think people around the world are going to be using?

They will want the fastest and most performant websites that offer a fast and seamless experience. They will want websites that are built using the absolute best ecommerce platforms.

Here’s a closer look at the best ecommerce platforms to help you launch a stunning website that will give you the best chances of success.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce is a versatile enterprise ecommerce solution that bills itself as the future of ecommerce. The platform aims to lead the new era of ecommerce by taking responsibility for the security and scalability of enterprise operations.

It aims to help businesses accelerate growth rather than complexity while offering robust security and performance. As an open SaaS solution, it offers a world of possibility to enterprise-class organizations.

This level of scale means that it’s not quite as useful for smaller organizations. When it comes to larger businesses, though, the platform is currently used by a wide range of leading brands so it’s certainly got a lot to offer.

It is used across a wide range of industries, too, making the tool even more attractive for certain businesses.

Wix.com

Wix is one of the biggest names in website creation. The website builder offers a powerful what-you-see-is-what-you-get editor that means a person with even the most limited level of knowledge can create a beautiful website.

By empowering domain owners to create the websites that they want, Wix bills itself as the place to create professional websites. The tool also offers a huge range of templates and features, making it easy for website owners to select a range of advanced functionality for their store.

There are a wide variety of pricing features on offer, too, and the online stores are very competitive when compared to those alternatives on offer from competing platforms. In fact, retailers can look forward to getting paid with a variety of methods without having to pay commission on sales.

Woocommerce

Woocommerce is an open source ecommerce platform that is built specifically for WordPress. It is heavily customizable and makes it a breeze for business owners to sell online.

The platform prizes itself on its vast customization abilities. If you really value being able to control your own website and really make it your own, you may find that this is the platform that you’ve been looking for.

Many other users agree, too, and Woocommerce currently powers an incredible 28% of all online stores. This makes it the most popular ecommerce platform on the web and it’s used by a huge range of leading companies.

Those companies choose to work with Woocommerce mostly because it has the ability to support unlimited products, there are a huge range of mobile-friendly templates available, and there are thousands of extensions available. All of this makes the tool incredibly flexible.

The tool is quite complex and developers will be able to tinker with it to get the truly best results possible. With that said, there are a wide range of support teams that are spread across the world. These helpful teams are lauded for their ability to help customers get the best from their platform.

ShoppingCart

This platform is a WordPress theme that bills itself as the next generation in ultra responsive shopping. The theme is easy to customize and site owners can call upon a wide range of components to get their website exactly how they like it.

For those professionals who are familiar with WordPress, too, this might be the natural choice. The fact that it’s a plugin doesn’t detract at all from the functionality and customization options that are on offer – users will find that they can use a range of widgets, menus, logos, color options, and much more.

Of course, the statistics show that people are shopping on mobile devices in greater numbers than ever before – this is why the plugin makes sure that your website looks fantastic whether it’s on desktop, mobile, or a tablet device.

Squarespace

Squarespace was one of the original all-in-one solutions for people looking to create a beautiful website without the difficulties that come with more complex avenues. Everything is covered here including domains, ecommerce, hosting, galleries, analytics, and more.

It’s worth nothing, though, that this big strength also has the potential to become a huge weakness. Some store owners will want to avoid becoming too reliant upon just a single platform for all of their ecommerce needs.

If that isn’t the case, though, many people will be delighted with Squarespace and what it has to offer. They can look forward to using award-winning templates that really do help amateurs to look like experts right from the very beginning. Online stores built with Squarespace look legitimate and inspire customers to browse through and complete their purchases.

Some truly world-class designers have worked on templates that offer a rich product display on the frontend. On the backend, there’s a lot going on: website owners can enjoy automatic inventory management, the ability to sell unlimited products, and powerful shipping calculator features.

This truly is an all-in-one service.

Shopify

Shopify purports that it’s far more than just a piece of ecommerce software. The platform states that it’s also the best ecommerce platform that has everything a business owner could need to sell online, on social media, or in person.

Shopify states that if you have the will to build your business, it has the way. It can help nascent businesses that are just growing and looking to establish themselves on the one hand, while also helping larger enterprises to capitalize upon their existing audience.

The platform does indeed offer more than many of the ecommerce platforms on this list, given that it can also help businesses to sell in-person with point of sale terminals. If you’re going to open a business that is a blend between online and offline business, you might find that Shopify is too good to turn down.

Aside from offering stunning templates and building potential, Shopify can also help business owners to market their business while managing every element of their business including orders, shipping, and payments.

This can all be managed from a centralized platform, giving businesses the insights and knowledge that they need to grow no matter where they are in the world. Lots of apps also integrate directly with Shopify, opening up a world of opportunity.

Shopify really is an exciting platform that has the potential to change ecommerce. if you’re looking for a full solution that can get your business from a-z, you might want to explore this option in more depth.

Weebly

Weebly is a website builder that sticks to the fundamentals. It focuses on giving domain owners the ability to easily create a beautiful store using customizable templates and easy-to-use tools.

The platform boasts that these professional templates can really give people the opportunity to transform and grow their business. Weebly focuses on four key areas for business owners: it helps them to get going with expert guidance on how to launch a website, before giving them access to the website builder. Next, it helps them to simplify the selling process before lending a helping hand when it comes to growth.

Given that payments are processed by Weebly, business owners can look forward to focusing on their business rather than getting bogged down in the logistics and details. This liberates a business owner’s time to help them focus on future growth and new strategies.

Weebly also offer assistance in a range of additional areas like domain management, too, which is a nice touch and really shows how the platform can drive additional value for businesses.

Volusion

Volusion is a piece of ecommerce website store and shopping cart software. The platform suggests that its solution has been proven to sell 4x more when compared to competing hosted shopping carts, so it’s making some bold claims!

Given the quality of the platform, we could see this being the case. The platform gives website builders everything that they need to sell online effectively. This means that they can create a store, sell their products, and grow their business.

Over 180,000 stores are hosted through the Volusion platform, meaning that you don’t have to worry about legitimacy or an ability to scale. There are some really stunning themes on offer here and it’s great fun to whizz through and imagine how your store could be brought to life by one of them.

Like many of the other platforms in this list, Volusion also offers additional assistance with key tasks like inventory management and payment collection. There are also unlimited product options that can be offered via the platform.

Magento

Magento is an ecommerce platform that partners with thousands of retailers and brands around the world. It offers flexible cloud solutions that help businesses to grow quickly and innovate along the way.

The platform suggests that it offers next-generation technology that is capable of offering distinct digital retail experiences to users. This helps businesses and sellers to breathe life into the ecommerce website and set it apart from the competition in a crowded space.

There are a huge range of additional features on offer here, such as the ability to manage Google Shopping Ads through the platform. Businesses will find, though, that this solution doesn’t offer the same WYSIWYG editor as some of the competing platforms on this list.

This can make Magento seem like more of an intricate and formal investment, which might make some businesses hesitant to get involved. Still, if the case studies and customer reviews are anything to judge by, businesses can look forward to a pleasant and professional experience when working with the Magento team.

SiteBuilder

SiteBuilder is more of a traditional website editor tool that empowers businesses to create stunning ecommerce websites.

The platform can help with a wide range of areas such as a site’s domain name, templates, email addresses, hosting, and telephone support. This fuller package can help some confused business owners to get the best results possible with minimal complexity.

The process of working with SiteBuilder seems very straightforward again, with just three simple steps standing between a business owner and their amazing new online store. As with Magento, though, some business owners will find that this is not quite as flexible and free as some of the other options on this list.

You should be sure to compare pricing and more in order to make sure that this really is the best option for your needs – there’s no harm in shopping around and doing your research!

Good Luck Finding Your Ecommerce Platform

As you can see, there are lots of potential ecommerce providers out there. It’s a competitive space and there are lots of driven and talented companies looking for provide for the many online sellers out there.

This competition is a good thing and while it means that it can often be a little more complicated to find the option that’s right for you, it means that some truly wonderful products are on the market now.

We hope that this closer look at the ten absolute best ecommerce platforms has been useful for you! There’s a lot to consider and we can imagine that it will take you a long time until you find the option that’s right for you – we’re sure that once you find the right option, though, the sky will be the limit!

How are Marijuana Business loans possible?

With cannabis now legalized in many states and legislation in place to expand that further, the cannabis industry has exploded into a multi-billion dollar industry practically overnight. 

However, regulations surrounding the cannabis industry are strict and tricky to navigate, making acquiring cannabis business loans difficult for any Marijuana-based business.

Why is it so challenging to get financing for your cannabis business, and what can you do about it? 

The challenge of Obtaining Cannabis Business Loans

The heart of the challenge of obtaining cannabis business financing comes from the legalities behind cannabis itself. 

