There are steps you can take to get paid on those past due invoices and keep new invoices current.

Step #1 Gather together all the past due invoices, and stamp them PAST DUE.
Step #2 If you have an email address or phone number with a contact name for your client, email them or call them and give them the information on the past due invoices and let them know their account is on hold.
Step #3 Mail the invoices to your client with return receipt requested or send them in a flat rate Priority Mail envelope with delivery confirmation.
Step #4 Send a letter with these invoices stating the age, invoice numbers, their PO#, your account #, total amount due, and any other pertinent information.
Step #5 Tell them their account is on hold and you will not be shipping any more products or providing any services to them until these invoices are paid. You can include a self addressed envelope and state that you have enclosed an envelope for them to send their check. Give them a date, to have this paid to you.

Once they have received the package, email or call them. Ask them what they are doing with the invoices. Ask them questions such as:

Do they have to be approved by someone else?
If they have to be approved, who has to approve them and when will they give them to that person? Get that person’s direct number if possible. Find out if that person signs the checks.
Are there any discrepancies with the invoices?
When will the check be cut? When can you call back for the check number?

Once all the past due balances are cleared up, you need to think about future invoices. Do you want to extend credit again or do you want to have pre-payment or payment at the time of the order. Whatever you decide put it in writing. If you can both sign the agreement, that is even better. Remember, having a credit policy in place tells people you mean business.

Everyone needs to know what business they’re in and they
need to be able to express that purpose in a few sentences
in their USA.

Using product enhancement towards helping with your current
mission statement, should help determine your business as a
leading provider. For ex; if you’re a plumber, you’re not
in the business of plumbing. If you’re a carpet cleaner,
you’re not in the business of carpet cleaning. You’re in
the business of marketing plumbing or marketing carpet
cleaning services.

Your mission statement is what is best for you. You can
constantly measure all of your activities then to the
mission of your company. You can further measure the
success by the success of your clients or customers. The
more successful your customers are in getting the benefits
from you, the more successful you will be in growing your
business.

If you’re currently not generating the volume of business
you want, your customers aren’t purchasing as much as you
want them to.

Here’s an exercise that you should go through periodically
to evaluate ways you can make your product or service
better, and thereby either increase sales or extend your
product or service life cycle.

Get out a piece of paper and answer the following questions.

1. Write down not what your product or service is, but the
need or desire of your target market that you have
perceived.

2. Brainstorm other ways to fulfill that need in ways other
than through the use of your current product or service.

3. List all the obvious and not so-obvious features of your
product or service.

4. Enhance your product or service with alternative ways to
fulfill your customer’s needs based on the ways you
Brainstormed in #2.

5. Identify your USA versus your competitor’s and any other
alternative products or services.

6. Create five different front and back-end up sell
scenarios for each product and service you intend to offer.
You can encompass one of these attributes in each sale
scenario that you come up with.

7. Determine how best to incorporate incentives for getting
your prospects to buy. You want them to buy, buy now, and
buy from you.

Don’t limit yourself to the list below, but here are some
additional ways you can begin. These are reasons customers
typically patronize a certain business. Identify major
sales advantages that you have over your competition.

Low price Top quality convenient location Friendly
employees Knowledgeable employees Nice business
surroundings Fair credit or return policy Good selection
Convenient hours

The important thing about running a small business is to
know the direction in which you’re heading; to know on a
day-to-day basis your progress in that very direction; to
be aware of what your competitors are doing and to practice
good money management at all times. All this will prepare
you to recognize potential problems before they arise.

In order to survive with a small business, regardless of
the economic climate, it is essential to surround yourself
with smart people, and practice sound business management
at all times.

If you answered mostly yes, then you are in danger of being financially unstable. You cannot afford the things you want and sometimes, even the things you need. Don’t go sulking out there! You better move your body. If such is the case, better tell yourself that you cannot afford to be that way always. You have to be financially independent.

What is financial independence? Financial independence is the capability to determine and support yourself through your own endeavors. There are 7 ways or habits for you to follow to gain financial independence. With the right attitude and the proper goal in mind, you might just find yourself beaming with pride because of your achievement.

