In the past year we went from having long-overdue IOUs between friends to getting a ton of ways to pay people. Just a few taps and bing, bang, boom, you don’t have to worry about getting going to an ATM or writing a check ever again. (Wait, do people still write checks?) With so many ways to pay, this week, to Upgrade Your Life, we’re giving you the what’s what on your best options.
1. Collect Money From Lots of People: Whether you’re booking a summer hotel for you and your friends or divvying up gas money for a road trip, Glassjar can make paybacks a lot less awkward and difficult. All you have to do is start a jar, ask your friends to contribute a certain amount, and when the jar is full, the money goes to your account.
There’s even a fun roulette option that lets you take a gamble on having to pay for the next round, or not have to pay at all.
DL It: Free on Android, coming soon to iOS
2. To Split the Bill: A dinner can go from laughs and drinks to pen and paper when you have to figure out how to split the bill. It’s a total downer. With Tab, you can take a picture of the bill, and the app reads each of the items and the prices. Then, each person just joins in and claims what they ate. Tab will divvy it all up — tip included. No more pen and paper.
3. For More Professional Payments: While all of these apps could potentially be used to collect money from a client, there’s something about Payzo.io that’s just a bit more professional. Just set up your payment page, complete with your name and picture/logo. When you send someone that link, they put in their payment info just like they would for any online purchase. If you’re only using the service occasionally, you can accept up to $200 per month for free, and the monthly pricing starts at $9 after that. If you’re a Stripe user, this platform connects super easily.
4. Keep It Social: Venmo isn’t the prettiest payment app out there, but it’s great for things like getting coffee for people in the office or making lunch orders. You can pay and get paid just like with the other apps, but there’s also a feed function that lets you see who people in your network are paying. Also, when you’re making a note of what the payment is for, you can use emojis, so that’s fun.
5. Keep It Simple: From the people of Square comes one of the easiest ways to transfer money: Square Cash. The app couldn’t be any simpler: Just put in the amount you want to pay or get paid and then pick a recipient. They’ve recently added a super awesome $Cashtag feature too. Anyone can have a $Cashtag — it’s just a URL you create and send to everyone from clients to roommates so they can pay you from your page.
6. Make It Fun: Dishing out money usually isn’t super fun, but Snapchat is trying to change that with Snapcash. It’s not quite as fun to use as they make it look in their promo video, but it’s pretty simple to navigate and it’s inside of an app that you probably already have.
In case you haven’t tried it yet, you just go into your chat section, and in a message, just type any number after a dollar sign. Your send button will turn green and then you just send the money.
How do you square up funds? Let us know in the comments!
It can be intimidating to step out on your own and build a business from the ground up. As part of our collaboration with Office Depot, we're talking with Selfmade alum and solopreneur Colette Lawrence, the faith-based motivator and relationship builder behind The M.E.E. Movement, about ways in which women in business can find success.
B + C: How did you know M.E.E. Movement was your business to start?
The M.E.E Movement represents motivation, empowerment, and encouragement for women. It is what represents me. I did not know at first that it was my business to start, but then the thought of monetizing what I loved came to me. It scared me, however. I registered the business in July 2020 and have been slowly building my wings since.
B + C: What's one strategy that's helped you start your business?
Thinking through and researching what the requirements are to start my business, and then asking questions of people who are in the business. Not all advice worked; however, it helped me to figure out what I needed to do and not to do.
B + C: Did you always know life coaching would be your entrepreneurial path?
(Smiles) No, I did not. I 'stumbled" on it. I knew that people were always coming to me for advice and I found that I loved having conversations with them, especially with women, young and old.
B + C: What was your most valuable takeaway from Selfmade?
My most valuable takeaway was the first day of training: Get out of your own way. There were a lot of great moments and important takeaways from every presenter. However, getting out of my own way, pushing past doubts, was for me my most valuable takeaway. Doing something that I had never done before took courage. If I do not focus on what is happening with me mentally then I cannot deliver to my clients successfully.
B + C: What's one piece of advice you would give to female entrepreneurs on the brink of starting?
Get out of your head. You have something to offer. You have what you need to succeed so go ahead and do it.
B + C: How do you stay motivated?
I stay motivated by listening to music and listening to motivational speakers, and sometimes someone will just reach out and talk about the impact that I made in their life. That adds the extra juice or sauce I need to pummel through the day.
B + C: What's your best organizational tip?
Keep a diary and journal. It's the best way for me to keep organized and it also provides a source motivation as I record not only my "losses" but my wins as well.
B + C: Who inspires you in the entrepreneurial space?
Shirley Toliver – She motivates and empowers and makes me always want to show up.
B + C: What has receiving the Office Depot scholarship to Selfmade done to help you start or grow your business?
The scholarship was a blessing in that all the areas that were covered offered valuable information that I needed, from social media to HR. As a new business owner, I needed to know this to increase my own personal awareness in what it takes to run a successful business. The candidness of the presenters made it easy to see myself in their shoes and helped me to realize that I can also get there.
Thanks Colette! You can follow The M.E.E. Movement on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Want to feel motivated to take the next step for your business? Let Office Depot OfficeMax give you the confidence you need with a suite of business services & solutions to help you put your best foot forward. Make a good first impression with business cards & build the business pitch of your dreams with custom presentations. With Office Depot OfficeMax you'll find the tools to reach new customers with confidence.
Head to Office Depot's Selfmade page to check out even more amazing business resources (and discounts!) to help you accomplish more on your entrepreneurial journey. These offers are available for a limited time only, so be sure to take advantage of all this goodness while supplies last. Want to join the next Selfmade cohort this summer? Check out all of the scholarship details right here.