Cannabis is now legal for recreational use in 11 different states, with more states expected to pass legislation in the near future:

• Alaska
• California
• Colorado
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Nevada
• Oregon
• Vermont
• Washington
• Washington D.C.

However, cannabis isn’t legal on the federal level, and that’s where the main challenge arises in terms of obtaining financing.

All banks are regulated by the federal government (even the little ones) and are required to flag illegal transactions under the Bank Secrecy Act based on federal law. That means they must fall in line with the law or risk huge fines– or much worse. 

As a result, you can’t walk into your local bank and open any kind of business account (including a loan) as a cannabis business.  Making it very difficult for a federally chartered bank to provide any Marijuana Business loans.

The good news is, there are alternatives. 

Alternative options for obtaining cannabis financing

Fortunately, federal law nor compliance keep you from being able to acquire business financing. You just need to know where to look to get it. 

If your local bank and credit unions have turned you away, consider these options for obtaining the capital your cannabis business needs:

Equity financing

Equity financing is one of the best routes to go with any cannabis business as the industry is considered very desirable among investors.

With equity financing, you can go two different routes, venture capital or angel investing:

Venture capital

Obtain seed funding from venture capitalists specific to the cannabis industry. 

See the most current list of VCs at New Cannabis Ventures and take some time to search for cannabis-specific VCs such as Snoop Dogg’s Casa Verde Capital. 

Angel investing

Similar to venture capital, acquiring angel investors is another viable route for cannabis business loans with its own set of benefits. 

With angel investing, you have more control due to no one investor having such a prominent position of power over the company as in the case of a VC. 

AngelList is the best place to find angel investors and you can do a cannabis-specific search to identify investors who have specifically identified themselves as interested in investing in cannabis-related businesses here. 

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is another great option for obtaining a cannabis business loan. 

Both Kickstarter and Indiegogo, the two most prominent crowdfunding platforms online, are decent options for funding your startup or next product. 

In addition to the major platforms, cannabis-specific sites exist as well and may serve as better platforms. Cannabis crowdfunding sites include Fundanna and CannaFundr. 

Alternative lending

Another great option for obtaining funding for any kind of cannabis-related business is alternative lending.

If you’re interested in obtaining a more traditional loan and don’t want to have to answer to investors, alternative lending is a solution to the lack of bank funding. That’s because many alternative lenders openly work with and lend to cannabis businesses. 

Alternative lending is an umbrella term referring to any financial product offered by an alternative or private lender.

Within that umbrella, there are several options for financing your cannabis business: 

Term loans

If all you need is a single lump sum to get off the ground, or to get your next product up and running, a term loan may be the perfect fit. 

With a term loan, you get a sum of capital in exchange for paying that amount back at a specified interest rate based on your business qualifications. 

Learn more about small and medium-term loans.

Business line of credit

With a business line of credit, you don’t just get a single sum of money but a recurring amount you can access whenever you need extra capital. 

A business line of credit is ideal if your cash flow is uneven. For example, if you have one or two vendors that make up a large part of your business and you’re often waiting for payment.

Learn more about business lines of credit.

Merchant cash advance

An MCA is a much newer but increasingly popular form of business financing that involves obtaining an advance sum based on your regular credit card sales.

Those sales are then also used as a kind of collateral to pay back the loan. Once approved, you pay that sum back based on a percentage of your credit card sales.

Learn more about merchant cash advances.

Additional resources for growing your cannabis business

In addition to the above ways to obtain funding for your business, with the rise of the industry as a whole, many new resources are now available to help you grow your cannabis business. 

Here are a few of the best new cannabis-specific resources to help grow your business: 

CanPay (Debit system)

CanPay is a debit system specific to the cannabis industry that allows you to accept debit payments from customers provided they also use the platform. 

This is useful because, as we talked about earlier, most banks won’t touch the cannabis industry due to federal regulations. 

That means they won’t even allow you to open a business checking account with them, which can make it difficult to accept debit payments as a cannabis business, often resulting in many cannabis transactions to be cash as a workaround. 

However, with CanPay, you can accept debit payments. At least until federal regulation shifts in the industry’s favor and a workaround is no longer needed.

Green Bits (Point of sale system)

Green Bits is a point of sale system. There are a lot out there, but what makes Green Bits special is that it was designed specifically for the cannabis industry. 

Their service is designed to help you stay compliant, that alone making it far and above the best value of any other point of sale system out there for cannabis businesses. 

Higher Yields (Consultation services)

If you’re in the beginning stages of your business or have hit a rough spot and could use some industry-specific advice for growing your business, Higher Yields is a cannabis-specific consulting firm worth looking into. 

Their services include help with licensing, facility design-build services, financial plans, cultivation management, marketing, branding, compliance, and more. 

As per their website, “The medical and recreational marijuana markets are complex, ever-changing, and full of pitfalls that experts can help your business navigate. Protect your investment with the know-how of professional marijuana business development consulting services.”

9/25/19 Update: Historic vote on new cannabis banking bill paves way for providing key financial tools to business owners

U.S. News recently reported that a new measure, designed to protect financial institutions that service cannabis companies, passed the House of Representatives in a bipartisan vote just last month (Sept. 25th, 2019).

The bill, the first standalone cannabis-related bill to pass a chamber of Congress, is designed to protect financial institutions who support cannabis businesses from criminal prosecution and other negative action.

If the legislation ultimately passes, it will be a huge win for the cannabis industry. No longer will cannabis businesses have to take inconvenient steps to process payments and run their business in general. 

If the bill passes, they’ll quickly begin to have access to all the same financial tools (access to business bank accounts, online payments) that other businesses have. 

“We applaud the House for approving this bipartisan solution to the cannabis banking problem, and we hope the Senate will move quickly to do the same,” Neal Levine, chief executive officer of the Cannabis Trade Federation and one of several groups who lobbied in support of the bill, told U.S. News. 

The bill, referred to as the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2019, passed by a vote of 321-103. However, it’s not yet known what its chances are in the Senate. For that, we’ll just have to wait and see. 

Don’t let compliance and legislation hold your cannabis business back

There are still hurdles to be overcome if you want to start a cannabis business, but those hurdles are quickly disappearing.

Use the tools and resources we discussed, from ways to obtain the funding your business needs to additional resources to help it grow and stay compliant, to overcome those hurdles maximize the growth of your business.

Starting a rental property business can be a very lucrative endeavor. However, it’s also not the easiest business to get into. For one, acquiring property requires a lot of capital. Getting a bank loan to purchase property may also prove a little tricky especially if you’re just starting out. Moreover, finding trustworthy tenants who will take good care of your unit/s and pay their rent on time is yet another challenging step.

Given all these perplexing concerns, how do you start the journey to becoming a great landlord? Fear not, since others have been in your shoes before. Below, we’ll look at advice from experts in the field on the fundamentals of starting a rental property business – from financing to acquisition, to management.

Leverage Existing Property for Financing

For those who are looking for real estate to invest in, it would be advisable to leverage your existing home first. Small Business suggests two ways of doing this: either through using the equity in your home as down payment for buying a new property, or through renting out your current home while you move into a new one.

However, if you plan on staying in your home but need capital, you can also apply for a home equity loan or an investment property loan. Keep in mind however that if you have zero rental experience, banks may give you unfavorable options on investment loans. Moreover, if you are in the process of growing your rental property business, Fast Small Business Loans from alternative lenders could work for you, especially if you’ve been operating for more than six months and the business is in good standing.

Invest In Condos, Not Co-ops

Once you’ve secured financing, the next step is knowing what type of property to invest in. Understanding your own current business goals will help you in this decision. For example, Yoreevo details how investing in condos instead of co-ops in New York City could be a better way to go if your goal is to actually grow your money. This is due to the restrictions attached to NYC co-ops, which usually come with limitations about how often you can sublet a unit. You’re usually not allowed to sublet a co-op for the first two years of occupancy, and they’ll only allow you to rent it out for two out of five years. Condominiums, on the other hand, are much easier to purchase as well as renovate according to your target market’s wants and needs. Moreover, your buyer pool will expand since foreigners are restricted to renting condominiums.

Find Good Tenants

Military.com shares some tips from real estate experts on the best ways to find the best tenants for your property. Among all the tips, knowing where to advertise is key. Avoid posting on sites like Craigslist since these have been notorious for scammers who change the contact info on rental listings and then take the down payment of potential tenants. For more trustworthy advertising, you can begin by getting referrals from families and friends. Start with broadcasting your ad on your own social networking sites and approaching local businesses in your community. Make use of flyers and newspaper listings.

Get Help in Managing Finances

Once your property leasing business grows and all your properties have tenants, it’s important to manage your finances wisely. The Balance recommends that people who own rental properties should get an accountant, explaining that “owning a rental property is essentially like owning your own business, so hiring an accountant is likely necessary for this situation.” Getting an accountant will not only help you stay on top of your books, they will also give you advice when it comes to paying taxes. This could save you a ton of money that you can eventually use to invest in more property in the future.

