Author Note: This is another post from my guest author Tisha Kuluk. While Credit cards have their place in our lives and in business, entrepreneurs are supposed to use this privilege wisely. Having said that, here is the article from Tisha:

Starting a new business especially if you are doing it for the first time, can be chaotic to say the least. There are some many considerations to be made that it can become overwhelming quite fast. However, once you have begun to establish yourself in the business world, it will become easier to understand how to do things the right way the first time around.

One way to help make the difficulties of business a bit more manageable is by using a credit card that has been designed to help small businesses succeed. Here are several ways using a business credit card can help calm the calamity of the start up business phase.

Higher Line of Credit

Most personal credit cards tend to offer a lower line of credit than do business credit cards. This may be an essential element for new businesses that don’t yet have the cash to finance every aspect of their business. Credit cards can help free up some of the cash of the company, as long as there is a definitive way to pay the balance due on time each month. Running a new business into debt is a big mistake but utilizing a credit card responsibly can help ease your financial concerns until you begin to regularly make a good profit. Also, new businesses often run into unexpected expenses and having a business credit card on hand can help relieve some of the stress of new business bumps in the road.

Expense Tracking Ease

Many business credit card companies offer a service to help you divide and categorize business expenses so you don’t have to do it yourself when you already have a lot going on. Utilizing one credit card for all of the company’s expenses also helps you keep track of how much you are spending and what you are spending it on in one convenient place – your monthly statement. Tracking accurate expenses is a necessity during tax time and when it comes time to review your initial business plan to make sure you are on track with your financial projections.

Establishing a Solid Credit Foundation

Most new business owners already have an eye for the future expansion of the company and understand the value of establishing a solid credit history in the very beginning. Using business credit cards wisely from day one will help afford you the privilege of being approved for much larger loans when you need the at a later date.

Free Advice for Business Owners

Credit cards have changed a lot in the past few years and business credit cards are no exception. Credit card companies need to remain competitive and one way they try to retain customers is by providing free services and valuable resources that may become somewhat of a lifeline for new business owners. Such services can include assistance in securing reservations for travel, 24/7 account access, and the ability to have multiple credit cards under one account.

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Tisha Kulak is a writer for Creditorweb.com, where she writes about credit card offers, business credit cards and small business finances.

I reached bright and early to the Qwest Center and got my preview of the movie. The idea was really interesting! Charlie Munger deciding to run for the President! Then a talk show and most hilarious was the newsflash that Warren Buffett has decided to be on “All My Children” and he had given reins of the company to Susan Lucci. Her first order of business was to give dividends to the shareholders (something that Mr Buffett has never done).

Finally the Q&A session began at 9:45Am. This year, the questions ranged from how to be a winning investor to how to pick good managers to usage of stock options. There were couple of questions about Klamath river too.

As usual, all answers were interspersed with humor, wit, intelligence and wisdom of Warren and Charlie. At noon, I visited exhibition hall. See’s Candy, Geico, Nebraska Furniture Mart, Fruit of the Loom, Pampered Chef and Berkshire Activewear were large crowd pullers. Most notable was entry of Wrigley, newest member of Berkshire family. There was an afternoon session but I decided to head home to go with my wife for shopping at Nebraska Furniture Mart.

Welcome to the Celebration of the Capitalists in Omaha. Yes it is Berkshire’s Borsheims Reception! Just like last year this event was fabulous. The cloudy skies did not dampen the spirit of the visitors. We parked our cars in the Westroads Shopping mall and boarded the shuttle to reach Borsheims at around 6:45 pm. The white tent was crowded, so we decided to head over to Borsheims. The glitter of diamonds and high decibel level of people talking to each other finally gave way to the jazz band playing in the atrium area. People from all parts of the world were here celebrating one more seriously successful year of Berkshire Hathaway.

Many of us were expecting to see the newest book on the life of Warren Buffett but we were disappointed to hear that it will be available on September 29,2008. However the spirits and excellent food lifted us from gloom.  I purchased my Berkshire cap and Warren and Charlie’s page a day calendar while waiting in the food line.

While we were savoring our food, the dance had begun in the tent. We watched people dance for a while and then headed to our shuttle bus at around 10pm.

I am looking forward to the Berkshire meeting and plan to head early to the Qwest Center to grab the best possible seat and see Sage of Omaha shower his pearls of his wisdom in person.

In few days after Berkshire shareholders meeting, Mr. Buffett is headed to Europe for shopping. He won’t be shopping for clothes like you and me. He will be shopping for the companies that pass his “value” criteria. If I had 40 billion dollars cash  burning a hole in my pocket, I would be doing the same thing!

An Italian tycoon Angelo Moratti has agreed to be Warren Buffett’s guide and help  him make an informed decision. This quest will take him to Milan, Madrid, Frankfurt and Lausanne.

Which company or companies will get lucky? Which companies will pass his “value” test? What do you think? Feel free to drop company names (preferably with website addresses) in the Comments area.