1. Keep a focused vision

Start with a vision. What is your vision for your life? Where are you definitely heading? You want financial independence. You want to be able to stand on your own and have a more stable and secured life, for yourself and for your family.

Keep that vision in mind. Hold on to it as you start to realize that vision. The choices and decisions you will make in the future will have to head to the direction of your goal. Return to that vision when things get doubtful or tough.

2. Invest your money wisely

Generate income. Your income will be the financial foundation of your vision. This will basically come from your job’s income, but don’t settle with that.

Aim to increase your income. Invest your time, money and effort into a beneficial enterprise. Start a business that you feel passionately about and make sure it will work. Think carefully of every detail in your enterprise and work on it. Do not settle with good enough results. Aim for excellence, quality and integrity to succeed.

3. Save up

Start a fund for your future. Allot a percentage of your present income to savings. Do this at the start of each month, before you go ahead. This will avoid the enticement to buy, buy, buy. It will also teach you how to properly budget your money for necessary expenses.

Money in the bank could also earn interest. Although it is not considerable compared to a good investment, it is still a good way to keep money for your future. Just make sure you maintain the money in your savings account. Avoid touching it unless it is really necessary.

Give value also to your coins. Every single cent matters. All of those scattered coins you have there could comprise a few dollars. Even if it is considerably small amount, it will still find some use for that.

4. Spend wisely

Don’t spend all your earnings. As they say, don’t earn to spend. Buy only things that you really need. Tighten those belts for now as you bank for a more secured future. Choose to live simply. Forget the need to show off on other people that you can afford. If you want achieve financial independence, you must hold on to your money as much as possible.

Avoid incurring debts as much as possible. Take control of your finances as much as possible. Credit cards for example could hold you locked in a desperate state. You could be getting what you want now through that credit card, but imagine yourself giving the bulk of your income for interest payments! Make ends meet in the meantime for later on in life, you will surely afford to be leisurely.

5. Keep contingency plans

You must plan ahead for events in the future. Have contingencies. Make certain that your financial assets are secured. At this phase, it is a good option to get an insurance policy. Insure your life, health and property, even your loved ones.

Protect your interests whenever you enter into any engagement. Make sure that your endeavor is legal, that you are financially capable, and that it is feasible within your means. This way, you will have optimal performance and desirable results. You could prevent harmful losses in the long run.

6. Take care of yourself

Health is wealth. The only way for you to achieve your dreams and be able to stand on your own is when you are physically and psychologically able to do so. Have regular check ups with your physician. Have a healthy diet. Exercise Regularly. Health will be your asset to achieve financial independence. Only a good physical standing would allow you to enjoy the fruits of your toils today.

7. Be Unstoppable

You must keep yourself focused to achieve the goal of being financially independent. Do not let yourself be distracted by whimsical desires. Do not spray. Do not procrastinate. Every cent and every minute counts as what you do today will have a lot to say on what you will have in the future. Take advantage of every opportunity that will come your way. Keep yourself confident.

Tell yourself, you will not be a loser in this game. You have to make it!

Following are the basic steps in setting up for home business success.

1. Attitude

The key to your business success is your attitude.

Treat your business like a business.

This is critical whether you are working part-time or full-time. One of my colleagues is a mother who works from home around her family. She has always put her family first whilst at the same time developing her business. She says, “I work part-time, but I have a full-time attitude.”

Put another way, “If you have a hobby attitude you will have a hobby income, if you have a business attitude you will have a business income.”

You can be successful working part-time and you can be successful working full-time but it is highly unlikely that you will be successful working in your “spare time”.

2. Working Environment

A space that you can call your own, free from distractions for your scheduled time.

A comfortable chair and organized desk.
Stationery supplies as required. For example:

- pens
- highlighters
- stapler
- hole punch
- sticky tape
- note book(s)
- a simple filing system
- ring binders
- manilla folders

Consider the value of a broadband connection. Your time is valuable and a broadband connection can allow you to get more done in a given time frame.