We put together the top home based businesses for 2019

Starting a home-based business might seem too good to be true. (Especially if you’re used to working in the corporate sector.)

However, the opportunity to make a healthy living online while working from home is as real as ever.

If you have an internet connection, you already have the only essential tool you need to get started.

Many of the most prominent home-based business ideas require a certain skill set. However, that skill set can be developed over time while you build your business.

Plus, freelance websites like Freelancer.com and UpWork.com make getting started a smooth and easy process.

With the introduction of fin-tech, traditionally non-bankable businesses such as the ones we discussed below or now able to obtain working capital through our Home based business loans programs.

And other business ideas require no previous skill set at all, making them the perfect place to get started.

Below, we’ve put together a list of the best home-based business ideas for 2019.

No matter what your previous profession, skill set, or schedule, there’s something for you.

Top 11 home-based business ideas

1. Blogging

Blogging is one of a few business ideas on this list that makes use of the explosion in demand for information that coincided with the Internet’s birth.

As a blogger, you can take something you’re already an expert at and build a platform around that expertise.

By writing in-depth blog guides, tips articles, and how-tos around a topic, you can build an audience of devoted followers who you then offer digital products such as eBooks and online courses.

If you love to write or are interested in the idea of putting together articles around a particular topic you love, blogging may be the ideal home-based business for you.

2. Social media management

Every company, from big-name brand to that little restaurant around the corner you love to visit on Friday nights, uses social media in some way.

As a social media manager, you can start as a freelancer with multiple clients, helping them get their business noticed using the latest digital marketing strategies, while building your business into a full-fledged agency– all from home.

And with the explosion in value of social media paid advertising over the past half-decade, brands and small companies alike now invest considerable sums into advertising on platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

If you’re already obsessed with social media and know how to easily navigate around the major platforms, social media management is a home-based business worth looking into.

3. Consulting

Similarly to the explosion in demand for information that the digital age brought about, many are also now searching out experts online to help them learn and grow, whether it be themselves in some way or their business.

As a consultant, you can offer your knowledge in an advisory capacity, creating plans and even helping implement them.

Popular spaces where consultants are sought-after include digital marketing, business, fitness, health (general), and professional and personal performance.

4. Graphic design

Do you have graphic design experience? Were you that person everyone asked for help on small design projects at your last job? Do you love to draw or make any kind of art?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might have found your home-based business idea and starting a graphic design business might be right for you.

As a graphic designer, you get to flex your creative muscles for a living. You can create attractive social media artwork, blog images, PDF designs, or any other countless digital visual assets.

5. Programming

Programming is harder to get into than writing or graphic design. However, it’s easier than ever to start learning.

It’s also an incredibly valuable skill that is only becoming more valuable. And any business based around programming (software-as-a-service or an app) can be highly lucrative.

The great part about programming is you can start with something simpler like website design and still make a great living. Then you can work your way up to creating your own software offering as you learn and improve your skills.

Plus, as mentioned, the value of programming knowledge and skill is only becoming more valuable over time– and fast.

6. Virtual assistance

Being a virtual assistant is a super easy freelance gig to start off with. 

As a virtual assistant, you’ll do a variety of tasks for entrepreneurs and business execs. Tasks such as answer emails, create spreadsheets, manage appointments, edit, and even organize events.

This variety of tasks doesn’t just help keep things interesting, however. It can also serve as a valuable springboard for learning what it takes to run a large business as you grow and expand.

If you’re known for being incredibly organized and tend to be the one that your group of friends defaults to when planning an event or working on a project, this could be the perfect fit for you.

7. Professional crafting

In the past, blacksmiths, seamstress, and woodworkers were incredibly important parts of modern society.

However, over time, technological advancements during the Industrial Revolution all but phased them out of necessity.

But the Internet has breathed new life into crafters everywhere, with everyone from metal workers to jewelry makers now having the perfect combination of tools available to them to start a home-based business doing what they love.

Sites like Etsy and to a lesser extend Kickstarter have literally made countless full-time crafters, from custom woodworking and jewelry to clothing and everything in between.

And social media, especially Pinterest, serve as the ideal marketing platforms to build a craft-centered business around given its emphasis on imagery.

If you love any kind of crafting, now is an amazing time to be alive if you’re willing to get your hands dirty and build a business online.

8. Online courses

Similar to blogging and other online business ideas, the online course industry is an incredible opportunity to take something you’re an expert in and design a business around offering that knowledge at a price.

By offering your expertise in the form of an online course, either through sites like Udemy or your own platform on something like Teachable, you can create an educational resource once that pays you continuously.

Plus, the price that online courses demand tends to be high, anywhere from a couple of bucks to even several thousand depending on the niche and perceived value of the material, so the profitability potential is high.

In fact, the online course industry is now worth nearly $30 billion. Talk about opportunity.

9. Data entry

Data entry is possibly the simplest and easiest business you can start online, though it’s not as lucrative.

Instead of working for one company, you can make use of your mad typing skills and one of several freelance sites to build up an entire client base whom you serve.

It might not be the most attractive of home-based business ideas, but it’s something that literally anyone can start right away and make a living.

10. YouTube

Being a YouTuber is similar to blogging but can be different.

As a YouTuber, you’ll create videos on a subject you love or are an expert on and entertain an audience, gathering subscribers, attracting sponsors, and upping your game over time.

And that’s the key word with YouTube: entertain. As opposed to something like blogging or consulting, YouTube is either 100% entertainment or 1-part education, 1-part entertainment (also called infotainment).

Either way, you need to know, or be willing to learn, how to entertain while you’re delivering either laughs or useful or interesting information.

If you’re naturally funny, love to entertain, are a videographer or have some video skills, or are an expert in a subject that naturally lends itself to video (such as cooking) and would love to teach that skill, YouTube could be the perfect platform to build your business around.

11. Online retailer

Becoming an online retailer and selling your own (or someone else’s) product online is one of the most straightforward home-based business ideas there is– and it has huge income potential.

Given its massive success and dominance over the online retail space, it’s no surprise that Amazon is one of the quintessential retail opportunities online.

Anyone can create an Amazon Seller account and begin either reselling name brand products or producing your own to sell on the behemoth shopping platform in little time (check out our guide on How to Sell on Amazon to learn how to get started on Amazon).

In exchange, you can gain great exposure, utilizing Amazon’s massive online traffic to immediately bring eyeballs to your products.

But Amazon isn’t the only opportunity. Many have used platforms like Shopify to start their own retails sites, driving traffic via SEO and social media.

Either way, an online retail store is perfectly suited for working from home.

What kind of home-based business will you start?

Chances are, one or a few of these home-based business ideas have peaked your interest.

The question is: which will it be?

Now more than ever before, starting a business from home that allows you to have full control over your schedule isn’t just a possibility, it’s simple and straightforward to get started.

As with any business, these ideas still take hard work to build. But if you’re interested in working from home, the trade-offs you receive in freedom and control (and, in many cases, income potential) could be well worth it.

What do your customers think about your business? What niche area have you carved out for yourself, and where do you stand in relation to the other options in your niche?

Your answers to these questions will depend on the business-level strategy that you have adopted. It sounds like a fancy phrase, but at some level, every business will make decisions on how to apply these strategies to their products or services and even financing.

Let’s think, for example, about the smartphone market. Apple is renowned for offering the most expensive devices of the highest possible quality, while manufacturers like OnePlus and Huawei produce devices that attempt to blend together price and functionality.

Each business is vying for a different part of the market to stand out from the competition and win their share of the profits. But how exactly do those businesses achieve this, and how can business-level strategies be better understood?

In this post, we will explore what business-level strategies are, the key strategies out there, and how they can be applied to your business.

What Are Business-Level Strategies?

Put simply, business-level strategies are actions that a business can take to provide value to their customers and gain a competitive advantage over their competitors.

Michael Porter is a professor at Harvard Business School, and he is widely regarded as a leading authority of matters of corporate strategy. In his work, Porter has outlined how there are three key types of business-level strategy that organizations can pursue.

These three strategies are defined as Focus, Differentiation, and Cost Leadership. Here is a closer look at each of those in turn to give you a more detailed idea of each.

Cost Leadership

This business-level strategy refers to those attempts made by businesses to cut costs and offer prices to customers that are below the industry average. Businesses can achieve this using a range of techniques, such as developing close ties with suppliers and developing new products.

By passing those savings along to their customers, those businesses are able to increase their profit margins and secure a unique position within the market. Think, for example, of those companies like OnePlus which offer prices far below those of competitors.

