Business

An ecommerce site is a business. Our Management & Finance category addresses online payments, funding needs, employee issues, merchant profiles, key metrics, multichannel and omnichannel strategies, cross-border analyses, inventory management, accounting topics, sales taxes, and much more.

Business
Simplified Accounting for Ecommerce Merchants

June 27, 2012 • PEC Staff

Ecommerce businesses, like all businesses, should maintain accurate accounting records. But many entrepreneurs dislike accounting. Many are confused by it, and prefer to avoid it. Steven Aldrich wants to help those entrepreneurs. He's CEO of Outright.com, a hosted, simplified bookkeep...
Business
Overcoming Challenges for Qualifying Potential Buyers of eCommerce business

June 22, 2012 • Manish Shah

In my last post, I discussed the importance of qualifying buyers when selling a business. The two-tired, gated approach I outlined is a great way to provide maximum exposure for your business while protecting your confidentiality and sensitive information. It keeps all parties on equal ...
Business
Social Media: 5 Legal Risks to Your Company

June 21, 2012 • Jeff Jacobson, Jd, Llm

Social media has become not just a place to share our personal lives. Many people use social media to promote their business, communicate with customers, and recruit or check-up on employees. However, most businesses don't think about the legal risks and issues that may result from su...
Business > Merchant Voice
7 ways to maximise distribution opportunities through other retailers

June 20, 2012 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth

As an online retailer, you obviously have your own store. But what are some of the issues you need to consider when distributing your products and services through other online retailers? 1. Who are their customers? Presumably some of them are the same types of people who do business ...
Business
Adapting To Business Lifecycles

June 20, 2012 • Dale Traxler

Businesses have a lifecycles. They can be summarized as follows. Humble beginnings to survival. This is the period from the conceptualization of the business to actually receiving sales. You can pay your employees and your vendors. You have revenue coming in, and the makings of a sust...
Business
Lessons Learned: Working Mom Applies Science to Online Toy Business

June 18, 2012 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth

Kelly Brough is no stranger to the online world. She worked for 10 years at AOL and Lonely Planet, the travel-guide company. Nonetheless, this high-powered working mother, with degrees ...
Business
How to Evaluate Ecommerce Risks

June 14, 2012 • Dale Traxler

Ecommerce business owners face risks. Some may keep you awake at night. Others are routine and you really don’t think about them. The ones that keep you awake at night are most likely the least understood — or outside of your control. A key to business success is to mitigate your risk...
Finance
Investment in Ecommerce Firms Robust

June 14, 2012 • Marcia Kaplan

While the poor showing of Facebook in its initial public offering last month has immobilized the market for Internet companies wanting to sell stock to the public, the overall investment climate remains strong. Merger and acquisitions activity in the ecommerce arena has remained robust ...
Payments
Avoid Credit Card Processing Proposals with AVS Fees

June 12, 2012 • Phil Hinke

Editor's Note: Contributor Phil Hinke is a veteran of the credit card processing industry. He now consults with merchants to help them lower their processing costs, believing the credit card industry is often unfair to them. His latest installment is below. There have been a few cases ...
Business
Achieving Your Ecommerce Business Goals

June 8, 2012 • Dale Traxler

In my recent series of articles, I examined six different elements of a business model: customers, products and services, channels, profit, people, and infrastructure. A well-planned business model and a well-executed strategy to support it should allow you to achieve your business goal...
Business
Using Google Analytics to Measure Social Media Effectiveness

June 7, 2012 • Jaime Brugueras

Google Analytics has moved its social reports to new locations. And it has added new features to gather more in-depth social media data. Here’s a quick look for Google Analytics users, showing you where you can find your social metrics, and how they’ve been designed to better suit your...
Business
Is Your Ecommerce Model Profitable and Sustainable?

June 4, 2012 • Dale Traxler

Are your profits better or worse than you projected 12 months ago? If you don't know — or if you didn't do a projection — you may be missing a key component of your business model: finance. This article continues my series on the managerial, operational, and financial aspects of runn...
Business
Limitations on the Crowdfunding Legislation

May 30, 2012 • Jeff Jacobson, Jd, Llm

Now that the Jumpstart Our Business Startups — "JOBS" — Act has passed, many people are jumping to get into the crowdfunding game. There are masses of start-ups and operating companies that are seeking to use crowdfunding as a way to access cash for their new ventures or to expand exis...
Business > Merchant Voice
Shared hosting is best for Magento

May 30, 2012 • Richard Stubbings

Yes, you read that right. I firmly believe that the best hosting for most Magento sites is shared hosting. All too often when you look around for a host for your Magento store, hosting companies say things like “you cannot run Magento in a shared environment”, “Magento is resource hungr...
Business > Merchant Voice
One disastrous daily deal experience: What Not To Do

May 28, 2012 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth

After experiencing one of the worst purchase experiences ever via a daily deal website which has broken nearly every retailing rule you can break, here is my What Not To Do post. On 19 January 2012, I saw a tempting offer from the daily deal website, Spreets to buy $100 worth of Elle M...
Business
Building the Right Ecommerce Team for Success