Business, especially ones that operate online, should understand the importance of being able to accept and process credit cards. Many buying decisions are made on impulse and if you are not able to provide a way to capitalize on those impulses, you could be losing a lot of important business. You need to be ready to complete a transaction as soon as a customer is ready to buy.Businesses on the web have many more options these days than they did in the past. For those businesses who sell items on sites like eBay or perhaps through their own website can still rely on snail mail for checks and money orders, which would need to be received prior to sending out the goods. This may not always be the option of choice for consumers of the “I want it now” philosophy so they may choose to shop elsewhere. Additionally, people who want to make an impulse purchase will not always have the money to pay for it right at that moment. Again, business is lost.

The check and money order route also affects the business owner too. Waiting for checks to clear and money to show up in your bank account affects your cash flow. Plus, if the check you receive doesn’t clear the bank, you may be held liable for expensive fees and other charges for the bounced check.

Establishing a way for your business to accept online checks and credit cards may be a step in the right direction and increase your business profits in a shorter period of time. While it may be expensive to be fully operational, the new business you may gain will be worth it. There are several ways to set up your business to accept credit cards. Here we will discuss two of the options.

• Bank Merchant Accounts - Websites such as Propay and Click2Pay allow you set yourself up with an account and will process credit card transactions on your behalf for a fee dependent upon the size of the transaction. Money made is transferred into an account and can be transferred to a checking account. Typically, there is an annual fee, which ranges from reasonable to expensive, depending on the type of account you establish. Bank merchant accounts also require other factors for opening an account including your business credit score.  
• Third Party Processors - Websites such as PayPal is considered a third party processor. You can set up a free account and do not have to pay annual fees. Processing fees will depend on the amount of money involved in the transaction. There may be more limitations involved with these types of accounts than with the bank merchant accounts.

Both types of credit card processing sites will allow your business to be more flexible and offer payment options consumers need. A simple internet search will help you locate credit card processing companies and you should comparison shops for the best rates and features for your company before committing to the first company you find.

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Tisha Kulak is a writer for Creditorweb.com, where she writes about <a href=”http://www.creditorweb.com/”>credit card offers</a>, business credit cards and small business finances.

Please welcome Tisha Kulak, guest author on Businessworks Inc. Blog.

Tisha Kulak is a full time freelance writer and marketing consultant for small businesses and entrepreneurs. She is the owner of TheHelpyHelper and specializes in e-books, web content and article writing, Tisha often works as a guest blogger on various sites and is an assistant editor of Creditor Web and American Consumer News. You can email Tisha at tisha@thehelpyhelper.com. I look forward to some great articles from her.

What are your plans for the upcoming Berkshire Meeting on Saturday May 3rd, 2008? Here is a tip from my good friend James Louis who has attended these meetings for past 11 years and I call him a “veteran” for sticking with Berkshire for so many years.

“Not only is it important to get to the meeting early to get a worthy seat, one of the best parts of the meeting is the movie that starts promptly at 8:30am. The very custom one-of-kind show includes creative cartoons staring Mr. Buffett his partner in crime, Mr. Munger and other very recognizable characters. The film also includes favorite commercials related to the various Berkshire investments, going back to some classic Coca-Cola commercials up to some of the recent Geico commercials featuring those brilliant cavemen.

Not only entertaining, the show is also informational, with clips about the subsidiary companies and their managers. There are snippets of Mr. Buffett and Mr. Munger involved in various interviews and events over the years.

One very notable scene shows Mr. Buffett as he represents Berkshire’s interest during the Solomon Brothers fiasco in a most admirable display of integrity and determination in a most troublesome and distressing situation. This bit has been included in years past as the film usually contains a mix of new clips and some repeat material.

So get to the meeting early Saturday morning, enjoy the show, then sit back and relax as you listen to the most brilliant investor ever field questions like a seasoned shortstop snagging pesky groundballs on opening day.”

Business Debt and Entrepreneurship go together hand-in-hand in almost 99% cases. It is hard to imagine one without other. However, Helen at Bankaholic provides 8 easily avoidable cause of Business Debt:

1. Not sticking to the necessities.
2. Trying to do too much too soon.
3. Not designing for scalability.
4. Failing to delegate.
5. Buying in bulk.
6. Paying your bills late.
7. Throwing away your receipts.
8. Failing to collect accounts receivable.

As an entrepreneur, I am sure you will find this an excellent resource. Read complete post here.

I have been waiting for Adii’s UnGrid Theme to bring this makeover to my blog. This much awaited theme is one of the cleanest one too with a very neat Home page providing at-a-glance look at latest posts, a very flexible Ads module that can be a included in the blog at various places. I haven’t used the Ads module yet but will be using it as soon as I decide which ads I want to display. This theme needs Recent Posts, Recent Comments, Most Commented, Popularity Contest plugins and comes in three flavors. Adii has provided a help file for the theme and an original layered Photoshop file. Thanks Adii for a wonderful theme that justifies the long wait.

In coming few days, I will review this great tool for the small businesses. To be fair to all, my disclaimer is: I have received this product for review purposes and get to keep this printer for providing a fair review. I will not claim that this product is better than any other product. I will use this product in my daily use and state the features as I use them. So here is the first look:

Model : Lexmark 4500
Description : Wireless All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer
Online Price : $153.99

Contents :
1 Lexmark 4500 printer
1 USB cable
1 Black Cartridge
1 Color Cartridge
1 User Manual
1 Power supply cord
1 plug-in Wireless module

Few more pictures: