One of the biggest challenges that the payments industry has had to overcome has been balancing fraud prevention while not hindering the customer experience. Fraud prevention isn’t a new development. It’s been a concern for years, which is why Visa developed a protocol known as “3D Secure” over 15 years ago.

Overview of 3D Secure

3D Secure, which stands for “Three Domain Secure,” refers to the three domains involved in the security of cardholder’s information.

These include:

• The Acquiring or Merchant’s bank.
• The Card Association’s financial networks, i.e., Mastercard and Visa.
• The Issuing or Cardholder’s bank.

This system merely authenticates cardholder information so that the transaction taking place is diverted to the browser, usually in the form of a pop-up window or inline frame, to the bank that has issued the card and requests a secret password or pin. Since this secret password or pin was only known to the cardholder, it would presumably prevent fraudsters from making unverified transactions.

That’s not to say that was a foolproof system.

As Kaleigh Simmons points out in the Rippleshot Blog, “In reality, it fell victim to most password-reliant systems. Consumers either chose passwords that were easy to remember, and easy to guess, defeating the purpose. Or, they chose passwords that were difficult to guess, and just as difficult to remember.”

“For years, merchants and consumers alike complained of the difficulties in successfully completing a 3D Secure-authenticated transaction, and cart abandonment that followed,” Simmons adds. “While forgetting passwords was a common issue, another factor came into play — the browser pop-up itself. Because most issuers outsource the process to their access control server vendor, the domain of the pop-up window was usually absent of any bank or card network information that would make them feel it was trustworthy. This also left an opening for phishing schemes to capitalize on since it is hard to identify which URLs were secure versus which weren’t.”

Another concern was the fact that cardholders had to first sign up with their bank and activate the 3-D Secure service, such as MasterCard SecureCode, Verified by Visa, and American Express SafeKe.

Because of these issues, technical body EMVCo and PCI Security Standards Council have released EMV 3-D Secure Protocol and Core Functions Specification v2.0.0 (EMV 3DS 2.0 Specification).

What’s New in 3-D Secure Version 2.0?

“3DS 2.0 is essential to introduce improved authentication, and we are excited to be working hand-in-hand with EMVCo to ensure all payment channels,” said PCI Security Standards Council Chief Technology Officer, Troy Leach. “The marketplace is changing every day, and with mobile payments projected to continue to rise, it is of vital importance that the security concerns be addressed in the design of the authentication system to keep up with the evolving threats.”

According to GPayments here are the differences in 3-D Secure version 2.0:

While version 1 will continue to be available, 3-D Secure 2.0 will use token-based and biometric authentication, instead of static passwords. By supporting additional data during a transactions, risk-based decisions will be possible on whether to authenticate or not. The consumer experience will also be simplified and enhanced, starting with the elimination of the initial sign-up process and removing the need for cardholders to use static passwords. Merchants will see fewer transaction abandonments by customers, for the same reasons. EMVCo, jointly owned by American Express, Discover, JCB, MasterCard, UnionPay, and Visa, is responsible for the EMV 3DS 2.0 specification and the certification program to go with it.

Specifically, the new version will update the following the specifications:

• Supports specific app-based purchases on mobile and other consumer devices, and traditional browser-based e-commerce channels.
• Improves the consumer experience by enabling intelligent risk-based decisions that encourage frictionless consumer authentication.
• Delivers industry-leading security features.
• Specifies use of multiple options for step-up authentication, including one-time passcodes as well as biometrics via out-of-band authentication.
• Details functionality that enables merchants to integrate the authentication process seamlessly into their checkout experiences, for both an app and browser-based implementations.
• Offers performance advancements for end-to-end message processing. Adds a non-payment message category to provide cardholder verification details to support various non-payment activities.

“Besides security, the consumer experience is central to EMVCo’s work,” said Jonathan Main, Chair of the EMVCo Board of Managers. “In addition to engaging with industry experts, we conducted user testing in multiple markets to understand consumer preferences for verifying their identity online. Feedback has been incorporated into the new global specification to also accommodate country-specific preferences and regulatory requirements.”

Main adds, “The new specification gives industry the flexibility to effectively support new technology developments as consumer payments become increasingly digitized. We would like those interested in the evolution of the EMV 3DS 2.0 Specification to get involved to ensure their long-term requirements are considered for the future.”

What Does This Mean For Payments and Transactions?

According to Alex Rolfe on Payments Cards & Mobile, “Merchants will have the ability to better integrate the authentication process into the shopping experience, providing a more user-friendly authentication experience, which can translate to higher conversion rates and increased sales.”

Additionally, “Issuers will have access to more data, helping them to make more informed transaction decisions. For consumers, paying online will be as fast, simple and convenient as ever. And as always, Visa’s Zero Liability policy guarantees that cardholders won’t be held responsible for unauthorized charges made with their account, online or offline.”

Ultimately, these new specifications will increase conversions, sales, and security by improving authentication, enhancing the customer experience, and help usher in frictionless payments.

Originally published at due.com on April 7th, 2017.

WHAT IS THE NEW 3-D SECURE SPECIFICATION FOR PAYMENTS AND TRANSACTIONS? was originally published in Due.com on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Security is arguably the top concern for customers. And, for good reason. In 2015 there was an estimated half a billion data breaches. A data breach can damage your reputation, decrease sales, and even cost you a ton of money in settling lawsuits.

To prevent any of those from happening, you have to take the following steps in ensuring that your small business won’t experience a data breach.

Provide your employees with training.

According to a report released by the Association of Corporate Counsel, employee error is the leading cause of data breaches, such as sending an email containing sensitive information to to unauthorized individual outside of the company.

