Monica Kochelee

On my way home from work I had a flat tire.  I was glad it was on the way home from work, and not on the way TO work, as it would have made me late for work and the office has a pretty tough “tardy” policy.  (Note to self - look for a new job, these people are not very nice!)

I was very glad that I have AAA insurance for just this kind of thing, I used my cell phone to call them and they sent a truck out with a guy to change my tire.  I’m really glad my spare was good!  So tomorrow I have to take my old tire to the tire shop and see if it can be repaired, or if I will need a new one.  The guy who changed my tire seemed to think I was going to need a new one, and I suspect he’s right.  If it isn’t one thing, it’s another!  Money doesn’t seem to sit in my bank account very long!

I was just reading an article on Time.com that France has decided to extend their 35 hour work week. I didn’t know that France had a 35 hour work week! That meant that if they worked more than 35 hours, they got paid overtime! Anyway, France’s government has decided that they will allow businesses to require that their employees work longer hours without paying them. Understandably the businesses are happy about that, the employees not so much.  I know I’d rather have a 35 hour work week!

When running a business, one of the most important decisions one makes from an administrative aspect is whether or not to accept credit cards as a form of payment. There are pros and cons to accepting credit cards.  Accepting credit cards expands your customer base; more customers will be inclined to buy your product or service if you accept credit cards.  However, accepting credit cards will cost your business money in the way of fees.  So you have to weigh out the costs and the benefits and decide if it is worth it.

A lot of businesses have made the decision to accept credit cards but offer their customers that pay with cash a cash discount to encourage them to pay with cash instead of credit cards.  I’ve heard that some gas stations have decided to stop accepting credit cards at all!  But I think that is a bad decision, the culture of America now has credit cards firmly entrenched into its psyche.  Orbit Payments is a company that offers merchant processing of credit cards.  By that I mean they will set up your company to accept credit cards.  What sets Orbit Payments apart from other companies is that they provide secure transactions with only a one week turnaround, so their clients get their money faster than with most other companies.

My brother sent me an email, telling me how excited he is that his office is holding a party at the Wrigley Field Rooftop Club.  They have bought each employee a Cubs rooftop ticket for the employee and one guest each.  I had never heard of the Rooftop Club, and thought it might be some thing along the line of some tall building near the sports stadium selling tickets to people that can’t actually get tickets to the sold out games or something like that.  Boy was I wrong! 

The Wrigley Field Rooftop Club is located inside the stadium, down the right field line, only 454 feet from home plate.  The Rooftop Club is a new building that just opened this past spring.  The Rooftop Club facility has three levels with over 9,000 square feet of space, sectioned off into suites, so companies can rent out different areas for private parties that they want to hold.  

It is set up with a lot of amenities including comfortable tables and chairs, wide screen televisions, and restrooms.  Food and beverages are included in the price of the ticket, and the guests get to eat and drink to their hearts content (up to the middle of the seventh inning, then the alcohol is cut off.)  Sounds like a great place to hold a corporate party!

There’s no doubt about it.  Any business that wants to expand needs to establish themselves on the Internet.  The biggest trend nowadays in promoting a business is through online marketing.  Websiteoffice.com is a great website designed to help webmasters learn about online marketing, search engine optimization, search marketing, and website resources.