Trust is a huge part of getting a customer to buy from your website. Many customers have been educated on the value of a “trust” endorsement and that secure padlock symbol that tells them their transaction won’t be hacked. This post explores the new VeriSign trust seal program and provides general tips to help improve your e-commerce efforts.
This post is for any small business owner who runs a shopping cart or online store and discovers shopping cart abandonment (peopleRead More
What financing methods have you been using to grow your business and keep cash flowing during the recession? As the economy improves again, credit card issuers are hoping more small business owners will turn to credit cards as a cash management tool.
The Los Angeles Times recently reported that entrepreneurs can expect to see more credit card offers in their mailboxes in the coming months. Why? Because the 2009 legislation that reformed credit card policies put a lotRead More
Credit Card Companies Woo Small Businesses—But Will Entrepreneurs Say Yes?
For many businesses, vehicle travel produces the largest environmental impact. Think about all those meetings, errands and deliveries.
Automobile usage should be part of any business’s sustainability plan. Transportation accounts for about 30 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. One small SUV, for instance, contributes about 10,000 lbs. of carbon emissions for every 12,000 miles driven. What’s more, some oil industry insiders predict gasoline prices could rise to $5 per gallon by 2012, making fuel efficiency aRead More
Hey, is your small business using social media? Could be blogging, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare you name it! While not so long ago there were plenty of people who doubted the overall impact of social media for the business community, nowadays few people question the possibilities. In a recent post on the BizSugar blog, we suggested ten bright ideas for using social media in your small business. They lead this roundup on small business social media success. Enjoy!
There’s a lot of buzz about small business funding these days. The issue has become a major one not only in the small business community but also among government leaders. It’s certain that finding the funds for your small business venture, especially until cash flow becomes regular, is a challenge every small business owner or entrepreneur faces. If you’re facing this issue, we hope the resources below will help. If there is a creative way you have dealt with thisRead More
The dawning of the 21st century has brought with it a staggering new array of tools, resources changing the very fabric of business as we know it. Though it may take some time to realize with many other changes on the horizon, it has been small business that has seen one of the most significant transformations. Leveraging their small staffs and budgets with the new power of the Internet and a new way of doing business as well, these entrepreneursRead More
As a small business owner, I’m always looking for lessons or mantras that I can hold on to. Little nuggets that I can use to guide my decision making help keep me on the right path during difficult times. Over the past two years, I’ve come up with four mantras that I think any small business owner would do well to follow. I’ll share them below. Let me know if you agree or, perhaps, what your own mantras are forRead More
Xerox Corp. announced this morning a $6.4 billion dollar bid to acquire Affiliated Computer Services (ACS).
The deal is the second big industry acquisition in as many weeks. Last week computer hardware and IT services provider Dell bought Texas-based Perot System for $3.9 billion. ACS is the largest provider of managed services to government with over 1,700 federal, state, county and local government contracts.
Just last week, ACS signed a deal with the Louisiana Department of Social Services to administer transaction authorization processing, card management and helpdesk services for Louisiana’s Food Stamps program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. ACS performs similar work for sixteen other states and the federal government to deliver EBT services.
ACS shareholders would receive 63.11 per share in cash and Xerox stock, according to officials, giving the copier company a new revenue stream as an outsourcer and information services company. The combined company would create a $22 billion global enterprise for document technology and business process management, officials said in a statement.
ACS president and chief executive Lynn Blodgett said the deal would allow the ACS brand to expand globally through the Xerox name and “leading innovation.”
Ursula M. Burns, Xerox chief executive officer, said the deal was a “game-changer for Xerox.”
Foreign sales may be the biggest factor in the deal. According to Xerox, the company will use its established brand and client relations in Europe, Asia and South America to scale ACS’s business. ACS’s expertise is in managing paper-based work processes and providing specialized BPO and information technology services for industries that range from telecommunications, retail and financial services to healthcare, education and transportation. The BPO market is expected to reach $150 billion this year.
The company also expects to achieve annualized cost synergies in the range of $300 million to $400 million in the first three years by using ACS’s back-office expertise to handle Xerox’s internal functions..
Darwin Deason, founder and chairman of ACS, said the deal was a “tremendous outcome” for their shareholders, and that he’ll remain a “long-term investor.” The acquisition is still subject to government and regulatory approval.