Differentiation

Some businesses aim to win market share and defend their higher prices by powering-up their offering with unique features that please their customers. Think of Apple, for example. It’s premium products come at premium prices, but it is consistently seen as offering the best possible features.

Focus

Many businesses try to beat larger competitors by offering an unparalleled level of focus when it comes to both Cost Leadership and Differentiation. Smaller businesses are often able to achieve levels of focus that cannot be matched by larger and more inflexible players.

Choosing Which Strategy Is Right For Your Business

Where does your business stand, and which business-level strategy should you adopt? This all depends on the research that you have conducted, what your customers value, and what your business is actually capable of.

You can explore these two areas in more detail by asking these two questions:

– What do your customers value the most? Cost savings, product quality, or brand prestige?

– Does your business have the resources and capacities to pursue the best cost/quality?

How To Apply Business-Level Strategies and Avoid Risk

Here’s a closer look at how you can work to apply each of those business-level strategies while avoiding the risks that are associated with each of them. Let’s begin with the cost leadership strategy.

Cost Leadership Strategy

In order to differentiate your business and make it a cost leader, you’ll need to do everything that you can to lower costs and keep them far below those of your competitors. Here are just some of the methods that your business can use to reduce costs:

– Build state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities which can help you to boost both efficiency and productivity.

– Maintain a very tight level of control over both product and overhead costs to push down prices and the cost of production.

– Minimize the cost of sales, research, and development as much as possible. Ensure that every department in your business operates in a lean manner.

Companies like OnePlus and Huawei are capable of offering very attractive prices thanks to an unwavering commitment to their cost leadership strategy. They achieve these low prices by sourcing their products from cheap competitors and limiting the amount of money that they spend on activities such as marketing and sales.

The manufacturing facilities are also located in places that make business cheaper, while their manufacturing processes have been built from the ground-up to reinvent the wheel and do things in new ways.

The big risk in terms of cost leadership is that your competitors will simply emulate your strategies and that your cost-saving techniques are not unique to your business. Circumstances can also change, too, meaning that your strategies may become more expensive over time.

Differentiation Strategy

The specific way that you differentiate your product or service will depend largely, of course, on the niche that you are operating within. You could make sure that your product or service is superior in terms of the features and functionality that it offers, as well as its durability, reliability, and support.

A strong differentiation strategy relies upon effective sales and marketing, and the ability to articulate and evidence the value of your product or service. You will, of course, have to conduct sophisticated and extensive competitor research and understand the landscape that you are operating within.

Let’s think about Apple. The company does a wonderful job of articulating its many strengths and building hype around its products. The average consumer perceives Apple products to be of a much higher value when compared to its competitors. Amazing marketing and advertising helps in this area.

There are risks with differentiation too, though. You may find that once your product or service has been released, your competitors will be quick to follow and you will lose any qualities that made you different in the past.

To avoid this risk, it’s important that businesses maintain an agile approach to product and service development. This will ensure that the business stays on top and constantly ahead of its various competitors that exist within the market.

Focus Strategy

Does it make sense for your business to target a particular market? If you are able to get a sophisticated and unparalleled understanding of a market and its dynamics, you will find that you have a strong advantage when compared to your competitors.

Applying this strategy relies upon following the techniques that were outlined above, but applying them to a very narrow portion of the market. Your marketing and sales strategies must also be absolutely stellar, or you may find that you fail to identify and engage with your target audience effectively.

Think about Otterbox, for example. This company works to offer premium smartphone cases to its customers and specializes in this very distinct area. The company has never strayed from this specific area and it constantly maintains a very high level of focus on improving its offering. A lot of companies looking to pursue this business-level strategy can learn a great deal from this example.

As ever, there are some dangers and risks when using this business-level strategy. You may find that your competitors focus even more intensely upon a smaller division of your market and cannibalize your customers. You may also find that a shift within your industry means that bigger players may choose to enter your niche.

Let’s imagine, for example, that you are a company that offers a very specific SaaS service. You may find that over time, larger-scale competitors enter your niche and begin to offer a competing service.

Choosing the Correct Strategy

You may find that your business-level strategy is one of the first decisions that you make as a business. In fact, you will often find that your business idea spawns from you identifying a space within the market.

It’s important that you get this decision right. You should think about it from every possible perspective and dedicate a lot of time to thinking about it. You should also try and discuss this idea with your colleagues and other industry insiders to determine its viability.

You may also find that it makes a lot of sense to pursue a hybrid strategy. This can broaden the appeal of your product and/or service to boost your profits and help you capture as much growth as possible. Many businesses attempt this. Think, for example, about supermarket chains which offer premium products in addition to own-brand offerings.

Think Carefully

We hope that this post has helped you to think about business-level strategies in a new way. Essentially, it’s all a matter of deep thought and keen research. Once you discover your target market and what their needs are, you will be able to develop a keen business-level strategy that helps you to succeed.

What is Ultipro?

One of the most popular cloud-based payroll software services, Ultipro (Offered by Ultimate Software) offers both comprehensive features and valuable automation functionality.

Ultipro offers a level of customization that is nearly unbeaten. However, while that makes it a great payroll solution for many large and medium-sized businesses, many small businesses will find Ultipro’s additional features unnecessary and its pricing potentially steep.

However, it all depends on what you’re looking for in a payroll software.

It can be difficult deciding between the slew of payroll services out there, especially if you’re looking for your business’s first payroll software and don’t yet know which features will be useful to you and which not.

That’s why we’ve broken down everything there is to know about Ultipro’s competitive payroll software service so you can decide for yourself.

What features does Ultipro payroll offer?

If you’re new to payroll software, it’s important to know that while every software provides the same basic service of paying your employees on each designated payday, where each software varies is in its additional features.

So what features does Ultipro offer? Here are the most notable additional features offered by the Ultipro payroll software:

Direct deposit

The most basic of payroll software features, Ultipro offers direct deposit.

Instead of issuing checks each week, Ultipro allows you to issue deposits directly into employee’s bank accounts, provided you obtain their bank information.

Direct deposit is a standard in most payroll software. However, it’s still a feature that isn’t universal among payroll services, so make sure to confirm that any payroll software you’re considering offers it.

Mobile app functionality

Many payroll services still don’t have mobile app functionality.

However, Ultipro offers a simple and straightforward mobile app that gives you the power to check on the status of employee payments and other information.

That’s not all you can do with the app, though. You can also set up payments and make several changes from within the app.

Having said that, the Ultipro mobile app– as is the case with most payroll/accounting mobile apps– leaves much to be desired in terms of ease of use.

Employee logins

One of the most useful payroll software features is employee logins.

Employee logins give your employees the ability to login to an Ultipro dashboard and check the status of their next payment themselves.

If you have hourly employees whose pay changes by the week or month, this is an especially nice feature because it gives your employees more peace of mind and reduces the number of questions pointed at accounting.

In addition to their next payment, Ultipro can also allow employees to check their benefits and time off, making it an even more useful feature.

Time tracking

Ultipro doubles as a payroll and time clock software, including the ability to choose from several different time tracking systems.

The service offers a manual time clock if you prefer for employees to input their time in and out each day, or an automated system that also integrates with payroll.

Tax management

Ultipro tax management features are a great example of simple tasks that the software automates for you.

With Ultipro payroll, all tax fees, including federal and state, as well as other deductions are automatically calculated and deducted from employee payments.

That’s to be expected from any good payroll software. However, Ultipro also automatically edits those amounts based on any changes to the tax code and payments will immediately reflect those changes without any work required on your part.

Payroll reporting

Ultipro offers some of the most comprehensive payroll reports available.

With Ultipro reporting, you can analyze your payouts, tax fees, benefit amounts, and even build out custom reports if one of the presets doesn’t serve your purpose.

However, keep in mind that custom reports aren’t available in the basic version of Ultipro payroll.

Employee benefits management

Some versions of Ultipro also offer employee benefits management, further making Ultipro an all-in-one employee management software.

With advanced versions of Ultipro, you can track employee benefits such as retirement accounts, payments for vacation and off days, health and life insurance, and more.

Keep in mind that this is really just a short list of Ultipro’s features. There are over a dozen additional features not mentioned here that might be desirable to you and your business.

How much does Ultipro cost?

Ultipro offers a comprehensive list of features, but it’s on the costly side in terms of payroll software.

Still, if you can make full use of the additional features, Ultipro may be the perfect fit for your business.

Ultipro’s pricing structure can be a bit confusing to figure out as they’re not completely straightforward about certain aspects of it, especially as it pertains to additional features.

To make matters worse, they use a more old-school (or high-end, depending on how you look at it) quote-based structure, so you can only find out the full cost of the software by requesting a quote.

By doing so, a representative will respond back with information and several quotes, some with certain features and others without. It will then be your job to decide which features you need, which you can live without, and whether that optimized collection of features is worth the price.