Because of that, it’s important that you properly train your employees in security basics and raising their awareness of common scams. One of most effective ways to accomplish this is through social engineering.

“Social engineering involves manipulating workers to voluntarily give up information or access,” says Terry Evans, president of Cybersecurity Biz in Rochester, NY, in The Hartford.

Social engineering works like this: Someone posing as a social engineer will someone in your office your office claiming that they’re ‘testing the system’ in order to trick that employee into handing over their password. According to Evans, that social engineers is relying on the fact that employees aren’t aware in the value of the information that they possess, so they’re lax in guarding it.

Social engineering awareness training, in conjunction with written policies and procedures, can be achieved through;

• Instructing employees never to click on unsolicited e-mail attachments, or links that are embedded in emails.
• Training employees to never share sensitive information anyone without first verifying their identity.
• Refraining from using USB drives that are left out in the open. These devices are often left by hackers and once used, the company becomes infected with malicious software, which gives the hacker access to your system.

“Failing to address the threat posed by social engineering is somewhat like buying a high tech security system and then leaving your front door unlocked,” says Evans.

Another way to avoid employee error is by restricting their access to secure data, like customer’s payment information or administrative access to things like bookkeeping software and social media accounts.

Limit the amount of personal data you have stored.

As the Federal Trade Commission recommends, you need to go lean and mean in your data collection, retention, and use policies.

For starters, only collect the information that you need from your customers. For example, there’s absolutely no need to gather their email passwords when collecting their email addresses when they register for an account. Furthermore, never use their personal information, such as using real people’s personal information in employee training sessions.

Also, limit the amount of time that you store your customer’s information. Once a transaction is completed, there’s no longer a need to hold onto the credit and debit card information that were used to complete the transaction.

Having too much personal information, and holding onto it, doesn’t just add unnecessary risk, it could also land you in hot water with organizations like the FTC.

Encrypt your data.

As Andra Zaharia explains in the Heimdal Security blog, “Encryption tools are very useful in keeping valuable information hidden from cyber criminals, because it renders the data inaccessible to prying eyes.”

Zaharia explains that, “Encryption is a process that transforms accessible data or information into an unintelligible code that cannot be read or understood by normal means.” Thankfully, encryption tools are included on most operating systems. For Windows-based PCs it’s BitLocker and on Macs it’s FileVault.

There are also free encryption tools like VeraCrypt, 7Zip, and AxCrypt.

Make sure your payment processing network is secure.

Before you start accepting payments online make sure that your network has an adequate firewall and updated virus protection. Also, make sure that the platform you’re using is PCI compliant.

Create secure passwords and comprehensive authorization.

I completely understand creating and remembering complex passwords is annoying. However, it’s essential if you want to prevent data breaches. When considering possible passwords, make sure that they’re strong, contains at least 13 characters, symbols, letters, and numbers. It’s also suggested that you change your passwords frequently and lock users out after a certain number of incorrect password attempts.

To make your life easier, there are a number of password managers, such as LastPass, Dashlane, and KeePassX, that will protect your online accounts without having you to memorize a those lengthy and complicated passwords.

You should also consider two-factor authentication. This simply uses a password and another factor, like a pin code sent to a mobile device or a fingerprint, whenever you or your team logs into an account.

Two-factor authentication is useful when you or your employees access data from more than once device, such as a laptop, tablet or smartphone, or when you’re working remotely since it requires a second-level of authentication, instead of just a password that can can easily be discovered.

Monitor threats.

Why wait for a data breach to happen in the first place? With monitoring tools like Stealthbits you have real-time threat detection that locates and disables any suspicious activity before databases are attacked.

Don’t forget the physical information.

We get so focused on online and cloud-based data protection that we neglect physical property like paperwork, hard drives, laptops, flash drives, and disks. Make sure that these physical items are stored securely and not carelessly left out for anyone to grab, like in your garage or passenger seat of your car.

Like not storing personal data that you no longer need, you should also dispose of information that you no longer need securely. For example, if you’re a local pharmacy, then you would want to shred customer’s outdated prescriptions.

How to recover from a data breach.

Despite taking the precautions listed above, you can’t completely avoid a data breach 100%. If that’s the case, here are some of the steps that you should take following the breach;

• Even after a breach has been squashed, there’s still a possibility that your customers will have to deal with issues like identity theft. And, you’re going to receive a fair share of questions and complaints from your customers. Guide them through the post-process by being transparent, responding to their concerns, and offering them one year of identity theft prevention.
• Work with law enforcement and consumer protection agencies by providing them the information that they need.
• Launch a PR campaign to win back customers.
• Rethink and update your current security strategy and software.

Originally published at due.com on November 18, 2016.

HOW TO MAKE SURE YOUR SMALL BUSINESS DOESN’T HAVE A DATA BREACH was originally published in Due.com on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Email has come a long way since its introduction in the early 90s. Back then, every email was read in full no matter what was said. Fast forward twenty years, now you’d be lucky if your email is even opened.

Being able to craft an email that inhibits a positive response (or any at all) is hard to come by these days, especially for boosting sales. Although its difficult, there are ways to write awesome emails that get replies. The best way to get the ball rolling is to start with an email template. That way you can have some framework before you add your own spice.

Here are 10 email templates in no particular order that will 5x your sales:

1. General introduction

This is as cold as an email gets. This will typically be the first email you send to a potential lead. Make sure you are straight to the point and keep it short and sweet. The majority of these won’t be opened, so you want to make it count. Here’s a general template to follow:

Hi (First Name),

My name is (Name) and I (state your position) with (your company). We work with companies like (Key Industry Customers).

