Storified by · Sun, Mar 24 2013 04:09:26
When I started my business online a couple of years ago, I wasn’t expecting it to be so popular among the young people in our community, especially since I doubted that statement necklaces would still be in fashion these days. However, I guess I should just be grateful that I am doing well with my business, especially since it is quite difficult to make a mark on the Internet. My jewelry pieces are very popular in the state, but of course, I would like the chance to market my products all over the country and all over the world. Being quite young myself at that time, I didn’t know how to expand my territory. Thankfully, I had a friend who encouraged me to get accreditation from the BBB.
If you don’t know what BBB is, it stands for Better Business Bureau, which is an organization that helps build marketing trust between buyers and sellers by means of writing reviews and doing spotlights on the country’s businesses. At that time, I believed that I had nothing to lose, and so I immediately asked the BBB if it can inspect my small-time business, and possibly give me suggestions on how it can give me accreditation.
The process was not as stressful and time-consuming as I thought it would be. Since my business was based online, the Better Business Bureau did not feel the need for me to secure a business permit from the government. However, the representatives suggested that I should invest on my own domain if I really wanted to reach out to more customers. They also asked me for some paperwork and my portfolio, which just contained the background information of my business, from the time I started to the exact goods and services that I was offering.
I was confident that the Better Business Bureau would find no problems with my enterprise, and I was right. They graded me fairly, and since my business was still in its introductory phase, I was still surprised to receive an average grade. The BBB gave me more advice on how I could manage my business, and their suggestions only motivated me to work harder. It took a few more years until I got accreditation from the BBB, but the journey was really worth it.
