Monday, February 28, 2011

Fast-Track for Business Startup

One of the things that I have been privileged to speak on many times is starting a business. More and more in our changing economy, people are itching to get their hands on sound advice for starting their own company, creating their own revenue, and deciding their own fate. It's a great change, I believe, from the corporate mentality of the 80's and 90's. Accel Networks itself is a relatively small upstart compared to the typical TCom giants, and both our customers and employees are better served for it.

So, what's the most important thing I can share with a new startup? Simple: start. Go. Sell something. Take all obstacles to opening your doors out of the way. You cannot afford to plan and re-plan for months. You cannot afford to wait on vendors who demand weeks or months of lead-time. You need to go.

What's this mean for broadband? If you're a retail store, you cannot start until you can swipe. And often times, you need even more connectivity than a simple modem, you may need catalogue access or online POS. But wire-line broadband services such as DSL or Cable can take over a week to get installed, or months in new construction. Accel Networks, on the other hand, can have you online and swiping in as little as 1 day with our quick start program. That means you can charge cards today for the idea you had yesterday thanks to the speed of fixed wireless broadband.

Of course, this will also demand a processing service. Authorize.net is fast becoming the processor of choice for many small businesses, especially startups, because of their fast-start program as well. You can begin charging cards before your PCI audit and all funds will be escrowed, waiting for your eligibility for release. No need to wait. Go. Sell. Make money. The Square is also making waves, but its equipment might prove impractical for the average retail volume.

Whatever stands between you and your revenue, find a shortcut. Find a way around it. Speed is the name of the game in startup business, and the most vital parts of your infrastructure--your network and your payment system--can be the worst culprits. Find an alternative. Go. Start.

Labels: Broadband, Fixed Wireless Broadband, Retail, Startup