We set ourselves apart by (Key Differentiators). I checked out (target company) and think we can (what problem you are specifically solving).

Are you free for a chat (Give at least three time slots) about (actionable agenda item)?

All the best,

(Your Name)

(Signature Block)

2. Benefits backed by metrics

Numbers don’t lie. If you’ve been in business for a while and you’ve done a good job organizing and analyzing your data, you need to leverage it. Nothing grabs attention like a set of compelling data. Use the metrics that matter and keep it specific.

Hi (Name),

I’m working with several different companies in (Target Industry), we’ve begun to see a pattern with (Key Issue).

This past year we helped numerous companies to (Insert Solution), resulting in (Revenue Increase/Customer Retention/Projected Cash Flow/Any Relevant Metric).

If you’re facing similar challenges, let’s set up a quick call. I’ve got some ideas that may help.

Warm regards,

(Your Name)

(Signature Block)

3. Finding the right point of contact

When reaching out to a potential lead, you want to make sure you have the right point of contact. There are plenty of prospecting techniques that can lead you in the right direction. If you’re still having trouble, craft an email that will get you in front of the right contact.

Hi (First Name),

Would you mind pointing me towards whomever is in charge of (Key Position) at (Company) and the best way I can reach him/her?

I’ve got some great info I’d love to share with them in regards to (Reason For Contact — Be Specific and Be Direct)

Thanks in advance,

(Your Name)

(Signature Block)

4. Using content

A picture is really worth a thousand words, especially in business. If you’re able to sucessfully convey your message in an infographic then you’re in the money. Keep it clean and keep it simple.

Hi (First Name),

I’ve been looking into several companies in (Industry) and realized that (Pain Point) has been a real issue for most.

Are you guys experiencing the same?

I’ve put together a piece (Content — e.g. infographic, chart, graph etc..) showing (Paint Point) as I thought it may be beneficial.

I’ve been able to successfully help (Industry) companies such as (Real Customers). I’d love to chat regarding how I can assist (Company) in doing the same.

Kind regards,

(Your Name)

(Signature Block)

5. Last ditch effort

When a lead is on its last leg, it’s always a good idea to reach out one last time in hopes of saving it. The worst that can happen is that you close the lead for good. However, maybe the timing was right and you salvaged a sale. It takes less than five minutes to send the email so you’ve got nothing to lose.

Hi (First Name),

I just wanted to follow up with you guys one last time as we’re closing a few files for the month.

If you are still interested, what do you recommend as a next step?

If not, do I have permission to close your file?

Thanks in advance.

(Your Name)

(Signature Block)

6. Beat out the competition

A great way to find potential leads is to find companies who are using your competition’s services. Make sure you have a key differentiator that separates your business from the competition. Remember, people usually avoid big change, so make it worth their while.

Hi (First Name),

I understand you serve as the (Position) at (Company. I noticed that you are using (Competition)’s services? If so, I think it may be worthwhile that we have a chat.

I’ll keep it short, (Your Company) has been disrupting (Industry) by providing (Your Solution). The difference between us and (Competition) is (Distinguish Yourself).

I’d love to chat further, I’d love for you to see what (company) can do for you.

Thanks,

(Your Name)

(Signature Block)

7. Beat out the competition alternative

Try to do a little A/B testing here. Try out both templates and see which one works best for you.

Hi (First Name),

I spoke to (Name) earlier today and they told me that you’ve been using (Competition) for [Specific Solution (if applicable)].

I (Your Position) at (Your company). We’re similar to (competition) only (key differentiator).

If you have the time, i’d love to chat further about how we can better serve (company) with (your solution).

Would you be open to a 10 minute call?

Thanks for your time,

(Your Name)

(Signature Block)

8. Routine follow up

If you aren’t persistent you have no business in sales. You’ll hear 10 no’s before a yes. What does that mean? Talk to 1,000 people so you get 100 yes’s! If you don’t hear back from your lead in a day or two, go ahead and follow up. Keep it short since they already know what you’re looking for.

Hi (First Name),

I just wanted to follow up briefly as I didn’t hear back from you per my last email. If you still have time to chat, I’d be happy to accommodate your schedule and figure out a time.

If not, could you please direct me to the appropriate contact?

Thanks for your help,

(Your Name)

(Signature Block)

9. Changes in the industry

Uber is replacing taxi’s, Airbnb is taking over the vacation rental industry, online payments are changing the way we spend money…truth is, industries change over time. These changes often create new opportunities, and new opportunities means more money. Stay up to date on industry news, so you can have the first mover advantage when reaching out to companies.

Hi (Name)

I work with many companies in (Industry) and constantly follow industry news. I recently noticed that you guys (Company Action).

Usually when that happens, (Company Issue) becomes a priority. We recently were instrumental in assisting (Similar Company) make the shift using (Your Solution) seamlessly.

I’d love to chat further on how we can work together. How does (Specific Date and Time) look on your calendar?

Regards,
(Your Name)

(Signature Block)

10. Share a resource

The other nine templates are a little on the aggressive side of things. As a salesman, you need to be aggressive in order to close deals. That doesn’t necessarily mean every email you send needs to be direct. Here’s a more passive email you can send that can still foster a potential lead.

Hi (Name),

I saw your latest announcement this week about (Recent News) got me thinking.

I found this piece on (Recent News Piece) that may be beneficial as (Company) progresses.

