Whether you are freelancing now or you aspire to become a freelancer, cash flow is king. Realize this; if it wasn’t for 3rd Party Payment Systems like PayPal, many freelancers would go out of business.
However, those that use only 3rd Party Payment Systems, are losing a ton of business without even knowing it.
They are also seriously impeding the flow of cash into their business due to inherent problems built into 3rd Party Payment Systems.
If you are currently providing products or services online as a freelance or independent contract business, and are or plan on only excepting money online through systems like PayPal, you may loose or be losing serious amounts of business and not even know it.
Why? Because just accepting credit cards online is not always enough; especially if you are only using a 3rd party billing system like PayPal, ProPay or CCnow.
PayPal will be necessary with many job boards like Rent A Coder or Elance but only required as long as your customer insists on continuing to work with you through the job board. There are ways around that I will discuss later on in this course.
PayPal is acceptable for people selling things through eBay or that are just breaking into Information Marketing these E-courses you see all over the net.
Becoming A Quick Cash Flow Freelancer
But even in those situations, there are plenty of horror stories about vendors and developers dealing with 3rd party payment systems. (I’ll be covering some of those issues later in this book.)
Please don’t take what I am saying about PayPal or any other 3rd party payment system as though they don’t have their place in the online business world. I use PayPal for a number of things. But I don’t use PayPal for my primary business.
For E-courses and Information manuals I produce to sell online, I may well use PayPal for test marketing. But for design projects or consulting jobs where I can charge several thousand dollars or maintenance jobs that I do automatic or recurring billing on, I process those payments using my own shopping cart system through a secured gateway to my Merchant Account.
One of the most important reasons for billing through your own payment system is; there are literally hundreds of thousands of individuals and businesses who look for freelance contractors of various products and services, that would prefer to NOT pay by credit card and especially not if you are only excepting payments through some 3rd party payment system. Why?
Many people look down upon businesses that only except payment via some online 3rd party payment system like PayPal because:
1. They think a “Real” business will have their own Merchant Account. To them having a Merchant Account and billing through your own online payment software or shopping cart indicates you are not ‘fly by night’ and that you are serious about running your business like a “Real” business. That is their mindset. As a professional you have to be prepared to deal with it.
2. They may not want to pay by credit card period due to their accounting system being centered on physical checks issued for purchases. (That may sound old fashioned, but paying by check is still a major factor with many older or well established companies.)
3. They don’t want to be forced to set up an account with some 3rd party payment system just to pay you. (I know PayPal and the others have ways to bypass establishing an account to be able to pay you through their system, but these 3rd party payment processing companies purposely make it seem to the buyer that they DO have to set up an account to be able to pay.)
It’s one more hoop they may have to jump through to do business with you that they may not have to with some of your competition.
Those are but a few of the reasons why a prospective buyer may visit your site, like the look of your services, and like your prices but then see that you are, (In their eyes), “Small Time” or “Not a ‘Real’ business” because you are only able to except payment through some 3rd party billing system like PayPal.
While I’ll grant you that these 3rd party payment systems look very enticing because they are either free to set up your payment system or very inexpensive, If you are serious about your business then you need to consider the down sides of using such systems.
With that said, what I’ll be covering in this guide is basically 4 things:
1. Analyzing why you started a freelance business or if out are considering starting a freelance business what it will take and.
2. Along each step of the way of looking at the ‘why and how’ of a starting or improving you freelance business image by being able to except payment in any form your prospect wants to pay you, will make you much more competitive in your field and therefore more profitable.
3. I will endeavor to prove to you just how inexpensive and easy it can be for you to have your own Banking Merchant Account and the advantages of having your own payment system paying off in the form of business you may have otherwise lost without even knowing about it.
4. How having your own payment system and billing direct versus using a job board and being forced to use a 3rd party payment system, you will significantly improve your cash flow.
Now lets take a look at why a freelance business really appeals to you and if your serious about it, why you should manage your business in such a way that your are perceived by your prospective current and prospective customers as more than somebody in their bedroom with a PC.
Though there will be a considerable amount of information on becoming a freelance contractor in this course.
Just because you may already be freelancing, doesn’t mean that is information you should ignored.
You purchased this book because you either have a cash flow problem or want to know how to avoid having a cash flow problem as a freelancer.
If you currently are freelancing, you may have a tendency to gloss over the portions of this book that cover how to get started in freelancing. Please don’t do that.
Keep an open mind and you may very well find there are things you haven’t considered that could be costing you money.
Know this; there are entirely too many freelancers out there that are highly skilled and very talented at the service they provide.
That does not necessarily mean they are good business managers. Many freelancers see they can go to a job board and get jobs based on their resume and portfolio.
Then start taking jobs, continue to get jobs and miss the important options being in business for themselves can really provide them.