Pros and cons of Ultipro payroll

Now that you know a bit more about the software itself, why might you consider Ultipro as opposed to other payroll software?

Here are the major pros and cons of the Ultipro payroll software:

Pros:

• Unrivaled feature list
• Time tracking and benefits management make Ultipro an all-in-one employee management software
• Comprehensive automation ability

Cons:

• Transitioning to Ultipro can be rough from other payroll software
• High price, especially if you include the service with many of their additional features
• As with many of the more complicated business software, it has a high learning curve

Ultimately, pros and cons depend upon what you’re looking for in a payroll software. You might not care about the high learning curve if your demands for features are highly specific and Ultipro does exactly what you need it to do.

However, on the other end, if Ultipro is outside your budget, the fact that many features cost additional won’t help its case.

Is Ultipro payroll right for you?

Ultipro is known for providing payroll services to some of the most notable brands in the world, from the MLB (Major League Baseball) to Subway restaurant.

However, whether Ultipro is right for you is another question.

To know whether Ultipro or another payroll software is right for you, consider these points:

• Features: First, look to its features. Make a list of what features you want and compare it to what features Ultipro offers.
• Pricing: With your list of features, review the quote provided to you by Ultipro’s representatives. Also, consider if giving up a particular feature will make it affordable for you and whether that’s worth it.
• Simplicity of use: Ultipro is known for being difficult to learn and get used to. As mentioned earlier, the additional features might outway that if the price point is within your budget. But if it isn’t, the difficulty of use might just be another breaking point.

If you’re shopping for your first payroll software, Ultipro payroll likely isn’t your best option.

That’s because you probably have no need for all those snazzy features and just need a payroll service that does its basic job (some features, such as time tracking, reporting, and mobile functionality might be desirable, but they’re common among payroll software).

And, chances are, even if it isn’t your first, the additional features probably don’t justify the price. However, if you’re searching for a new payroll software then chances are there is a specific reason you’re switching, so you already have a feature you’re searching for or a lower price.

In that case, if it’s a specific feature you’re searching for, you’ll probably be able to find a payroll software that offers it at a lower price point, just without all the bells and whistles of Ultipro.

But, ultimately, only you can decide what payroll software is the best fit for your business.

Use the points above to help guide and simplify your search for the best payroll software so you can move on to the important stuff– like driving your business forward.

Looking for the best business credit cards?

If you’re reading this, that’s probably what you’re wondering if it exists. That or what the best business card cards are for 2019 (we’ll get to that in a sec).

Business credit cards fill a unique space between personal and corporate business cards.

Personal credit cards are great for improving your personal credit score.

However, if your aim is to improve your business credit, and you’re not large enough to be accepted for (or have a need for) a corporate business card, then a business credit card is ideal.

In fact, depending on the business credit card you obtain, you could improve both your personal and business credit at the same time.

Do business credit cards affect your personal credit score?

Before obtaining a business credit card, it’s important to know how that card will affect both your business and personal credit.

Finance blog NerdWallet contacted 9 of the largest small business credit card companies to find out how each reported activity from their business credit card customers to both consumer (personal credit) and commercial (business credit) credit bureaus.

They found that while most companies reported activity to the commercial credit bureaus, results were mixed for consumer bureaus:

Whether your goal is to improve your credit or not, it’s important to know who you’re getting your business credit card from to understand in advance how that card might affect not only your business but also your personal credit.

Best business credit cards for 2019

So, what’s the highest rated small business credit card? It all depends on what you’re looking for and where your credit score is at.

Below, we’ve organized the best business credit cards for 2019 based on four credit levels:

• Excellent credit
• Good credit
• Fair credit
• Bad credit

No matter what your credit score is, we’ve included the best cards available, even business credit cards for those with bad credit.

Within each card’s breakdown, you’ll also find a list of pros and cons to further help you decide which is the right business credit card for you based on other factors such as APR, annual fee, rewards, and sign-up bonuses.

The Top business credit cards for excellent credit

The business credit cards listed below are best for those with excellent credit, ranging from 720 credit score and up.

Bank of America Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard

BofA’s Business Advantage Travel Rewards card is unique in that it’s a travel rewards card with no annual fee.

The travel rewards rate isn’t as favorable compared to other travel cards with fees, but 1.5 points for every dollar spent along with 3 points for every dollar spent on travel purchases made through BofA isn’t bad.

Pros:

• No annual fee
• 25,000 point sign-up bonus
• No foreign transaction fees
• 0% APR on purchases for first 9 billing cycles

Cons:

• Excellent credit required
• Other travel rewards cards offer better deals

CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select World Mastercard

CitiBank’s CitiBusiness AAdvantage card is easily the winner for business credit card if your goal is to rack up airline miles.

First, there’s the 70,000 point sign-up bonus after spending just $4,000 in qualifying purchases within the first 3 months. Then, you get 2 miles for every $1 spent on qualifying business purchases thereafter.

Pros:

• Great sign-up bonus
• Best card for racking up miles
• Flier benefits such as free bag checking, preferred boarding, and 25% off in-flight purchases with American Airlines

Cons:

• High credit requirement
• High annual fee at $99
• APR is on the high end

Best business credit cards for good credit

The business credit cards listed below are best for those with good credit, ranging from 690 – 719 credit score.

Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card

Chase’s Ink Business Preferred card is great if you’re a fan of credit card rewards programs.

That’s because the Chase Ink Preferred card offers 3 points for every $1 spent up to $150,000 within a calendar year on advertising, internet, phone and cable service, and shipping and other travel expenses. All other purchases receive 1 point per $1 spent.

In addition, the card offers one of the best sign-up bonuses around: 80,000 points if you spend $5,000 on qualifying purchases within 3 months of opening your account.

Pros:

• Great sign-up bonus
• Impressive rewards program

Cons:

• High annual fee at $95
• Only a fit for business owners who expect to use their card for a large amount of very specific business expenses (see above).

Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card

Southwest’s Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card is another great card if you’re looking to rack up miles or points which can be put towards qualifying travel expenses.

Currently, the card offers a 60,000 point sign-up bonus on $3,000 of qualifying business expenses within 3 months of opening your account. It also offers several opportunities for bonus points such as a card member anniversary bonus (6,000 points) and 1,500 points for every $10,000 spent.

In addition, it offers 2 points per every $1 spent on Southwest, Rapid Rewards hotel, and selected partner car rental purchases.

Pros:

• Great sign-up bonus
• Good rewards program

Cons:

• High annual fee at $99

Top business credit cards for fair credit

The business credit cards listed below are best for those with fair credit, ranging from 630 – 689 credit score.

Capital One Spark Classic for Business

The Capital One Spark Classic for Business credit card is one of our two best picks for fair credit business credit cards.

That’s because the Spark Classic card not only has no annual fee but you pay no interest on purchases if you pay your balance in full for a billing cycle. These two points combined make it an extremely affordable business credit card.

Pros:

• No interest if you pay your balance in full each billing cycle
• $0 annual fee
• More affordable compared to most ‘fair credit’ business credit cards

Cons:

• APR is on the high end if you pay late

Amazon Business American Express Credit Card

A recent entry into the business credit card space, Amazon’s AMEX business credit card offering has no annual fee, competitive APR, and a good intro APR offer.

The card also offers two unique features in a $100 Amazon gift card upon approval and 3% cash back or pay interest fee for purchases at Amazon.com, Amazon Business, AWS, and Whole Foods Market (with 1-2% cash back at other locations).

Pros:

• One of the most affordable business credit cards with a 60-day no interest offer and no annual fee

Cons:

• Rewards program not comparable other business credit cards unless you shop frequently with Amazon

Best business credit cards for bad credit

The business credit cards listed below are best for those with bad credit, for anyone at 629 credit score or below.  

Capital One Secured Mastercard

The Capital One Secured Mastercard is one of two ideal picks for business owners with bad credit.

It’s technically not a business credit card. However, if you’re careful about keeping your spending on the card to strictly business expenses (for tax purposes), it can start you off in the right direction towards being accepted for a business credit card, especially Capital One’s own Spark business credit card.

Pros:

• Unlike most secured cards where the amount you deposit becomes your credit limit, depending on creditworthiness, you can make a deposit of $49, $99, or $200 for a credit limit of $200
• No annual fee

Cons:

• It’s a secured credit card, so you’ll need to make a deposit depending on your creditworthiness before you can begin using the card

Wells Fargo Business Secured Credit Card

Wells Fargo’s Business Secured Credit Card is the second of two great secured options for those looking to get started with business credit cards.

It’s uniquely fitted for business owners looking to improve their credit spending power as Wells Fargo will regularly review your account and, upon developing a good track record with them, move you up to an unsecured business credit card.

Pros:

• Wells Fargo makes it easy to move up to one of their unsecured business credit card options
• 1.5% cash back on every $1 spent

Cons:

• $25 annual fee
• No liability protection

Secured vs unsecured business credit cards: What is the difference?

If you have bad or fair credit especially, you may have encountered the terms secured and unsecured quite a few times when researching business credit cards.

There’s a big difference between the two types of cards, so it’s important to understand the difference.

Here’s a breakdown of secured vs. unsecured credit cards:

What is an unsecured credit card?

An unsecured credit card is the typical credit card structure you’re likely already familiar with.

Based on your credit score, you’re approved for a particular credit limit. As you use your balance up, you’re required to repay that balance based on a specified interest rate.

Why are they called unsecured credit cards?

Secured in finance terms refers to whether or not there is cash or a cash equivalent which a lender has received to guarantee or “secure” repayment of the amount.

In this case, a credit card company is offering you credit without requiring anything to secure the amount lent.

What is a secured credit card?

A secured credit card is primarily used as a tool for improving credit.

That’s because, as opposed to unsecured credit cards, secured cards require a cash deposit to “secure” the card for the credit card company. These deposits typically range from $250-500.

That might sound pointless, but it’s ultimately the same thing as a typical unsecured credit card after making the deposit. And, most importantly, it gives you a reliable way of improving your credit.

By doing so, if you have bad credit, you can use a secured card to improve your credit score and eventually “move up” to an unsecured business credit card.

How to get the most from your business credit card

No matter what small business credit card you decide to get, it’s important to know how to make the most of it.

There are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind once you’ve been approved for a new card.

Here are a few helpful reminders:

• Find out when your introductory APR ends: Many small business credit cards have introductory offers. However, these offers have an expiry date that is critical to take note of as it means your interest will change from one month to the next. Remember to check over your first statement to take this expiry date down.
• Remember to qualify for your card’s sign-up bonus: Similarly, many small business credit cards have sign-up bonuses as well and these bonuses can be well worth the effort. Review the qualification factors and make a note of what you need to do to make sure you take advantage of any and all bonuses.
• Deduct fees and interest charges when you file taxes: Many business owners aren’t aware that you can write off both interest charges and fees from business credit cards on your taxes. It might not amount to much but it’s welcomed savings that is yours for the taking.
• Pay your card on time: This is critically important as a business credit card is an opportunity to improve your credit further… or hurt it if you’re late on your payment even once.

You’ll especially want to heed that last point if you’re acquiring a new business credit card to improve your credit score.

Few things can help (or equally hurt) your credit like racking up a balance on a credit card and being late on your payment. So, pay special mind if you’re obtaining a business credit card to improve your credit score and always pay on time.

Sometimes, you just need to be safe.

Whether it’s implementing background checks for new employees or accessing court records, a background check is a useful way of obtaining information that can help you make smarter decisions.

But what exactly can you use a background check for? Are there free background checks? And what are the best background check sites?

Below, we’ll answer all of those questions and more so you know not only the basics about how background checks work online but what the best background check sites are for you to use based on your needs.

Do free background check sites exist?

If you need to run a background check, the first question that likely pops into your mind is: can I run a background check for free?

Despite the apparent advertisement for free background checks from sites like Backgroundchecks.org and even the DMV (where you’ll be redirected to BeenVerified), free background checks don’t exist.

If anyone claims otherwise– be wary.

What if you do it yourself?

Having said that, if you want to know how to check your background, or the background or someone else, there are things you can do which may allow you to obtain the same or similar information if you’re willing to do the work yourself.

Ultimately, it all depends on what you’re looking for.

Here are some ways (and sources) for obtaining various types of background information for free with a little detective work:

• LinkedIn: The professional’s social network, LinkedIn is great for obtaining information about their employment history and academic record. Just keep in mind that LinkedIn profiles are essentially online resumes, so the information may not be 100% accurate.
• Court records: Most court records are public, including criminal convictions, marriages and divorces, name changes, and bankruptcies. The only downside here is that acquiring information this way can take some time.
• Sex offender registry: All U.S. sex offenders are required to be added to the U.S. Sex Offender Registry, so if this is what you’re searching for, the U.S. Department of Justice website is free and search can be done via address if you don’t have the person’s name.

While there is quite a bit of information you can acquire online if you’re willing to do the work, you can pay to obtain a proper background check online in minutes.

But first, what kind of information can you obtain from a background check?

What shows up on a background check?

What information appears on a background check depends somewhat on where you obtain a background check.

However, this information usually appears in a background check:

• Criminal record (Most notably for employers, misdemeanors, and felonies)
• Sex offender registry appearance
• Global homeland security appearance
• Warrants
• Drug screening
• Military records
• Employment history & eligibility
• Education
• Bankruptcies
• Lawsuits
• Traffic and DUI records
• Motor vehicle information
• License verification
• Credit report
• Contact information (Phone number)

What can you use a background check site for?

The information above is a lot to take in. You might already know exactly what you need a background check for.

However, you might just want to get as much information as possible and want to know what kinds of uses a background check can be utilized towards.

Here are some common reasons for obtaining a background check:

• Employee verification: Keep in mind that specifically licensed background checks must be used for pre-employment screenings. Regular background check sites cannot be used for employment checks.
• Roommate verification: Need to rent out a room or considering sharing rent with someone to afford a pricey area? A background check can help you make a smart decision in terms of both credit and criminal records.
• Date lookup: Sites like Tinder have made it commonplace to get together with perfect strangers online. Clearly, that can be a bit scary and you want to make sure you’re not running into something sketchy.
• Property lookup: If you’re considering purchasing a property, a background check by address can help you find out all kinds of useful pieces of information that will help you make a smarter decision.
• Court records: Court records, as mentioned in the previous section, can help you uncover several important pieces of information that can affect everything
• Self-check: Sometimes, it’s not other people you need to know more about, it’s yourself. Maybe you received a notice that some new record was added to your report, or maybe your just curious. Either way, a self-check is common.
• Family lookup: Some use background checks to locate missing or distant family members they’ve lost contact with as they’re a very effective way of obtaining contact information.

How to pick a good background check site

There are a few important factors to consider when looking for a good background check site.

Keep these things in mind when deciding where to obtain a background check from:

Background options

Most background sites have basic search options such as people lookup, property lookup, criminal record lookup, sex offender search, and contact information search such as reverse email and phone number.

The best background check site for you is the one that has a search based on the information you’re looking for, that way you know you’re not only getting the information you need before paying but that you’re not paying more for it than you should.

Accuracy of information

It’s hard to know for sure if all the information on a given report is accurate unless you obtain multiple reports. Sometimes, you might find that preferable.

However, it’s important to review how a background check site gathers information and how often it’s updated.

Turnaround time

Sometimes, you need information from a background check quickly. This is important to know in advance because some services take longer than others.

However, in general, most background check sites offer either very quick or instant access to results. It mostly depends on what and how much information you’re requesting (contact information may be immediate while court records could take longer).

Pricing

Pricing is an obvious inclusion, but it should be mentioned. Every background check site charges differently, most notably based on the information they provide.

The most important thing to consider here is exactly what information you need and whether another site offers less information in general, but still exactly what you need (in other words, less filler stuff you didn’t need).

Customer service

Some background check sites offered fantastic customer service and live phone or chat interaction to help answer your questions. Others, not so much.

A mark of good customer service is whether you find it easy to obtain answers to your questions or if it feels like they purposely made it difficult.

This should include easy access a customer service representative over the phone (live chat is a nice plus, but not required) and a comprehensive FAQ page that answers basic questions.

The 5 Best background check sites

So, what are the best background check sites?

In the previous section, we offered a few helpful factors to consider when picking what background site to choose.

The further help that decision, we’ve reviewed what we consider to be the top background check companies.

In no particular order, the 5 best background check sites are:

For criminal record checks: BeenVerified

BeenVerified is a great all-around background check service.

However, where BeenVerified shines is in criminal background and related information checks.

If you’re looking for information such as a criminal record, sex offender registry, judgments, liens, bankruptcies, county records, case numbers, or conviction and arrest details BeenVerified is a great service.

Pros:

• Super comprehensive reports
• Great for criminal records and similar information
• Affordable pricing (Less than $23 / Month)

Cons:

• Pricing options are limited and they require signing up for a subscription to obtain background check information

Obtain a background check with BeenVerified

Best for multiple reports: Instant Checkmate

Instant Checkmate has incredibly comprehensive reports, possibly the most comprehensive.

However, where Instant Checkmate stands out is in two areas: family search and value for multiple reports.

Instant Checkmate offers a family search function, making it very easy to locate missing or distant family members if that’s your purpose.  

In addition to this, Instant Checkmate offers the best value if you need multiple reports. For $35, you can obtain as many background check reports as you’d like, where most sites charge slightly more than that for a single report.