Here’s the link to read it. (Insert Link)

Hope you find it helpful,
(Your Name)

(Signature Block)

Final thoughts

If you’re in sales you better get used to sending emails. If you want to see good conversions from your emails, you’ll need to use the right templates. These 10 email templates are a great place to start when reaching out to potential leads.

Originally published at due.com on November 4th, 2016.

10 EMAIL TEMPLATES TO 5X YOUR SALES was originally published in Due.com on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The recent security breaches with Yahoo and other large organizations like the U.S. Department of Justice, Snapchat, Internal Revenue Service, Oracle, LinkedIn and UC Berkeley illustrate that cybersecurity breaches are still a significant problem. The Identity Theft Resource Center has already recorded 845 major breaches in 2016 that has impacted approximately 29 million records since November 1, 2016.

These types of cybersecurity breaches have many business owners worried. That’s because if major organizations and companies like these are being compromised, how is a small business supposed to protect themselves from such data breaches, especially when user credentials and static login strategies no longer work?

There are still many anti-fraud tips that you can incorporate in your business to bolster your security and be confident about operating online:

1. Identify devices used while on your website: You can track where visitors to your website come from, including the browser, connection, and device used. Go beyond just using cookies to identify them and always conduct a full profile analysis down to the time zone setting and language as well as any computer configurations that seem suspicious, and the device’s history.
2. Apply behavioral profiling: You can identify anything suspicious online by monitoring behaviors of users, including any login requests or specific transactions. These digital footprints tell you a lot about people’s intentions. For example, you can look at the speed of transactions by certain users to identify if it’s really them or someone trying to be them. If the transactions with that individual are always fast, then when a very slow transaction comes up with that person’s name on it, you can determine if it might be a cybercriminal posing as that person. Other factors in behavioral profiling, such as age, location, and distance variables, can also reveal unusual activity well outside the norm of past transactions, indicating possible fraud or scripting attack.
3. Use tools that detect malware: Cybercriminals all types of malware, including Trojans, Man-in-the-Middle, Man-in-the-Brose, and keyloggers, to get what they want, including personal data and payment details. Continue updating your tools to detect malware that may be present. You may also need to invest your time in understanding how malware is used in terms of patterns used by cybercriminals. Focus on using malware detection solutions that can work in the background rather than relying on those options that involve user downloads or registrations.
4. Don’t rely on anti-virus software: Many small business owners get a false sense of security when they think that anti-virus software is a cure-all for cyberattacks even if every update is downloaded and employed. Instead, focus adding solutions like advanced page fingerprinting, which help you detect when Web page elements have been changed. Criminals are also using the fear of recent attacks to contact individuals and organizations like banks and tell them they have a solution in the form of a Remote Access Trojan. Anti-virus software cannot detect these cybercriminal strategies.
5. Look for risky devices and IP addresses as well as stay updated on global threats: Be aware of certain devices and IP addresses that have been involved in other attacks or those that have accessed multiple accounts from the same device. You can stay updated on this type of information through online organizations that track and catalogue these attacks like the aforementioned Identify Theft Resource Center, Identity Force, or Privacy Rights just to name a few.
6. Be on the lookout for suspicious computer configuration: Another strategy employed by cybercriminals is to reconfigure mobile devices in order to hide their true location and IP address. You can access proxy-piercing technologies to find the real IP address being used to uncover any fraudulent activity. These technologies also help call out spoofed devices and other types of device manipulation.
7. Don’t rely on out-of-band authentication strategies: While out-of-band authentication can help for certain high-risk logins, it’s not the solution for other types of cyber threats. You want to protect yourself and your customers, but you don’t want customers to feel that they have to take so many steps to prove who they are, thereby diluting the memorable experience they are supposed to have with you. You can solve this dilemma by using risk scoring to analyze each transaction in real time to provide an exceptional online experience.
8. Exchange threat intelligence with other organizations: One of the best ways to beat cybercriminals at their own game is to talk and share information about attacks, breaches, and data compromises with each other. This type of insight can help everyone involved to thwart more attacks in the future and provides the data that can help detect patterns in cybercriminal behavior.
9. Take a holistic view rather silo view of security technology: Too many companies have lots of technology to protect themselves but it works on its own rather than providing a holistic perspective of what’s going on. This is also what drives up the price and creates an inefficient process for security. Work on creating a system with a security consultant that brings it all together, including malware detection, device identification, and behavioral and identity analytics. This approach not only works more effectively to protect you and your customers, but it also is cheaper and often more accurate.
10. Focus on welcoming those regular customers rather than treating them like potential criminals: You don’t want to inadvertently turn away a loyal customer because your fraud system inaccurately perceives them as a security threat. Don’t put the authentication process on the customer but instead employ technology that instantly recognizes and welcomes returning customers. Use an intelligent customer authentication system that focuses on an established digital footprint that they previously used to visit you.

These anti-fraud tips focus on a four-prong approach that includes profiling devices, harnessing technology to gain threat intelligence, collecting identity data, and analyzing behaviors. The result is real-time authentication of users that increases security while enhancing the overall customer experience.

Anti-Fraud Tips to Protect You in the Wake of Cybersecurity Breaches was originally published on the Due Payments Blog on November 14, 2016 by Chalmers Brown.

Anti-Fraud Tips to Protect You in the Wake of Cybersecurity Breaches was originally published in Due.com on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Billing may not be your favorite task. But, it’s essential for business owners and freelancers. If not maintained, you’ll be unable to pay your expenses and keep the cash flowing. But, just because you’re billing your clients doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re doing it the correct way. In fact, here are 8 common billing habits that are actually killing your business.

