amyfitch.com

Well, the #roadtrip2Bono was a success. In 72 hours, I drove 1500 miles round trip with 4 kids and a kitten. Hey, I’ve never touted my sanity.

A funny thing happened to me while I was on the road: A company named “Rate Clear” (@rateclear) used my Twitter handle when referencing their merchant credit card processing products without consulting me first. My guess is that it was the result of the interview I recently gave to Business Week. How they heard about me isn’t important, what is important is that I actually hadn’t heard of  them until I saw their Tweet, so I am very happy that they took it upon themselves to reference me in their promotion. While most of my research on their products was done at truck stops on the way from Oklahoma to Iowa, I did have a chance to speak to a customer service representative from Rate Clear this morning. I even invited them to join today’s #ratechat. I’m not sure if they will join us, but I will tell you what I learned about their rates, tell you who would benefit from their pricing options, and I’ll take your questions on Rate Clear or any other processor. Can’t figure out how to read your merchant credit card processing statement? I’ll help you with that, too. I look forward to interacting with you today at 4PM CT on Twitter. Follow along by searching for the hashtag #ratechat, or by following me: @AmySwipeRite.

The U2 concert was fantastic, so if you’d rather talk about music than merchant credit card processing rates, I’m happy to do that too, on Twitter.

It’s amazing how quickly life takes hold and weeks pass by, leaving my blog posts lacking in content. I’m working on my to do list. I’d like to share a brief list of the exciting things I’m working on, and ask for your input in making the content applicable and fresh. Ok? Jump in any time.

1) My vegan experiment led to at least one really fabulous epiphany. I’m working on a synopsis and can’t wait to share what I learned.

2) Have you ever thought about becoming an Independent Merchant Processing Agent? It was a hot “at home” business model at the turn of this century, but the realities of the industry can be harsh. I have a list of things to think about before taking this step.

3) Have you ever started a business and watched it fail? I’m opening up about a failure we experienced, and how social media might have prevented the final collapse.

4) I’m always on the look-out for people who are smarter than me. I interact with them everyday and make notes on how to include them in my Thursday series. Know somebody whose smarter than you? Want to guest post on my website some Thursday? Let me know!

Want to interact about these ideas, or any others? Email me amy@amyfitch.com, or find me on Twitter @AmySwipeRite.

I posted on our “Great Transition” with the business on our Swipe-Rite blog. Here, I get to tell you about the personal triumphs in transitioning, and hopefully, a small lesson in starting your own business.

When you have a “Big Idea” that turns into a business, chances are pretty good that your idea will quickly take on the characteristics of an infant, and you, of course, its parent. You spend every minute figuring out how best to feed, teach, and protect your precious production. And then some idiot in the grocery check-out line asks if the baby adorned in pink is “a little boy” and you nearly scream. My point is this: when something is a part of you, you are much more sensitive to criticism. You also instinctively know what is best, and when listening to criticism is a waste of your time.

Recently, our business had become a mess of miscommunication and disorganization. We were offering great products and services, but with the partnership we were pursuing, what we really wanted to do for businesses just couldn’t come to fruition. So we changed what we were doing, who we were working with, and how we were approaching, well…everything.

It was is scary. But it is also exhilarating. Small business ownership is indeed a lot like parenting. The hours are the same, the level of concern is the same, and the pride of having a successful business is probably equal to watching your child graduate from college. But the risks, the worries, and the second-guessing (Am I doing this right?) cannot be overlooked. At the end of the day, those who succeed in both parenting and small-business ownership are a mixture of smart and crazy, fearless but prudent.

Do you have a big idea? When was the last time you did something that was scary and exciting? Tell me here @AmySwipeRite