May 23, 2012 • Dale Traxler

Think you have a killer idea for an ecommerce business? Whether you are a product manufacturer or a reseller, it’s pretty difficult to come up with a truly unique business idea. In most cases, you’ll find someone who has done it, already doing it, or planning it. You will likely be able...
Business
Reduce Shipping Costs with Hybrid Services

May 22, 2012 • PEC Staff

Consumers increasingly expect free shipping for ecommerce purchases. But as fuel prices continue to fluctuate greatly and the economy is mired by uncertainty, shipping continues to be one of the toughest costs to for etailers to manage. Free shipping hurts profit margins. Moreover, th...
Business
7 Key Ecommerce Infrastructure Decisions

May 18, 2012 • Dale Traxler

Every business requires an infrastructure to support its customers and operations. This includes facilities, equipment, and processes to support all the functional areas of your business. Choosing the correct infrastructure to match your business strategies enables your operations to ru...
Payments
Credit Card Providers Increasing Rates and Fees

May 17, 2012 • Phil Hinke

Editor's Note: Contributor Phil Hinke is a credit-card veteran who now consults with merchants on lowering their processing costs. Hinke believes the credit card processing industry is often unfair to merchants. He explains his views in his articles for us, including the one below. It’...
Business > Merchant Voice
10 Ways to Make Your Video Not Suck

May 15, 2012 • Jamie Salvatori

As I’ve pointed out in previous blog posts, I know a few things about video production. Photography and videography are a passion of mine. So, listen up, please! Nearly every tutorial that explains “how” to create a video is dead wrong. Crumple them up and toss them in the bin. Why? Be...
Business > Merchant Voice
10 reasons your mother makes your best beta tester

May 15, 2012 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth

If you sell B2C products and/or services, your mother (or grandmother) could be your best beta testing panel member ever. Here's 10 reasons why. 1. Number one advocate Can you imagine a more fervent supporter of your work? It's like a grown-up version of her wanting to hear what you'...
Inventory
Inventory Rules Are Changing, Says Dropship.com CEO

May 9, 2012 • PEC Staff

Drop shipping is the process of selling an item that is then shipped by a manufacturer or wholesaler. Many ecommerce merchants utilize drop shipping, at least in part, to reduce inventory costs and to expand their product offerings. But drop shipping can be complicated. We addressed s...
Amazon & Marketplaces > Merchant Voice
Magento, Multi Store and SEO

May 6, 2012 • Richard Stubbings

One of the biggest challenges to Search Engine Optimisation for any Ecommerce site is the range and variety in the stock. All SEO tutorials and teach yourself books seem to assume you are selling a small range. Typically 'widgits'. They talk about doing keyword analysis on widgets, find...
Business
Lessons Learned: Wholesale Butcher Becomes Prime Retail

May 4, 2012 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth

Australian Paul Tory studied accounting after leaving high school. But after “two very boring years,” he realized the profession wasn’t for him and decided to try a trade. He undertook a motor mechanics apprenticeship for five years before his father invited him in 1998 to join the fa...
Business
What’s the Value Proposition of Your Ecommerce Company?

May 3, 2012 • Dale Traxler

Your company's value proposition is the reason consumers buy your products or services. You may have more than one value proposition, as every customer segment you serve may derive value from different aspects of your offer. You should be able to explain it in 30 seconds — the so-called...
Business
Ecommerce Owner Sells the Business; Explains the Process

April 25, 2012 • PEC Staff

Merchants tend to put a lot of thought into starting their businesses, but not so much into leaving. Having a proper exit strategy can allow merchants to sell their businesses much more effectively, as well making the process less emotionally taxing. We recently spoke with Dale Traxle...
Business
Managing Your Company’s Trade Secrets

April 24, 2012 • Jeff Jacobson, Jd, Llm

Trade secrets are valuable assets that can be owned. Ecommerce businesses can create many types of trade secrets, including marketing techniques, supplier lists, business practices, and unique software processes. What may constitute a trade secret extends beyond what may be patentable,...
Business
Dr. Ralph Wilson Announces Sale of Web Marketing Today

April 23, 2012 • Dr. Ralph F. Wilson

Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, creator and long-time editor of industry-leading e-zine Web Marketing Today, today announced the sale of this historical website and newsletter, effective May 1, 2012, to e-commerce publishers Kerry and Joy Murdock of Practical eCommerce.
Business
Who Needs an Ecommerce Strategy, Anyway?

April 23, 2012 • Dale Traxler

Editor's Note: We welcome Dale Traxler as our newest contributing editor. He's a former owner of an ecommerce business — having purchased, grown and then sold Beaded Impressions, a family of jewelry-related sites. He's now an advisor and consultant to small businesses. Ten years ago...
Shipping & Fulfillment
Changes at the USPS

April 20, 2012 • PEC Staff

Editor's Note: We welcome John Haber as our newest contributor. A shipping and supply-chain authority, he is the founder and CEO of Spend Management Experts, a global shipping and supply-chain consulting firm. His first piece, below, addresses changes at the USPS and how those changes c...