Why your online business should offer a no-hassle money-back guarantee and avoid chargebacks

Posted on Leave a commentPosted in business advice, COO, Foundation, free business advice, Getting Started, Marketing

I work with lots of startup companies that sell goods or services to consumers online. Every company believes they are providing a great product but, the fact is, not every customer will be satisfied. So, the question becomes, if and when should a customer get their money back? I believe the correct answer is, when they ask for it. Here’s why…

If you’re selling a physical product that can be returned in “as new” condition, I think it’s pretty clear the customer should get their money back when the merchandise is returned. However, should the shipping be free in both directions? Should your company charge a restocking fee? Should only a partial refund be given if the merchandise is difficult to resell as new? What if your physical product is consumed or perishable? You don’t want the product back or it simply may be impossible to get it back. Should the consumer be out their money if they are not happy? I say no. Give them a full refund and eat the return shipping cost if you want the product returned.

 
Money-back guarantee logo
 
If your company is selling information or e-products you may be thinking, “I can’t un-ring a bell”. The consumer has received the information or could easily make an e-copy that may be of continued benefit to a customer even if they claim they are not satisfied. If the customer claims to be unhappy, is it reasonable to charge the customer a full or even a partial fee? I say no, if a customer wants their money back, I think it’s best to make a full refund upon request.

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Jonathan Swanson on how to build a generational company

Posted on Leave a commentPosted in business advice, free business advice, Getting Started, Hiring Contractors, Setting Goals
Jonathan Swanson
Jonathan Swanson, Co-Founder and President of Thumbtack joins me on my latest episode of Bay Area Ventures to talk about his journey from White House economic aide to building a high-growth fast-pace “generational” technology startup.

Thumbtack provides a marketplace for local services allowing one to find providers for just about anything from builders to caterers to tutors to … you name it. Their approach is different from sites which force you to do all the research for choosing the best provider. Thumbtack walks you through a couple questions and then does the research for you, finding you the best match for your project.

 

Founded in 2009, Thumbtack is now a so-called “unicorn”, a privately held company valued at over $1 billion. Jonathan’s goal for Thumbtack is to be the Amazon of the gig-economy by creating the ultimate marketplace for getting things done. More than building just a huge company though, Jonathan is out to improve the lives of millions of people around the world by helping them become independent and successful entrepreneurs in a world where no one can count on an employer or job to support them for life.

With over a million active customers and hundreds of thousands of providers, Jonathan is doing just that. Thumbtack helps independent providers promote their skills and match them with good customers. In doing so, these independent providers increase their confidence and change their lives for the better. In this episode you’ll hear Jonathan provide some solid examples of people who have achieved great personal success on the platform. Thumbtack is so successful it is out performing Yelp and Angie’s List and could be the Yellow Pages for the twenty-first century and beyond.

Jonathan, is a bright and highly motivated entrepreneur. He is building an open organization where he welcomes debate and challenges to the status quo. The company publishes internal information like board meeting notes for all employees to see in order to encourage everyone in the organization to be aware of what’s happening and how they can make an impact.

Jonathan and his co-founders launched Thumbtack in Washington, DC during the height of the financial crisis in 2009. Today Thumbtack has over 1,000 employees in San Francisco, Salt Lake City and the Philippines. Jonathan moved Thumbtack to San Francisco to take advantage of the Bay Area’s ecosystem early-on and in this interview you’ll hear how he compares the Bay Area way of business to other areas.

There is a powerful interview with a brilliant young entrepreneur.

Recorded on February 13, 2017, on SiriusXM Channel 111, Business Radio Powered by the Wharton School.

For a list of upcoming and past guest information click on the Show link above.

How to run your startup as if your life depended on it

Posted on Leave a commentPosted in Getting Started

Sheryl O’Loughlin, CEO of REBBL joined me recently to talk about her company, her life and her new book “Killing It: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Head Without Losing Your Heart“. You can hear it all in this episode of Bay Area Ventures recorded on December 19, 2016.

We begin the interview by catching up on the changes in her life that led her to leave a faculty role at Sonoma State University to join REBBL as their CEO, then we discuss her new book in detail.

Sheryl practices what she preaches and teaches. She advises entrepreneurs to create “purpose driven organizations” and that’s just what she is doing at REBBL, a registered Benefit Corporation. REBBL is the offshoot of the non-profit organization Not For Sale which is working to stop human trafficking around the world. Specifically, Not For Sale is striving to improve the lives or women and girls in developing countries who are most at risk for exploitation of human traffickers. 2.5 percent of REBBL’s net sales goes to Not For Sale and Sheryl talks about how she has chosen investors and co-workers who support the fact that REBBL is about more than just the bottom line.

Sheryl, is open and passionate about sharing her experiences as an entrepreneur. She has lived through the ups and downs of building a company and suffered the tolls that it takes on one’s health and relationships. After coming close to personal bankruptcy, Sheryl spiraled into a personal health crisis but, managed to pull herself through with counseling and the support of her family, friends and colleagues. To help other entrepreneurs avoid the problems and challenges she has gone through, she authored her new book, Killing It. Unlike a typical book or business school course on strategy, financing, marketing and all the other nuts and bolts of building a startup, Killing It talks about the personal decisions and actions one must take to maintain a healthy outlook and physical well-being needed to launch a company.