1. Being too trustworthy.

“The handshake is important to business because trust is central to all relationships. In an ideal world, a handshake would be all that an entrepreneur or executive needs to seal a deal with a business partner, an investor, a company or a client — after all, reputation is everything in life as it is in business, and if you break your word, you damage your reputation,” Richard Branson wrote on the OPEN Forum.

Unfortunately, we don’t live in such a world. Whether if it’s the economy or just dealing with a rotten individual, you can’t rely strictly on trust. To protect yourself, and your your business, you should have your clients sign a contract so that they can’t bail on you when a bill arrives. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Just keep it simple by agreeing on the scope of the work and payment terms.

As Branson recommended, “By all means, shake hands on a deal, but then make sure to ask your lawyers to record the details. It could be the best bill you ever pay!”

2. Generating inaccurate invoices.

Want a bill to get paid faster? Make sure that it’s accurate by billing your client for the right amount for the right work at the right time. If you use recurring payments, this may not be a major concern, but always take the extra couple of minutes to double-check your invoices to make sure that they’re accurate before being sent out.

3. Billing your clients for everything.

While this may not be applicable for every industry, it’s easy to believe that you should charge your clients for everything. Let’s say that you’re an attorney and are already making a decent hourly rate, do you think that you’re clients are going to happy that you’re nickeling and diming them for emails, telephone calls, and even copy-and-pasting subpoenas? Of course not.

I understand that you’re time is valuable, but how often is a client going to take-up your entire day by emailing and calling you? If so, you either have to set boundaries or let the client go.

4. Starting projects without retainers.

This is one the most common mistake that freelancers or new business owners mistakes. And, it’s easy-to-understand why. You don’t want to come across as too overbearing. The thing is, asking for money upfront is a far-fetched request. It’s actually normal.

The reason why you’re asking for a down payment is for two reason. The first, it can cover your expenses to get a project started. The second reason is that if something happens to the client or company that hired you, you’ll at least still be compensated for some of your hard work.

5. Not clearly establishing payment terms.

The payment terms between you and the client should be addressed, and agreed upon, when you sign a contract. These terms should include the due date, preferred payment options, incentives for paying early, and the interest you charge for late payments.

Not only does this protect you from getting stuck with a bill since you can take legal action if you want, it also prevents the client from getting shocked when they review the invoice.

6. Collecting in arrears.

Waiting to send out invoices means that it will take longer for you to get paid. This can result in you decreasing your cash flow and throwing off your budget. And, most importantly, it leads to you not being able to pay your expenses.

Always bill your clients immediately when a job is complete — unless you’ve both agreed on a specific date like the first of the month. We actually found that when an invoice is sent out on the same day as the gig is completed you’re 1.5x more likely to get paid on-time.

7. Not staying organized.

Without having an organizational system in place, how can you tell which clients have paid and which haven’t? How easily can you retrieve a bill if a client has a question or if you get audited by the IRS?

If you’re using invoicing or accounting software, keeping your bills organized in one convenient location isn’t a major concern. You can obviously sort your invoices by client name as well. However, you should still use a numbering system to track and manage your invoices. Just start with 001 and work your up.

8. Relying too much on automation.

I pay my car insurance every quarter. When I don’t have a monthly expense, it’s easy to forget about these types of bills. The problem? My insurance company auto-withdraws from my bank account. Even though I receive a reminder now, and have the money in my bank account, this used to be a concern when money was tight and communication wasn’t as effective.

You clients are probably experiencing the same thing on a daily basis. They receive invoices daily. And, if you aren’t a regular bill, it’s easy for them to misplace your payment, that’s why invoicing software also sends auto-reminders to clients when an unpaid bill is approaching it’s due date — or when the payment is late.

If you have worked with a client for years and have never experienced a late payment from them, then don’t wait for an automated message. Pick-up the phone or shoot them a quick email and follow-up with them.

In other words, don’t get complacent by relying too much on automation. While technology has definitely made billing less painless, it’s still your responsibility to make sure that client’s pay your invoice in a timely manner.

8 Ways your Billing Habits are Killing your Business was originally published on Due on October 18, 2016 by Chalmers Brown.

8 Ways Your Billing Habits are Killing Your Business was originally published in Due.com on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Customers no longer have to rely on germ-infested bills and coins or plastic credit cards these days to complete a purchase. Today, customers can actually store all of their payment information on their smartphones so that they can make a payment quickly and conveniently.

Business owners, especially online businesses, can also enjoy the benefits of a digital wallet. In fact, every business owner should take into accounts digital wallets for the following reasons:

Improves customer experience.

Regardless of your industry and whether you’re online of offline, customer experience is everything these days. Customers expect their shopping experiences to be as painless as possible, aka they need to be fast and convenient.

Digital wallets can accomplish that for a couple of reasons.

For starters, digital wallets can take-out some of the steps involved during the checkout process. Instead of filling out lengthy forms or trying to remember your credit card number, you can simply tap, scan, or auto-fill fields to complete the checkout process directly from there phone.

In other words, since all the customer’s information is already stored in one place, the checkout process is process. This also means that abandoned shopping carts and connecting with the anywhere customer is a thing of the past.

As an added bonus, online retailers can reward customers with discount codes on the spot, as opposed to emailing or sending them through snail mail. We’ll discuss this more shortly.

Gives you complete control over your payment system.

Thanks to likes of Square and Bitcoin, you can now customize your payment platform or completely remove third party financial institutions. For example, if your business accepts a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, the transaction is directly between you and the customer, which means you can establish the payments terms.

Not only does this give you control, it can also save you and your customers money since you no longer have to pay those steep transaction fees.

