dsi1 wrote:
>
> I get bombarded by people offering these services a lot. It seems that
> everybody's getting into this business.

Thanks. I'll keep my day job and when it comes to the side business I
will only consider one with less competition not more.

> In over
> 6 years of business, I've changed one time and get good rates.

To me this is key. I was interested in doing it because I was handed an
account and locked into it if I wanted to stay with that marketing
network, so I was motivated to switch vendors. But if a lot of small
merchants have switched once it's much harder to find a vendor cheap
enough to justify switching a second time.

> I think your best bet is to find new businesses and those small business
> owners you have contacts with to make your pitch. They've already told
> you what their rates are, you could then ask them what kind of rates
> they'd like to have and then make your pitch.
>
> I see a lot of hole-in-the-wall food places that could probably increase
> their sales by taking cards. If you're willing to approach the owners
> directly that may be fruitful. If you're mostly going to sit at a desk
> and make cold calls, you'd better have something better to say that what
> I've been hearing.

That was my market research - Asking the owner of every small business I
did business with for most of a year. To actually do it for profit I
would need to drive around locating small businesses in droves. Pass.
A couple of hours of overtime at my day job pays enough that I have to
have fun doing the side business and face to face sales is too stressful
to me.