3. Schedule

Develop a schedule that works for you, your family (or “significant others”) and your business. When you allot a block of time for work then use that time for work. Equally important is to schedule time for your other commitments – family time, self education ( reading, listening and viewing), “health time” (exercise, cooking and eating), and leisure time. During these other times don’t work. After all if one of the reasons to work from home is to spend more time with your family then you don’t want your working at home time to consume your family time.

You are working for yourself and your schedule (by your choice) is your “boss”. When you have people calling you or dropping around unexpectedly or maybe out-of-town visitors may want to catch up with you then you need to make a choice. Are you committed to your own business success? What will be your choice in these situations? Only you can decide what is important to you.

In a family environment you may need to negotiate with your partner and children to have your business time agreed upon, during which you will not be interrupted. Put this schedule prominently somewhere so all family members are aware of your work schedule.

4. Describe Your Business

Be able to describe your business concisely; a powerful one or two sentence description that someone can repeat in describing your business to others. A unique and memorable tag line can also be invaluable for promoting your business.

5. Know Your Product or Service

Once you have selected your product or service to sell, it may or may not be something that you use yourself but you need to know your product intimately. If you are selling ebooks then know the content and its value. If you are selling software then use it know it “inside out”. You will develop a reputation of providing quality information and because of your product knowledge you can become the preferred supplier.

It is not practical to use certain products (for example a woman may choose to sell man’s shoes or vice versa) in which case the seller won’t be a product user, however the seller can still know the benefits and features of the product intimately.

6. Administration

Use good record keeping practices.

This may involve a consultation with a tax advisor who can let you know about the optimal way to set up your financial records and what records need to be kept. Your advisor will also recommend record keeping systems and you can find out what software may simplify this aspect of your business. Additionally your obtain advice on the best arrangement for your bank accounts. You will most likely be advised to have a separate bank account.

You will also need to keep track of your various logins, usernames and passwords. A very handy little software tool for this is Treepad available as either the free Lite version (without password protection) or the commercial Plus or Biz versions. http://www.treepad.com

There are other useful tools for this also from a simple paper notebook to free and commercial password keepers. One popular solution is Roboform that will remember your login details and can automatically fill out your login and other registration forms. http://www.roboform.com

7. Computer Protection

Your computer is the lifeline to your business dealings and must be protected including the data that is stored.

You need a virus scanner, personal firewall, anti-spyware and anti-adware and preferably an email scanner with the ability to delete suspect of spam email from the server before it is downloaded to your computer.

Some suggestions are:

AVG Anti-Virus: http://www.grisoft.com
Spybot S&D: http://www.safer-networking.org
Microsoft Anti-Spyware:
www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx
Adaware: http://www.lavasoft.com/
Mailwasher Email Scanner: http://www.mailwasher.net

8. A Domain Name

You will most likely need a domain name for your business and one cost effective registrar is GoDaddy, http://www.godaddy.com.

9. Payment Processing

You will need a way to process credit cards; that may be using services such as:
- PayPal https://www.paypal.com

This is the most economical way to get started. Once your business picks up you may need to look into your own merchant account for credit card transactions.

10. Email accounts

Once you have your own domain you can use an associated email account. This can further assist in the promotion of your business and promotes a more professional business image.

As a final comment on continuing in your internet business, conduct your business ethically, provide extraordinary service and be proud to put your name to the products or services that you are selling and you will be on track to developing a sustainable long term internet business.

1. Demand

You can have the most awesome product and the most hi-tech web site, but if you can’t generate demand for your product, your business is doomed from the start. There are many ways to generate demand in the online world. You could advertise in ezines, start an affiliate program, encourage word of mouth, referrals, do joint ventures. Remember, without demand, there will be no sales. And without sales, where does that leave you?

2. Order

When you start getting visitors to your web site, it’s now just a matter of turning them into your customers. Okay, maybe it’s not as easy as it sounds. This is why, once your visitor has decided to become a customer, you have to make sure that it is easy for them to do so. Make sure that your ordering process is easy and straightforward. The less clicks to secure an order, the better.