Replaces credit cards.

Millennials, who happen to be the largest age demographic in the U.S., don’t trust banks or want credit cards. Instead, they prefer debit cards so that they always connected to their funds. With digital wallets, Millennials no longer have to rely on banks or credit cards to make a purchase.

They could purchase a prepaid card, electronic cash, or set-up an account with an online bank to make purchases instantly or send money to another party without exchanging bills or swiping a credit card.

More secure.

Security is a major concern when using a digital wallet. However, digital wallets are extremely secure. For example, you don’t have to worry about leaving your credit card in a physical location, you can lock your phone if you lose it, and biometrics like fingerprint identification are being used to verify a purchase.

With cryptocurrencies, there are intricately coded algorithms that make stealing coins more of a challenge. Also, both parties must approve the transaction before it’s finalized. Once it is, the transaction is recorded on the public ledger.

Access to real-time data.

Digital wallets provide a treasure trove of data. For example, you can easily access information like customer shopping preferences and shopping history. This allows you to segment customers so that you can send them product suggestions and incorporate loyalty or reward programs. Because this data is presented in real-time you may even be able to cross and upsell related products before they complete the checkout process.

Additionally, you can manage your costs and budget in real-time. Instead of waiting for transactions to go through or for paper receipts to arrive, transactions are instant. This means that you can keep better tabs on your finances.

Keeps your business ahead of the curve.

Adopting digital wallets puts your online business ahead of your competitors. Eve if the adaption rates are low for customers right now, more and more consumers are using their smartphones to make purchases. If you fail to jump on board with this payment trend, you can potentially lose out on important sales to competitors who have already begun using digital wallets.

What you need to started with digital wallets.

The first place to start with digital wallets is finding a digital wallet provider. Not to boast, but we offer an innovative and secure digital wallet that’s easy-to-setup and can transfer funds almost instantly.

Of course, we’re far from the only company that offers a digital wallet. Before settling on your final decision, do a little research like knowing which apps or wallets your customers are currently using and how much you’ll be charged for transaction fees.

Why a Digital Wallet Needs to be a Part of Your Online Business was originally published on Due on October 12, 2016 by Chalmers Brown.

Why a Digital Wallet Needs to Be Part of Your Online Business was originally published in Due.com on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t miss the days of getting paid with an actual piece of paper, aka a check. After receiving my paycheck, I would have to visit my local bank, deposit the check, and wait for the funds to become available. I know. That’s not the end of the world. But, what if I couldn’t make it to bank in-time on a Friday night? Or, what if I deposited the check on Saturday morning, but a bill is due Monday morning? I would be in a bit of a bind. That’s when a digital wallet comes in handy.

Thankfully, there are more than enough ways for me to receive and send funds digitally and remotely. Not only are these ways more convenient, they’re also faster, cheaper, and better for the environment as opposed to writing out checks every week. And, in case you weren’t aware, Millennials would rather be paid digitally as well.

With that in mind, here are 5 ways that you can pay your employees with a mobile digital wallet.

1. Built-In Platforms

If you’re using invoicing, payroll, or freelancer platforms, then you easily send money to employees or remote workers their mobile wallets within that platform. For example, if you receive an invoice from an employee using Due Wallet, then you can pay that invoice by adding funds to the employee’s digital wallet — whether by credit card, bank account transfer, or cryptocurrency like bitcoin.

Of course, Due isn’t the only platform that allows you to directly pay employees payroll. PayPal, Quickbooks Payroll, and SurePayRoll also allow you to send funds to mobile wallets through the use of apps.

If you hire freelancers through platforms like Upwork, you should be able to pay those contractor directly from the platform by transferring money from your account to your freelancer’s. So, if their account is synced to a mobile wallet then they should be able to receive and access funds from their phone.

2. Peer-to-Peer Payments

Peer-to-peer payment platforms like Venmo have become increasingly popular. And, it’s easy to understand why. Just create a free account, download the app, and pay people directly from your bank account, debit cards, or your Venmo balance. The recipient can then access the funds through their digital wallet. That means you can use P2P payment platforms to do more than just lend money to friends.

You’ll have to manually input how much money you’re sending, but overall this is a convenient, secure, and affordable method to pay employees. And, transactions usually occur in one business day.

3. Mobile Carrier Billing

Vodafone’s mobile phone-based money transfer, financing and microfinancing service, M-Pesa allows employers to pay employers directly from their phone. This is possible because funds are transferred from one M-Pesa account to another. Even if employees don’t have a bank account, their M-Pesa account is a wallet that holds their salary. They can then use a M-Pesa Visa card to withdraw money from ATMs.

Other companies like Boku, Fortumo and Zong also allow for purchases to be charged to your mobile carrier, although these may be better suited for online merchants selling products online, as opposed to payroll options.

PayPal, however, has also gotten in on the action by letting you send payments to a mobile phone number.

4. Direct Deposit to a Bank Account

It shouldn’t be surprising that more and more banks and credit unions are beginning to offer mobile wallets, such as Chase QuickPay. This allows you to transfer money from your bank account to your employee’s bank account. It’s convenient and easy-to-use since you just need the recipient’s mobile number or email address. This person-to-person payment system is also secure since neither parties financial information is shared.

Don’t have an account with a traditional brick-and-mortar financial institutions? No problem. There are online options, such as Circle and Paytoo that allow you to transfer funds between mobile wallets.

5. Bitcoin Wallets

Finally, you can use blockchain technologies to pay employees through cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. Transferring funds from one bitcoin wallet to another is fast since you don’t have to go through multiple banks and it can save you money since it cuts out those pricey transaction fees.

