We really do love our pets here at 2CO, and I bet you do too! I also know that we have some very talented artists who visit here. You can help us find our new mascot by sending us a picture of your pets or some of your art! Personally, I can’t wait to see the dogs and cats and birds and other assorted animal-friends as well as some really excellent art.

Guidelines:

• All photos/drawings must have a proper logo (2Checkout.com, 2Checkout or 2CO).
• Please keep all photos/drawings tasteful (no nudity/illicit behavior).
• Only one entry per person.
• You may submit your entry via email or mail.
• Entries must include your name, email address, supplier id (if applicable) and mailing address in your email or mailed entry.
• Only entries received on or before July 30, 2009 will be accepted.

Please submit all entries by mail to:

2Checkout.com
Attn: Mascot Contest
1785 O’Brien Rd.
Columbus, OH 43228

Or by email:

Mascot@2co.com

For all you business owners out there relying on contracted help to run your businesses – which is pretty much all of you – it’s time to reevaluate the quality of your partnerships to ensure you are getting the most bang for your buck.

In times of economic uncertainty, the small business owner is often stuck in a position where they are at the mercy of a number of different businesses. Suppliers, distributers, and banks all need paid for their services. For folks selling online, web hosts, ISPs, and affiliates also weigh down the expense column.

As part of effectively running a small business, budgeting for the costs associated with “doing business” is a crucial job of its own that robs precious time from what most managers consider the most crucial business task — marketing and selling their products. So when one of your suppliers or business partners changes distribution standards or increases pricing, balancing costs versus revenue is an immediate challenge.

Within the vast e-commerce marketplace, we are proud of what we have accomplished. 2Checkout prides itself on the fact that in nearly 10 years of doing business, we have never increased our fees, nor cannibalized our service offering to make ends meet.

Businesses that opened 2Checkout accounts in February of 2000 pay the same fees today that attracted them to our e-commerce service nearly a decade ago and continue to benefit from the upgrades we make to our system. We have never added scaled fee structures or tacked on additional costs for the businesses enjoying increased sales and as a result are more reliant on the labor intensive portions of our service — such as our 24/7 customer care center and screening orders for fraud. Growth and the increase in responsibility for appropriately handling your increase in online sales, comes with the territory of being a service-centric business. And when your business succeeds, we are more than happy to grow to meet your needs and demands. That’s our promise.

You know the old adage — you get what you pay for! It’s very true. It’s important to note it doesn’t mean you need to expect an increase in fees to coincide with each year’s cost-of-living increase or be forced to manage more of the responsibilities associated with your online sales. In the world of business, you can compete on price or you can compete on service. Very rarely can you find a business that can do both. We are proud of the fact we have remained a consistent provider of quality e-commerce services at a steady price for nearly a decade. Dependability is a good quality in a friend, but crucial in a partner for your business!

Last month, the city of Fargo, North Dakota and it’s neighbor Moorhead, Minnesota experienced a devastating flood as two late season blizzards hit the region. The resulting melting snow caused record flooding of the Red River (New York Times).

In this time of need, 2Checkout, through the Social Responsibility Task Force, is collecting clothes for the Red Cross to distribute to the people currently living in shelters We urge you to help by visiting the Red Cross site and making a donation.

For Earth Day, I want to talk a little about 2Checkout’s “Green Initiative”. We have made becoming a “greener” company an important focus this year. Not only is this good for the environment, it is also good business as many of the small steps a company can take will ultimately reduce costs and make the business more efficient.

“Adopting environmentally-friendly and energy efficient business practices provides numerous benefits to new business owners looking to control costs, attract customers, and become socially responsible.” -business.gov

Most of the steps we have taken since January have been rather small changes, but a series of small steps can make a huge difference. Some of the changes for our ‘Green Initiative” are:
Continue reading…

Recently, several of us at 2Checkout had the first meeting of our Social Responsibility Task Force. The purpose of this committee is to determine where, when, and how corporate charitable initiatives should be applied. As this was the first meeting, many of the members are currently researching existing initiatives. There was also some discussion about the possibility of expanding donations on a more global level.

We would also like to expand our volunteerism and encourage individual time commitments to a variety of programs. We have also discussed partnering with some of our many vendors who are already using their businesses as a means to raise funds for causes that are important to them. We are looking closely at the idea of expanding our scholarship program, as well as focusing on programs that repair older computers to give to those in need.

To help with expanding our donations, we would like to know what causes are important to you and what you view locally or internationally as a “worthy cause”? Post your ideas here or send me an email at bion@2co.com.