You have to pay a small fee ($2.99 as of writing this) for each report you download. However, even including this, the site offers a much more affordable service for multiple reports.

Pros:

• Can obtain multiple reports with a subscription for the price of one from competing sites
• Easy to search for information
• High report accuracy

Cons:

• Need to pay $2.99 per report download
• No option to purchase single reports (only subscription)

Obtain a background check with Instant Checkmate

Great for education background: Intelius

Intelius is one of the most comprehensive background check sites online, so you can’t go wrong going with them for virtually any need.

However, one area where Intelius is unique is that you can obtain education background information with their reports.

Most background check sites do not provide this information, so if it’s part of what you’re looking for, they’re definitely worth considering.

Pros:

• Can purchase single reports without the need to sign up for a subscription
• Education history search

Cons:

• Slightly higher price among background check sites
• Can’t download reports

Obtain a background check with Intelius

Best overall value: US Search

US Search is a solid all-around background check service.

However, where US Search shines is in their value.

Not only are individual reports an option, where many background check sites require a subscription, but reports are also on the lower end at just $39.95 per report.

In addition to this, you can purchase a basic ‘people search’ report for just $2.45 if all you’re trying to do is locate someone. If this is your primary reason for obtaining a background check, US Search is the best value by far.

Pros:

• Can purchase single reports
• Low price
• People search for just $2.45
• Can download reports for free

Cons:

• Reports not listed chronologically, which can appear somewhat confusing

Obtain a background check with US Search

Most convenient: TruthFinder

Truthfinder doesn’t specialize in a particular type of background information, but it’s background checks are some of the most comprehensive we found.

Truthfinder allows you to obtain all the typical information you can get from a background check in addition to running an in-depth web search that can pull information such as social media profiles and a substantial list of emails.

This is information you can obtain manually through your own effort. However, it makes Truthfinder’s service more comprehensive and convenient if you don’t have the time or simply would prefer the convenience.

In addition to this, Truthfinder has a well-designed Apple and Android app which you can use to obtain their comprehensive background checks from your mobile device, making Truthfinder one of the best background check sites in terms of convenience.

Pros:

• Mobile app for convenient access to background checks on any device
• Comprehensive web search including social media profiles

Cons:

• Hard to find pricing information and structure can be confusing

Obtain a background check with Truthfinder

Get the information you need quickly and easily

Ultimately, the best background check site is the one that gives you exactly what you need when you need it.

For that reason, it all depends on your needs.

But by using the information we’ve provided above, you not only have a list of high-quality background check sites to start with but a list of factors that will help you identify which is the best fit for you.

Small businesses are the lifeblood of the US economy and below are the small business statistics every business owner needs to know. The overwhelming majority of businesses in the United States are classified as small businesses, and almost half of the employees in the United States are working at these kinds of operations as well.

The face of small business in the US is changing, however – and it’s changing faster than ever before. A lot of these small businesses are moving online or at the very least taking full advantage of everything technology has to offer. Here are some pretty interesting, exciting, and insightful small business statistics which include things from how many businesses are going to be started this year to how the economy will change and even how many businesses have to face challenges to get an unsecured business loan and much more which will help you better understand the lay of the land in 2019 and beyond.

Interesting Business Statistics in 2019

How many small businesses are there in the US?

According to the US SBA, there are 30.2 million small businesses in the United States. This is 99.9% of ALL US businesses.

Source: SBA Report

How many people work for small businesses?

The SBA also tells us that there are 58.9 million people in the US working for a small business, representing 47.5% of everyone working in the United States as of 2018.

Source: SBA Report

Will there be more small businesses in 2019 and beyond?

Almost certainly. The US economy is growing faster than ever before, the employment rate is lower than ever before, and the growth of small businesses in the US continues to explode.

Source: SBA BEA 2018 Information

How old are small business owners in general?

33% of small business owners are in their 50s, with another 21% at least 60 years old or older. That represents more than 50% of all small business entrepreneurs in the United States today. Young people are getting into the swing of things frequently though, with nearly 20% of small business entrepreneurs younger than the age of 39.

Source: Guidant Financial

What kinds of small businesses are being opened?

Service businesses lead the way, with 11% of all new small businesses being related to the business service industry. Food and restaurant businesses are next in line at 10%, with help, beauty, and fitness businesses and general retail just behind at 7% apiece.

Source: Guidant Financial

How much money does it take to start a small business today?

Most small businesses in the US will need anywhere between $2000 and $50,000 to get started.

Source: Business News Daily

Where are small business owners finding employees?

56% of small business owners report difficulty finding the right employee, and 57% report that they still depend on word-of-mouth and referrals to staff their businesses. 31% post on social media, 28% post on online job sites, and 12% still use newspapers.

Source: Indeed.com

How many women and minorities are opening up small businesses?

There are 8 million minority owned businesses in the United States (a 38% increase since 2007), with 11.6 million small businesses owned by women.

Source: MBDA.GOV and NAWBO.Org

Online Business Statsistics

Are all small businesses online?

Almost 60% of all small businesses have yet to build an online presence or even set up a website. Almost 20% of small business owners without a website have no plans to go online anytime soon.

Source: GoDaddy Annual Report

Do small businesses see the internet as an advantage?

75% of all small business owners online see internet marketing as an effective or very effective tool to win new business.

Source: MediaPost Research

Has the online/e-commerce market been tapped out?

Internet traffic around the world in 2020 is anticipated to be 95 times higher than it was in 2015, with more people – and customers – jumping online than ever before.

Source: Cisco Research

Are small businesses handling their own marketing or leaving it to professionals?

71% of all small business owners are taking care of their own marketing (online and off) rather than outsourcing the work to freelancers or agencies.

Source: Linchpin Research

Small Business Financial Stats

How often are banks approving loans for small businesses?

Major banks are approving small business loans at a 25.9% rate, with local banks and credit unions approving loans at a 49.4% rate – higher than any other point in decades.

Source: Forbes

How much money (on average) are small businesses asking for from lenders?

The average small business owner is only looking for between $60,000 and $80,000 from traditional lenders.

Source: Fundera

How much money do small businesses in the US make annually (on average)?

On the average, small business owners in the US make between $34,000 a year and $75,000 a year. 86.3% of small business owners report making less than $100,000 a year, and 30% say that they don’t pay themselves a salary at all.

Source: SmallBizTrends.com

How many small businesses in the US are “bootstrapped” or self financed?

Fully 75% of all small businesses in the United States are self financed or “bootstrapped”, using existing cash flow to build and grow operations in the early stages. This is the number one form of financing used by most small businesses and startups.

Source: Entrepreneur.com

How many small businesses fail every year?

Fully 1/5 of all small businesses fail in the first year and nearly 50% of small businesses fail within five years. Only about a third of small businesses survived 10 years or longer.

Source: BusinessKnowHow

Why do most small business fail?

46% of small businesses report their operation failed because they weren’t sure of what they were getting into. 30% report a lack of experience and managerial support. 13% report catastrophic failure related to neglect, fraud, and outright disaster, and 11% report losing passion in the project.

Separately, 82% of small businesses report failing because of cash flow problems that stem from many of the issues we highlighted above.

Source: ISBDC.org

How many entrepreneurs have started another business before?

47.1% of all entrepreneurs that succeed for at least five years in their first business go on to start a second business. Of these serial entrepreneurs, the average amount of companies that these repeat business owners create sits at three.

41.4% of all small businesses are started by entrepreneurs that are building their first company.

Source: StartUpBros.com

Small Business Marketing Stats

How are small businesses finding customers?

68.8% of small business owners use online and off-line marketing to find new customers. 28.9% reported that they do not market online and off-line, but market with one approach or the other.

Source: Micro Business Marketing Mix Report

How important is online advertising?

51% of small businesses today use social media to grow their business, and 65% consider social media advertising to be effective. $45.4 billion will be spent on search engine advertising and pay per click advertising, almost doubling the amount of money spent in 2014. Google is still the king of the ring when it comes to online advertising, with 88.56% of all online searches conducted on that platform.

Source: Iron Paper and Statista

How important is mobile advertising and marketing?

Mobile device internet usage overtook traditional laptop/desktop usage in 2018 for the first time, with mobile devices being used 51.3% of the time to go online. 80% of internet users around the world have a smart phone, and 56% of all internet traffic is generated by mobile devices.

Source: StatCounter and Smart Insights and Similar Web

Is email marketing still effective?

By the beginning of 2019, 54% of the world’s population will be using email. Google passed the 1 billion monthly active users on Gmail in 2017, and anticipates that number to hit 2 billion users by the time 2020 rolls around.

Email marketing also has a return on investment of 122% – four times the return on investment of social media marketing, paid online advertising, and traditional direct mail marketing campaigns.