Some wallets, such as Bitwage, allow employers to pay employees in their respective currencies by using bitcoin as a middleman to transfer the funds. Other bitcoin wallets to consider for paying employees include Coinbase, Bitcoin Wallet, and Copay.

5 Ways to Pay Employees with a Mobile Digital Wallet was originally published on Due on October 5, 2016 by Chalmers Brown.

5 Ways to Pay Employees with a Mobile Digital Wallet was originally published in Due.com on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Failure is the reality that all startup founders will have come to terms with. That’s why so many founders are so transparent about their experiences — these founders are even transparent as to why they failed miserably. Some of the most common mistakes that startups face are the numerous false positives that gave them hope at first, but in the end, lead to failure.

Founder really want you to succeed in your dream — because they understand you and they get your drive to thrive in your startup. With that in mind, here are the five most prevalent false positives for new startups.

1. Believing the Hype

“Entrepreneurs are frequently told not to drink their own Kool-Aid — which is to say, to remember that the stories they tell about how their products will save humanity are just that,” writes Max Chafkin, author of author of Design Crazy: Good Looks, Hot Tempers, and True Genius at Apple. “Privately, they are cautioned to focus on the small things; to make more money than they lose; to cut costs when needed; and, when necessary, to pivot to a more promising business. The caution seems especially important in a culture that increasingly celebrates startups, threatening to confuse their mythmaking with reality. ”

Chafkin goes on to describe the failure of Better Place, which manufactured an affordable electric car and had received almost $1 billion in funding, and how it’s founder and CEO Shai Agassi “made great Kool-Aid and then drank it all himself.”

One paper, everything seemed right. The U.S. was recovering from the 2008 economic crisis and clean tech was seen as the next big thing and offering a cheaper alternative to Tesla would interest customers who would want to invest in an electric car, but can’t afford to do so.

One of the many flaws that Agassi made was believing that people would purchase a car service that followed the same business model as a cellphone company — customers would be given hardware, a car, at a subsidized price, but the real money would be made by selling subscriptions to a network of charging spots. “Nobody loves their wireless carrier,” Gadi Amit, a Better Designer said. “They love their iPhone.”

Plenty of entrepreneurs have ingenious and innovative ideas. That doesn’t mean that customers will automatically support that idea. Before you get too far ahead of yourself, take the advice of Public Enemy and don’t believe the hype.

2. Only Relying on Customer Feedback

Steve Job infamously said, “It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” While Jobs changed his tone later in life, and it is important to listen what your customers are saying so that you can adapt accordingly, there is some truth to what Jobs was saying.

For starters, research has found that “customers can be terrible at predicting their future intentions when asked via a survey or a similar form of feedback.” Furthermore, sometimes customers are just going to lie in their responses.

Case in point, Crystal Pepsi.

Test markets in Denver, Sacramento, Dallas, and Providence were positive enough that the Pepsi opted to move forward with putting bottles of clear soda on store shelves across the country. The product, obviously, didn’t stick and was a major embarrassment for the brand.

Customers definitely provide valuable feedback and insights. But, entrepreneurs must go beyond initial feedback and validate their ideas by sampling larger populations of actual buyers, making to certain to ensure that there is a market for your idea.

3. Far Off Projections

Let’s go back and revisit Better Place.

The biggest mishap that the company experienced was the far-off projections it made from how much to charge for each car to when it would arrive on the market.

For example, Better Place planned to sell its electric cars for $20,000 a pop. Ultimately, it would retail for $37,000 in Denmark, without the battery, and $37,000 in Israel.

“Agassi had assumed that the car would cost roughly half the price of a typical gasoline car and would have a range of at least 100 miles,” writes Chafkin. “Instead, batteries were delivered with a range of closer to 80 miles, and the terms with ­Renault meant he was selling an unsexy family car for about the same price as a nice sedan like the Mazda3 or the Toyota Corolla.”

It also cost more money to build the charging network than initially planned going from $500,000 per station to $2 million.

Whether the actual truth is found in under or over pricing the product or missing target dates, having too far-off projections can stop a startup dead in its tracks. Again, do your research so that you can crunch accurate figures and have a back-up when you experience a speed-bump.

4. Limiting the Amount of Competitors Out There (Or Underestimating Their Response)

Don’t kid yourself. There always competitors out there. Even if you’ve done your due diligence, there could be a similar produce or service in a different part of the world that you didn’t know existed. Or, there could be another startup working on the same idea as you. It is said that at any one time there are four people thinking the same thing and dreaming the same idea as you are. That does mean that you need to maintain an urgency about your dream.

But, always be aware of your competitors and ask yourself what you’re doing differently than they are.

If you know who your competitors are, never underestimate them.

That’s a lesson that Sir Richard Branson learned when Virgin entered the cola market and declared war on Coke and Pepsi.

“We weren’t quite prepared for the size or the ferocity of their response, which included a steep increase in their marketing budgets and pressure on distributors not to work with us. Had we known how they would react, we may well have taken a different approach. But the main reason Virgin Cola failed was we didn’t follow our own rules: at Virgin, we only enter industries when we think we can offer consumers something strikingly different, but there wasn’t really an opportunity to do that in the soft drinks sector. People were already getting a product that they liked, at a price they were happy to pay — Virgin Cola just wasn’t different enough.”

5. Hiring the Wrong People

Sometimes you recruit someone who at first appears to be the perfect candidate for your startup. They have the skills and personality that would make them fit perfectly within your company. But, once you start working with them on a daily basis, you realize the truth. They’re not the ideal candidate for which you were looking.

