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Digital app allows individuals to accept plastic

December 3rd 6:41 pm | Lahka Peacock Print this article   Email this article   Create a Shortlink for this article

What do Facebook, Twitter, E-Bay, cell phones and the hundreds of thousands of apps out there have in common for rural Alaska? They have all opened up the entire world to Selawik, Nuiqsut, Pt. Hope, Buckland and all the other small villages throughout Alaska to run a business or just make a little extra money on the side.

We are no longer isolated communities without the ability to reach out to the millions of people across the United States, the billions of people across the world...or just the few thousand people down the river in Kotzebue to sell some berries, market your etched baleen or market your computer repair services.

I started my first business five years ago in Nome. It was in 2007 that cell service hit Nome and that is what I needed to allow my business idea to succeed. My business required a lot of long-distance phone calls and, prior to cell service, I would not have been able to make enough money to pay the long-distance bill. As soon as cell service came to rural Alaska, I was in business.

In the past five years, rural Alaska has seen a dramatic development in quality of cell and Internet service and this will only continue as GCI continues to stretch their fiber optic lines and microwave towers across all of rural Alaska.

I would like to share with you one of the best pieces of technology that I use in my business. Whether you run a business, would like to start a business or just want to make some extra cash on the side, this app will blow your mind and help you make some money.

It is called Square and was created by the founder of Twitter. This Twitter guy asked himself, why can't everyone accept credit/debit card payments for things they want to sell? Why can't a babysitter get paid with a credit/debit card? Why can't you sell your sno-go and accept a credit/debit card payment for $5000? Why does a small business have to pay the bank a set-up fee, a monthly fee and transaction fees just to process a few credit/debit card payments each month?

Before Square, these things were impossible. Now, any business or any person can sign up at www.squareup.com and in a matter of minutes be accepting credit/debit card payments right on their phone. To see it work is almost magical. No set up fees. No monthly fees. And only a small transaction fee each time you accept a credit/debit card payment.

Once you have signed up online, you will be sent a small "card reader" that plugs into the audio jack of your phone. The card reader allows you to swipe a credit or debit card through it while attached to your phone and the information is imported into your phone. However, the card reader is not necessarily required to take payments. You can simply open the app on your phone and type the credit/debit card info into the Square app, hit submit, watch the payment get authorized and see the money transferred directly into your bank account!

Technology such as the Square app, smart phone and Internet have made it possible for rural Alaska entrepreneurs to be on an even playing field with other businesses across the United States. Begin taking advantage of these tools that have been made available to you for more than just surfing the Internet or posting your status on Facebook. There is money to be made with this technology.

Just fire up your Internet, turn on your phone and begin ☺

In the next issue, we will talk about how to receive faxes without a fax machine!

 

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