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Published:
Mon, Mar 16 2009
I started
my business in 1994, which was essentially pre-Internet days (at least before
it became the commercial entity we know it as today). I was writing
software programs and needed a way to take orders easily. At the time, it
was customary for software developers to put an address in their documents and
ask for donations. Of course, if they ever moved, the address they had
would quickly become outdated. The whole process of having to mail in
checks and wait/hope for a reply was clumsy. So I decided to set up an
800 number and get a merchant account to accept credit card orders
telephonically. As it turned out, a lot of other independent software
developers needed the same services, so the process was quickly expanded as an
order call center. Before long, it was a very busy phone line, and I had
to hire some help to answer phones and take orders.
A couple of years later, I decided to give the "Internet
Concept" a try, and expanded the process to accept orders via the
Internet. At first the phone-in orders outnumbered Internet orders due to
so many people being concerned about the security of e-commerce. Over the
next couple of years, however, the phone began to ring less and less, and
Internet orders were the most common type of orders received. Each month,
I saw more Internet orders and less phone order. The efficiencies of
automation that the Internet provided came at a perfect time and helped me keep
up with the demand of more orders coming in each month. As people became
more comfortable with placing orders via the Internet, the part-time college
students I had answering the phones were sitting around in silence, so I shut
down the phone operations and concentrated on adding more features to the
Internet system. Although, I had less staff, business was booming and profits
were better than ever.
Of course, my business survived the infamous "Bubble Burst" or I
would not be writing this today. It survived because unlike some other
businesses at the time, we had a viable business model that even today still
makes sense. Now, I run a full-featured e-commerce business wherein our
clients maintain their own Web pages, but at the point of needing an
order-processing system, they outsource that part to us since that is what we
specialize in. It enables them to focus on the core business, knowing the
e-commerce end of things is easily taken care of by our system.
It was a matter of having the right idea at the right time, combined with a lot
of long hours of work to get the infrastructure built. We continually
make improvements, and I am having as much fun as ever. About one year
ago, I switched our hosting services to a more robust VPS system with Network
Solutions, and I have been extremely pleased with that decision. Before,
customer service was "hit and miss" at best, and our web pages were
loading slow as more and more demand (by customers as well as with the
technology we were using) was being put on the system. With the new
solution we have with Network Solutions, our Web pages load fast, and things
are working as good as ever. Also, if I ever need assistance (such as
installing a new SSL Certificate), I can pick up the phone and get
professional, expert help from a friendly customer support person.
It's been a great ride, and the trip is far from over!
Re: NorthStar Solutions - Small Business Story
Re: NorthStar Solutions - Small Business Story
Re: NorthStar Solutions - Small Business Story
I love small business stories. Found it very inspirational and want to thank you for posting it!
Jill Bradlie: Potty Training
Re: NorthStar Solutions - Small Business Story
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Re: NorthStar Solutions - Small Business Story
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Re: NorthStar Solutions - Small Business Story
A couple of years later, I decided to give the "Internet Concept" a try, and expanded the process to accept orders via the Internet. At first the phone-in orders
<A HREF="http://peninggi-badan.com">cara menambah tinggi badan</A> outnumbered Internet orders due to so many people being concerned about the security of e-commerce. Over the next couple of years, however, the phone began to ring less and less, and Internet orders were the most common type of orders received. Each month, I saw more Internet orders and less phone order.
Re: NorthStar Solutions - Small Business Story
I always like to hear, read about success stories in business - I started out in business about a year ago and I have since read so many stories taht have inspired and motivated me not to give up on my dreams and keep moving forward, because I discovered that I was not the only one who has problems and big obstacles in the starting of my own business, so nice motivating story here too, good luck to you and everybody who are starting out!
Jessica Jameson
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I am an Internet marketer and I work hard on these project right now: electronic cigarette | jump higher | phone | internet hosting
Re: NorthStar Solutions - Small Business Story
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