So, the world market is shaky and your 401K is worth half last year’s value, right?

Does the following scenario sound familiar? Last week, my broker poured over my portfolio then calmly instructed me to ride the market out while his hands shook and sweat beaded up on his forehead. The muted TV over his shoulder ran an endless stock market ticker of red arrows and minus signs while a reporter rattled off a story in front of a foreclosure banner. Making matters worse, a doomsday advertisement followed the news suggesting I buy gold immediately. My blood pressure, instead of my portfolio streaked to an all time high.

One thing is for sure. The economy and your 401K will not bounce back overnight, so a second source of income could never hurt. Daily, an internal passion burns in your soul to open a small internet marketed business and be your own boss, but you can’t readily quit your day job because you need the income. What you need is a convenient way to stay employed while slowly building the business of your dreams after work, an hour at a time.

Well today, in 2008, you are in luck. The e-commerce industry has made starting a second business easier than ever. Automated services and plug-n-play code make it a snap. For example, due to the fully automated suite of features offered by 2Checkout, thousands of small business owners, who have day jobs just like you, are growing their dream businesses when they can – a few hours on the weekend or an hour after dinner — through e-commerce enabled websites selling 24 hours a day.

Because your time is limited but you want to start selling now, we have designed a free shopping cart and order page to easily upload your products and link them to our checkout process. 2Checkout’s supplemental customer service department is also on-call 24/7 to answer your customer’s questions during checkout and our fraud department works around the clock to filter criminally minded transactions from honest customers.

There is no better opportunity to take the leap of faith and invest in yourself and the business you know best. But the key to making a smart decision is finding a resourceful e-commerce partner willing to help you protect and grow your business when you only have a few hours to dedicate each week. Invest in yourself and your dreams by signing up for a 2Checkout account today!

Do you have big celebratory plans for International Fraud Awareness Week? What do you mean — NO? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!

As you know, 2Checkout takes e-commerce fraud management very seriously and accurate and timely protection of your orders has always been a guarantee. But this week, to celebrate Fraud Week, we made our net even stronger.

2Checkout joined a global fraud-fighting community, powered by Ethoca – a leader in collaborative fraud management – to extend our fraud management services beyond our current system. Now, we have access to shared fraud data from a pool of online retailers designed to help augment our efforts in spotting and stopping fraudulent online behavior more efficiently, and guaranteeing less chargebacks related to fraud.

In partnership with our existing fraud detection technology, Ethoca will be an added layer of protection. The beauty of the system is that it not only red flags and records fraudulent findings from other retail sources but also helps identify honest customers as well, so they can receive a virtual “speed pass” through the clearance process and valuable departmental resources can remain focused on stopping criminal activity.

According to Sebbe Jones, Manager of Fraud Protection for 2Checkout, “Fraud protection isn’t just about stopping the bad guys. Providing a seamless and safe shopping experience for the legitimate consumer is equally, if not more important. Ethoca is yet another layer of security for us to ensure a safe shopping experience.”

We are proud to be an integral part of Ethoca’s network and are confident the model will help stamp out fraudulent transactions within the retail industry, resulting in substantial savings for customers and retailers selling online.

A chill stirs the morning air reminding me winter is near, here in the Northern Hemisphere, and that it is time to stock up on a variety of warm seasonal drinks. With thousands of vendors utilizing 2Checkout’s global online payment solution, a subset of gourmet coffee and exotic tea vendors from around the world have found success marketing unique brands of their warm and iced drinks through niche-oriented websites. So, while you stock up on wood and grab your comfy fleece throw from the closet in preparation for a “curl up” next to the fireplace, stray away from the instant brands for one of the following 2Checkout premium coffee and tea vendors.

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The Small Business Marketing Unleashed (SBMU) conference, produced by our friends at Search Engine Guide covers a wide range of issues surrounding search engine optimization (SEO). The conference provided an excellent crash course on testing site optimization and adding new social media tactics to online marketing strategies.

As most of you know, well managed SEO transcends all business websites, small and large. Since SBMU focused on small businesses, a smart group of small business owners and SEO strategists gathered in the collective home of Search Engine Guide and 2Checkout — Columbus, Ohio — for the organization’s second event.

So, what was the take home? In my case, 21 pages of notes filled with hundreds of tips, and a number of new friends. Here are six bits of advice you will find helpful in your quest to improve SEO, site readability, and ultimately convert more sales.

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The largest single sales transaction in 2Checkout history closed last week and we would like to give a “shout out” to Directory Wizards Inc. for earning a spot in the 2CO record book.

Directory Wizards has been a model 2Checkout vendor for three and a half years, offering directory solutions through its SimpleSync and Profiler software packages. SimpleSync provides customers a unique technology that can synchronize account information between directories, so each directory contains a unified view of other non-connected directories. The software is powerful enough to scale extremes such as smaller directories made up of hundreds of objects with massive directories including hundreds of thousands of objects without requiring extensive training or excessive installation and configuration. Profiler , a web based software, enables companies to empower end users to update personal directory information themselves, such as telephone numbers, by using the browser on their PC.

Through quality software and resourceful customer support, Directory Wizards has amassed an impressive list of loyal customers including the Green Bay Packers , 7-Eleven, Harvard Medical School, and the United States Marine Corps. Last week’s record shattering sale eclipsed the previous 2Checkout single purchase record by thousands of dollars. The specific transaction was a multi-year maintenance contract worth over $73,000 USD, creating a “blip” the size of a 747 on the 2Checkout radar. And considering the size and depth of the order, a company spokesperson indicated the checkout process was quite easy and convenient for the customer. When it was time to bill the customer, Directory Wizards created a PDF outlining the details of the maintenance quote and embedded a one-line payment hotlink pointing to 2Checkout for seamless finalization.

Directory Wizards — we recognize your ingenuity and congratulate you for making 2Checkout history. We hope you break your record next week!