15

Answers OnStartups

• How to thank a vendor, while turning them down? 30 March, 2010, 11:01 am
  We've been soliciting bids from a few vendors, and one in particular went the extra mile to accommodate our needs, learn what our project really was about, and to work out a good solution. Unfortunately their offer comes with high start-up costs that make it infeasible for a test marketing production run, though it's very attractive in the longer term when we'll place much larger orders. How can we tactfully turn them down, while still keeping a good relationship so that we can do business with them when the fit is better? I want them to come away from this process without a bad taste from the extra effort they extended in trying to win my business.
• Australia based payment processing 30 March, 2010, 2:20 pm
  Since Authorize.net is US/Canada only, I am wondering if there is a Austrlian counterpart to them providing service similar to them? What are must have, Recurring payments One time payments. Authorize and capture NIce to have Sane API. (Emphasis on sane, :) )
• How to choose between Cash and Accrual Accounting 26 March, 2010, 9:24 pm
  I just started my first business. I’m debating on whether to go with cash-basis accounting or accrual accounting. From what I’ve read it seems that cash-basis is the easier method, but accrual is more widely used and respected. Based on current IRS law, I can go with either method. My initial thought is to start off with cash accounting and switch to accrual later on when the company takes off. But I'm not sure if that's the best way to go. I plan on discussing this with an accountant, but I wanted to run it by here first. I have two questions: Which would be the better choice for my particular situation? Has anyone changed their initial accounting method after a few years in service? If so, how complicated was it? Background on my particular situation: Our company consists of 2 founders and no employees. We may hire an independent contractor in the future, but we don’t have any plans to do it in the near future. We're registered as an LLC and being taxed as a partnership. I plan on doing the bookkeeping myself, but I have no previous experience in bookkeeping. We’re developing a web based software product for consumers. We will either charge for the product, or make money off of ads, or a combination of both. We don’t expect to have any income in the first year. We don’t expect to have any major expenses in the first year either. We work from home. We won’t have to deal with inventory. We’re located in Maryland. Let me know if additional information is needed to be able to answer this question.
• Any good free web based CRM solution ? 8 April, 2010, 1:09 pm
  Hi, I'm looking for a free web based CRM allowing me to contact my clients through that. When interacting with a client, I don't want to use Outlook but a CRM where I could find all the tickets/issues/emails/informations about my client in one same place. Do you know that ? Thanks!
• How To Outsource Market Research? 9 April, 2010, 4:05 am
  What is a good way to outsource internet based competitor and or market research? I am interested in both quantitative and qualitative information and was thinking I might need a different resource for each? I suspect that qualitative type research will cost more than I care to pay. Quantitative Competitor Research Example: Find me the top 50 business lead selling companies and some basic info about them. Results in this form: Name Industry Established In Location website Qualitative Competitor Research Example: Companies To Watch Research: Identify the most innovative companies in the Business Lead Selling space. Indentify what makes them innovative and where they source their leads from.
• Searching for Low-Cost Housing 26 March, 2010, 4:05 am
  Hi to all, I was wondering if any of you knows a server farm/housing Service that offers full-rack (>40U) solutions for a reasonable price (here in Italy an hoster asked us more than 6000€/month for 40U with 1Gbps full duplex, 16 A and 128 IPs) The service must provide at least 1Gbps and 100 IPs a rack
• Proposal Presentation: Proposal Before or During? 26 March, 2010, 7:37 am
  For complex and relatively high-dollar sales (five to six figures), it's a common practice to present the final cost in the form of a proposal, and to present that proposal in person, instead of emailing/mailng a copy for the prospect to look at on their own.. Everyone expects that, and I don't think that "one more meeting" is a burden for anyone. From a sales standpoint, the in-person proposal is a very valuable tool to answer any immediate questions and keep the conversation going towards purchase. Of course, with the Internet, things change, and there's no good way to do that same presentation. How do you mitigate this? Schedule a web-meeting and present via slides? Call up, then click the "send" button? Or, just avoid this all together and send the proposal via email and hope they don't misunderstand (or get sticker shock)?
• Why a Recession is the Perfect Time to Start a Business ? 4 May, 2010, 2:49 am
  Recessions are frequently associated with bankruptcy, layoffs and business failures. For more info go to http://www.linkive.com/home/browser/OTkwNDE=/Technology/Why%20a%20Recession%20is%20the%20Perfect%20Time%20to%20Start%20a%20Business%20-%20Grasshopper%20Virtual%20PBX%20|%20Company%20Blog
• What is a disruptive strategy for a start up? 12 May, 2010, 7:55 pm
  Can anyone explain to me what a disruptive strategy is for a start up company in software. Apparently launching a disruptive strategy gives a start up a higher chance of success according to Thomas Thurston a start up predictor
• How can I best utilize my mailing list 16 April, 2010, 7:22 am
  Hello All Anyone have a mailing list they make money on? What are some of the ways that you use it?