3. Payment

This is one process of your internet business that you’d definitely not want to get wrong – how money is actually transferred from your customer to you. The most popular means of doing this online is through credit card transactions. Credit cards makes full use of a person’s ‘buy now think later’ attitude. So, your sales would be a lot higher if you accepted credit cards than if you didn’t. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have alternative methods. The more payment methods you offer, the easier your customer will find it to pay for your product.

4. Fulfillment

After payment has been made, don’t make the mistake of thinking that the coast is clear. There’s still the matter of delivering your products. If you sell digital products, it is now normal standard to have it delivered instantly. People now expect this, so make sure you set this up. If you sell physical products that needs physical delivery, make sure that you communicate with your customer every step of the way. Ensure them that their goods are on the way. If possible, send them a means to track the movement of their package. Your customers should never feel insecure.

5. Service and Support

Once the sale has been made, it doesn’t stop there. You have to provide excellent customer support. Your internet business customer support will determine, to some extent, whether your customer will request a refund and whether or not they will make repeat purchases. Support abilities of an internet business is getting more and more efficient. So don’t get caught behind. The least you should do is provide timely e-mail support. If you have a busier site, then consider other support methods – online helpdesk, FAQs, live chats, ticket system, knowledge base ….

6. Security

The Internet community is getting more aware of what to look out for in order to protect themselves from many of the net’s less desirable activities. One of which is e-commerce frauds. It is, therefore, up to you to prove to your visitors that they can trust you. Things like using secured server to process payments, can go a long way. Purchase a digital certificate, if you can. Add a physical mail address or a phone number where they can contact you. Anything at all, to give your visitors some peace of mind.

7. Community

Once you’ve received more than just a handful of sales, you should think about starting a community. Making your customers a part of a community, gives them a sense of belonging. Have your community be a part of your product development. Listen to their suggestions. Not only will you get product ideas for your internet business, your sales ratio will increase with every new product release and you will have a loyal customer base.

There you go. Work on these seven keys and you’ll be way ahead of most internet businesses out there on the net today.

1. Keep An Eye On Your Best Customers
Yeah, wouldn’t be great if all of your customers were just like them? …easy to please, loyal, and ready to tell a friend about your wonderful service. Just maybe you can develop more customer just like them!

Think about it… what makes them so great? What are the traits they have in common? Direct your marketing campaign to people who are just like them. Focus on their niche! You’ll net new consumers and higher profits for your efforts.

2. Hurry It Up!
What’s the hurry? Todays customers are busily running helter skelter from work to day care to home to an event back home… They’re rushing through life, but trying to save a buck as they go. How much do you think they would appreciate the ability to do both in your shop?

Revise your advertising campaign to stress the time they’ll save and the money they’ll keep in their pockets while enjoying all of the wonderful benefits your products have to offer. Chip in a few specials where they can save even more moeny (with a deadline, of course). Deliver! Immediately! Let them save money and time… and hey, watch your sales explode!

3. Make it Easy to Buy
Convenience it the key to attracting buyers in today’s fast paced society. What will be the fastest and easiest for them… credit card, phone, fax, Internet, or cold hard cash? They say there are different strokes for different folks… your customers don’t all use the same methods to buy. It just makes sense that if the method they prefer is available, they’ll be more likely to take advantage of it.

Simplicy… ah, it makes life so much easier. Yeah, your harried customers are busy and tired. They don’t want to mess around. Most of the time, they just want to make the purchase and head home. Convenience stores testify to the fact that quick and easy often overrides a better price!

4. Follow Up
Following up with a customer who didn’t buy can be the determining factor between and “almost sale” and a satisfied, loyal customer. Simply contact them afterwards and let them know the product is still available or offer them further information they may find valuable.

One of my favorite catalog companies always closes out the sale with a special buy that is available only at the time of purchase. I’m not an impulsive shopper by any stretch of the imagination, but it stops me in my tracks every time. I know it’s a one-time shot, and I really consider whether I want or need it before I hang up the phone.

Expoding your current sales volume and profit margin may not be as difficult as you’ve been making it! Give these 4 tips a shot, and see what happens!