Killing It Book Sheryl O'Loughlin Killing It Book link

In Killing It, Sheryl walks entrepreneurs through the various stages of building a company from the decisions around founding a company, to choosing partners, teams and investors, to the ongoing stages of growth that a typical startup goes through. At each stage she offers personal advice about how to stay true to one’s personal beliefs and how to avoid the mistake of going from a healthy passionate pursuit to a destructive obsession. Sheryl openly discusses her own personal experience of going down the “dark path” and how difficult it was to see it while it was happening and how she ultimately came to put her work and life in balance.

Today she is back, her company is thriving and she is happy and fully connected with her relationships. She has dedicated time for family. Her team at REBBL is fully aligned, feel they are on an epic journey and share the dedication and fun of work with each other in order to help each other stay connected and in balance.

This is a highly personal story and fantastic advice for any entrepreneur.

To purchase Sheryl’s book go to Killing It
For more information on Not For Sale go to: www.notforsalecampaign.org

Recorded December 19, 2016 on SiriusXM Channel 111, Business Radio Powered by the Wharton School. Bay Area Ventures airs live on Mondays at 4:00pm Pacific Time, 7:00pm Eastern Time.

For a list of upcoming and past guest information click on the Show link above.

Sales tax management made easy with Avalara

Posted on Leave a commentPosted in business advice, Finance, Getting Started

Collecting and reporting of sales tax is a complicated task for any company, but a fast growing startup based on Bainbridge Island, Washington is changing all that. Avalara provides realtime automation of sales tax processing for online as well as brick and mortar retailers. The company automates the process of collecting sales tax, preparing returns for state and local jurisdictions, and also manages resale permits for your customers who purchase goods for resale.

Marshal Kushniruk, Avalara’s Executive Vice President of Business Development, is the company’s first hire and is a serial entrepreneur with an amazing track record of success. In his interview on The Free COO podcast on July 19, 2012, Marshal talks about his distinguished career and tells us how Avalara is helping companies eliminate a tedious but necessary task by offering a cloud based automated sales tax system.

Prior to Avalara, Marshal founded The Byte Stuff and Abacus Accounting Software, both highly successful startups. This was a fantastic interview, full of incredible insights and advice for any entrepreneur.

For more information on Avalara go to www.avalara.com

Vish Mishra of TiE and Clearstone Ventures talks about his career

Posted on Leave a commentPosted in business advice, free business advice, Getting Started

Hear this great interview where Vish Mishra of TiE and Clearstone Ventures talks about his career. Starting as an immigrant from India, Mr. Mishra became a serial entrepreneur and founder of companies such as Excelan and Telera. Excelan went to an IPO and was purchased by Novell and Telera was purchase by Alcatel.

Today Vish is a Venture Director at Clearstone Venture Partners and is also a Charter Member and President of TiE Silicon Valley (the Indus Entrepreneurs).

Vish offers tons of great advice for aspiring entrepreneurs from how to chose a product to how to create an executive summary that can be presented to venture capitalists.

You can find out more about Vish at:
TiE Silicon Valley – sv.tie.org/
Clearstone Venture Partners – www.clearstone.com

The Free COO airs on Thursdays at 4:00pm Pacific Time on www.Spreaker.com.

Setting Up HR – In-House or PEO

Posted on Leave a commentPosted in COO, Getting Started, HR

Human resources encompasses a broad array of business functions. There is the obvious sourcing, hiring and firing of employees. However, retaining employees, training employees, managing benefits, setting compensation policy, overseeing contractors, new hire orientation, managing corporate culture and a host of other functions also fall into the domain or share a dotted line to the HR function.

One of the first questions a startup venture needs to address – at least as soon as the founders hire their first employee or contractor – is who will be responsible for the HR function. Getting this right is critical to the success of a venture, as it is the first five to ten people in an organization that will establish the company’s culture for years to come. Read more…

Getting Started – Learning to Let Go

Posted on Leave a commentPosted in COO, Foundation, Getting Started

There is a big difference between being a CEO and a COO.  I know, because I’ve been both.

At my first startup company I didn’t have a COO and, while the company was a success, it wasn’t until I learned to let go of certain tasks that the company flourished.  Entrepreneurs, almost by definition have a vision of how things should be and how their company should be run, but first time entrepreneurs, myself included, often spend too much time on internal details which can be crippling to a startup venture.
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Getting Started – Setting Priorities

Posted on Leave a commentPosted in COO, Foundation, Getting Started, Priorities

My first job out of college was a corporate engineering position with a $3B multinational aluminum and chemical corporation.* My branch of engineering was highly specialized so, as a 22 year old, I was able to pick and chose which of several dozen multi-million dollar projects I wanted to work on at any of the company’s manufacturing facilities worldwide.  My list of projects was a mile long with some involving serious health and safety concerns of employees.  Every project required reconciling the production and financial needs of plant managers with the demands of corporate execs to maintain control over disparate operations.  For a foot loose young man with an unlimited travel budget, I needed to balance my responsibilities with a desire to see the world.

You see, if you’re 22 years old and can choose between working in a can factory supplying a major European brewery with access to all the beer you can drink for free, or standing next to an 1,100 degree extrusion furnace on a 107 degree July day in the panhandle of Texas which would you choose?

Well… not so fast.
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