(Written by guest contributor Joel Ownby) Accepting payment online for your products and services sounds like a pretty simple endeavor, and at a low level it is. Understanding what is happening behind the scenes is an entirely different proposition. Understanding the nuts and bolts of payment processing will grant you the ability to provide better customer service, generate more accurate cash flow and projection data, help you to better understand technical issues involving payment processing... Continue Reading

Carpe Diem, goes the phrase. Literally translated "Seize the Day" from Latin, I first became familiar with the term from the film Dead Poets Society. While the film had a depressing twist, I am coming to understand more and more the need to take hold of the moments in our lives. It seems like just yesterday that my son was born. I remember changing that first poopie diaper as though the smell still lingers in... Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Loral Langemeier) Most people aren't born with a silver spoon in their mouth; the truth is very few experience that luxury. Many people opt for settling with the average life, being "gainfully employed." Most buy a home, raise a family, pay into a 401K and get in and (if they're lucky) out of debt. Sound familiar? If it does, you're in a lifestyle cycle -- meaning you tend to struggle your... Continue Reading

A well-planned project is the essence of efficiency and cost effectiveness. I am assuming with this article that you have already done the first phase of planning a project, which is a laundry list of things that you want your project to contain. I will be using the example of setting up a personal website. In phase one, I determined that I wanted a blog, a photo gallery, and a contact form. Phase two... Continue Reading

Christmas. Seems like we measure a good part of our year by the celebration of Christ's birth. I know. For many people Christmas is very much a secular holiday. A time for family and friends. A time for decorating and hanging pretty lights. A time for the wonder of Santa Claus and flying reindeer. And a time for gift-giving. And regardless of whether or not Target has the cajones to allow the nice Salvation Army... Continue Reading

There are about seven billion people on the planet. Every one of us is different. Every one of us has opinions, tastes, inclinations and preferences. And every one of us is difficult to please. If you work hard at marketing your website and your products, you'll be able to put them in front of a few thousand of those people. Work really hard and build successful products, and maybe millions will see them. Continue Reading

What makes you tick? What is the source of the "fire in your belly" that keeps you dreaming and reaching for... whatever it is? What is the one thing that you care about most and would give anything to have, be or do? That is your passion. Continue Reading

Whether you love Wal-Mart or hate them, there is no doubt that their rise has been at the expense of many smaller retailers. In order for comedy to work, there has to be at least a grain of truth in the humor. Check out this hilarious flash animated movie of Mom and Pop Vs. Wal-Mart. It has more than its share of truth in it. By the way, it's not for the kiddies. Continue Reading

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Nope, its the Perseids! No, I am not nuts. The Perseids is a meteor shower that has been around since the time of the Civil War. From Space.com... "The Perseids are the result of stream of debris in space laid down by comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the Sun every 130 years and spends most of its time in the far reaches of the solar system. On each... Continue Reading

Mary and I had the opportunity to escape for a rare "date night" last night, and what a great night it was! We started the evening with dinner at Cascata Ristorante, a fine Italian dining establishment in Edmond. The atmosphere was charming and it was a pleasure to be waited on by a very professional wait staff. It all looked quite good so we decided to order two plates and share them. We ordered the... Continue Reading