Source: Lifewire and MediaPost

What about social media marketing?

A million brand-new social media accounts are created by people every day. Two thirds of the world’s population (with internet access) has an active Facebook account. More than $40 billion are expected to be spent on social media marketing campaigns by the end of 2018.

On top of that, 64% of all small business owners use social media for business purposes. Social media marketing from small businesses has doubled over the last year, and is expected to double again in 2019.

Source: Social Media Today and Business Insider and Adobe

Are mobile applications critical for small business success?

47% of all small businesses are likely to have a mobile application developed for them by the end of 2018. Smart phone conversion rates are up to 64% compared to traditional online advertising, and 78% of mobile searches for local businesses resulted in a sale.

Source: Clutch and KISSMetrics

The Internet and the resulting Fintech revolution has brought many advancements to the lending and investment space across the globe.

Crowdsourced alternatives to both lending and investing have connected the global population on a scale, and in a way, that’s never really been seen.

Sure, crowdfunding isn’t exactly a new concept. Some suggest the Statue of Liberty was crowdfunded.

And the same can be said for peer-to-peer lending, which has been done for ages (if you’ve ever let a friend borrow money, that’s essentially peer-to-peer lending).

However, sites like Kickstarter for crowdfunding and Prosper for P2P lending have revolutionized the old concept in a big new way.

Crowdfunding in the U.S. alone for 2017 has grown to $17.2 billion and is estimated to have grown to nearly $34 billion for 2018:

And U.K. P2P platform Orca says that “In the first half of 2017 the market experienced a 59% market growth rate when compared to the same period in 2016,” with the industry itself surpassing $13 billion in cumulative lending.

So, what exactly are these popular crowdsourced lending methods, how do they differ, and how might they help you get the funding you need for that new business or product idea?

What is crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding is often used for the collection of new crowdsourcing funding methods now available to entrepreneurs and business owners. However, it’s really just one method of doing so.

At its simplest form, crowdfunding is the act of eliciting contributions for the creation or completion of a project.

Most notably, this has been used by entrepreneurs on sites like IndieGoGo and Kickstarter to acquire the funding necessary to create an innovative new product:

However, it’s also been used to acquire funding to self-publish a book, create a comic or game, or fund a film.

The benefit here is that the entrepreneur gets the capital they need without having to pay back investors.

Typically, this rewards-based form of crowdfunding offers an incentive like early access or one of the first beta models of the product in exchange for a contribution of varying size, with larger rewards available the larger the contribution:

In addition, platforms tend to require a funding “goal”: the target amount you need to fully fund your project.

If you hit your funding goal within a specified amount of time, you’re given the full amount of the funds you’ve generated and pay that platform a small fee in exchange.

It’s then your job to follow through on delivering those rewards and keeping your new backers informed of your progress.

Are there other types of crowdfunding?

There are six types of crowdfunding:

1. Rewards-based (see above)
2. Equity-based
3. Software value token
4. Debt-based
5. Litigation
6. Donation-based

However, despite all these kinds of crowdfunding, rewards-based, which we just covered, and equity-based are by far the most common.

As opposed to the rewards-based crowdfunding which most people think about when they think of crowdfunding, equity-based crowdfunding involves a large pool of investors contributing to a person or organization in exchange for equity.

Ultimately, it’s up to what you want to give in exchange for the crowdsourced capital: rewards, which cost time and money, or equity in your company.

What is peer-to-peer lending?

Peer-to-peer lending (or simply P2P), is similar to equity-based crowdfunding in that a group of people invest money in an individual or business.

However, where they differ is that with P2P that collective pool of money, comprised of small investments from many investors, is offered as a loan and investors receive a return with interest instead of equity:

As with rewards-based crowdfunding vs. equity-based crowdfunding, the decision between the three comes down to what you want vs. what you’re comfortable giving up.

Peer-to-peer lending vs. Crowdfunding: What’s the difference?

We’ve touched on the difference between P2P lending and crowdfunding a bit so far, but here’s a clearer breakdown based on the pros and cons of each and from the individual or organization’s perspective:

While some of these crowdsourcing methods differ in their difficulty to obtain funds, each is subject to the same structure: you must have a sound business, product, or project idea and be able to present it effectively in order to attract backers or investors who are willing to invest in you and your idea.

Is peer-to-peer lending possible with bad credit?

If peer-to-peer lending looks attractive, you might be wondering if it’s possible to acquire a peer-to-peer loan with bad credit.

Peer-to-peer loans don’t always have a minimum credit requirement because they take into account many other factors than just credit score and history.

However, every platform is different and many do require a minimum credit score of 600, which is low by comparison of most lending vehicles, especially bank loans which often require 700+.

The best crowdfunding sites

There are now countless crowdfunding sites available online that promise to offer a platform to fund your big idea or next entrepreneurial project.

However, when picking a crowdfunding platform it’s important to go with a site that has a history of successfully funding lots of projects.

These are some of the best:

1. Kickstarter

The original platform that made crowdfunding so popular, since its launch in 2009, Kickstarter has now funded nearly 160,000 projects for 16 million people with $4.2 billion pledged, more than any other crowdfunding platform.

While there are a wide variety of categories, the site has become most well known for funding artists, filmmakers, musicians, designers, and inventors.

Check out Kickstarter.

2. Indiegogo

Similar to Kickstarter, Indiegogo offers the ability to crowdfund your next big business idea. To date, they’ve raised over $1 billion for nearly 700,000 projects.

Where Indiegogo differs is that they also offer a marketplace with the projects of many of their most popular crowdfunding campaigns.

Where Indiegogo also differs is in the fact that campaigns don’t need to have a set deadline or fundraising target. A project can be open indefinitely until you raise the money you need for your campaign.

Check out Indiegogo.

3. Patreon

Patreon, a platform based on the old-school patronage system which artists as far back as the medieval Renaissance used to support their craft, differs from other crowdfunding platforms in two ways:

• It’s focused on supporting creatives continuously and less on funding individual projects
• Funds are pledged on a recurring basis, either monthly or per-creation (per-video, article, book, collection of illustrations, podcast, etc.)

In exchange for pledging a small amount per month (most supporters give just a few dollars), reward tiers are offered which function similar to Kickstarter and other crowdfunding sites.

To date, $350 million has been paid to creators.

Check out Patreon.

4. WeFunder

WeFunder is centered around funding small business ventures, allowing you to fund any project from $50,000 to $50 million for everything from a restaurant to a tech startup.

Where WeFunder is also unique is that all fees are charged to investors with nothing charged to entrepreneurs.

Check out WeFunder.

The best peer-to-peer lending sites

Similar to crowdfunding, there are several great peer-to-peer lending marketplaces.

Here are some of the best:

1. Prosper

Prosper is to P2P lending what Kickstarter is to crowdfunding. It’s the very first peer-to-peer lending platform in the U.S. and to date says it has organized over $14 billion in P2P loans to nearly 900,000 people.

Prosper offers loans up to $40,000 with a 3-5-year repayment plan and at a fixed interest rate. They also off no repayment penalties.

Check out Prosper.

2. Lending Club

Lending Club has been around almost as long as Prosper and their options are very similar. They differ in one major area: business loans.

Where $40,000 is the maximum personal loan amount with Prosper, Lending Club also offers business loans up to $300,000.

To date, $44 million has been borrowed through Lending Club with 2.5 billion borrowers.

Check out Lending Club.

3. Upstart

Founded by 3 ex-Googlers, Upstart is unique in that it uses an entirely different system to assess risk and approve borrowers using artificial intelligence.

The result? Upstart claims that borrowers save an average of 24% compared to typical credit card rates.

Loans are from $1,000 – $50,000 on either a 3 or 5-year repayment plan and with no repayment penalty.

Check out Upstart.

4. Kiva (non-profit)

Kiva is unique in that its mission is to alleviate poverty through funding small business ventures (with $1.3 billion given in loans to date across 81 countries and counting).

It does that, in part, by offering P2P loans up to $10,000 at no interest. Yes, absolutely no interest.

When creating a campaign, you’re given the option to invite friends and family to contribute then your story is released to Kiva’s 1.6 million individual lender base until you’re fully funded.

Check out Kiva.

Funding your next big idea will never be the same

The Fintech revolution has brought with it incredible changes to business in the 21st Century.

But perhaps one of the most radical changes has been the rise of crowdsourced funding in the form of crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending.

While banks were busy closing their doors, the world opened up and became more connected than ever before, allowing for individuals to invest in businesses and creative ideas they believe in or are excited by and for the consumer to become the investor.

Whether you’re an established business with a new product you’re trying to launch or an entrepreneur with a brand new invention you’re trying to generate funding for, crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending are both great options to consider depending on your resources and goals.