There are some people who excel at interviews and come across as extremely personable. There are others who research the company or founders so that they can pretend to fit into the company’s culture. Or, maybe you aren’t as experienced in hiring and recruiting as you thought. Regardless, it’s not uncommon for startup to hire the wrong people.

Work on your interviewing skills so that you can read their body language and read behind the lines. Contact their references and ask questions about their behavior and work ethic. It also wouldn’t hurt to give new hires a trial period. Usually a 7 to 10 days is enough to find out who this individual really is. A new trend is leaning toward a three month trial period.

Originally published at due.com on September 21, 2016.

5 FALSE POSITIVES COMMON TO NEW STARTUPS was originally published in Due.com on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

No one has ever said it is easy being an entrepreneur. If it was easy, there would be a whole lot more of us. However, I can safely assume that entrepreneurs wouldn’t have it any other way. The challenge of turning an idea into an actual startup is exciting and motivates us during those hectic times.

But, how do you know which startup ideas you should pursue in the first place? Here are seven techniques to get you started on the right track.

1. Come Up With Ideas

“The way to get startup ideas is not to try to think of startup ideas. It’s to look for problems, preferably problems you have yourself,” suggests famed investor and founder of Y-Combinator Paul Graham.

“The very best startup ideas tend to have three things in common: they’re something the founders themselves want, that they themselves can build, and that few others realize are worth doing. Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo, Google, and Facebook all began this way,” Graham adds.

While Graham provides sound advice, how can you come up with these startup ideas in the first place?

The first thing that you can do is to keep a list of things that “suck.” You know, the daily inconveniences that get under your skin. How do you think ideas like Uber or Lyft began? Waiting around trying to a hail a cab isn’t convenient and can be stressful when you have to be somewhere be a certain time. The startups of Uber and Lyft solved that problem.

Another way to find an idea is look at your bills each month. While setting up your budget, the light bulb might go off and you’ll have an idea on how to cut down the amount you’re spending. Or, you may even come up with a better way to do monthly tasks like sending out invoices.

2. Gather Idea Research

After you’ve compiled some ideas and settled on an idea that resonates the most with you, you’ll need to conduct research to determine whether or not the idea is worth getting excited about.

Entrepreneur and author Justin Mares recommends that you first ask the following three questions;

• Could I create something more valuable than what currently exists?
• If yes, could I reach people to make them aware of my superior product/service?
• Assuming things go well, could I make enough money to run an interesting business?

To answer those question, you’ll have to research;

• The competition. Do a quick Google search and find out which companies are doing the same thing you are thinking about. If you can’t find any business in this space, then there may not be a market for your idea. If there are a business or two doing this same thing, see what they’re doing and how you can do things differently or better.
• Distribution. How will you reach your customers? You can find out the best way to find and reach customers by examining how much traffic your competitors get, as well as where the traffic originates and what sites link to them. Will this strategy work for you? If so, you’re on the right track. If not, look for alternatives like partnerships or creating viral content.
• Market. Finally, find out how big your market is by researching the finances of the most popular companies in your industry, along with searching for predictions, like whether or not the market is expected to grow.

3. Is Your Idea Durable and Timeless?

“Durability is knowing whether or not your product will be around for a long time or if it will fizzle out quickly” writes Dr. Sean Wise, professor of entrepreneurship at the Ted Rogers School of Management in Toronto, Canada. “Is your product something that we need or is it something that is more of a fad and will disappear once it has run it’s course?”

Steve Blank, author of The Startup Owners Manual, adds, “Friendship, dating, sex, art, entertainment, communication, confession, networking, gambling, religion — would our hearts still beat and would our lungs still breathe without them? Of course. But these are things that make us human. They are hard-wired into our psyche. We’ve been doing them for ten’s of thousands of years.”

Facebook, for example, is successful and durable because it “ takes our need for friendship and attempts to recreate that connection on-line.”

Besides durability, Dr. Wise reminds us that timelessness also needs to be considered. “Timelinessrefers to whether the market is ready for your product, writes Dr. Wise. “An example of this is electric cars. Electric cars have been around for over 100 years, but the market was not ready until recently.”

4. Tackle a Small Market

“Most people tell you to address a large market. But what you really want is a small market today that will be big tomorrow,” suggests Greg McAdoo, partner at Sequoia Capital. “If it’s too big now the incumbents will come in too early and crush you; if it’s too small tomorrow then you’ll never build anything of enduring value. So go for a small market today where something is changing to make it a big market tomorrow.”

McAdoo uses GitHub as an example, in “which is serving the software development market, but is well positioned to expand into other large markets like developer recruiting, PaaS, analytics, content management and more.”

5. Follow the 10x Rule

“A company should start when they have a technology that’s 10X better than their closest competitor,” says PayPal co-founder and author of Zero to One Peter Thiel.

To determine this, you can ask two important questions;

• Is this 10X better than what is out there?
• Is it different or new enough that people will notice and buy?

You can also look at where you stand in terms of customers, users, or units of product. For example, Amazon was able to provide 10X more books than bookstores because it was online; Google’s search engine provides 10X better results; and Uber makes it 10X easier than hailing a cab.

6. Run an Adwords Campaign

This is a fairly inexpensive and easy experiment to determine whether you should pursue your startup idea or not.

First, invest $100 in a Google AdWords campaign that highlights the features of your product or service and problem that it solves. Then, create a landing page informing customers that your product will launch and ask them to provide their email address.

After running the ads for a couple of weeks, answer these questions;

• Is Google giving you enough impressions?
• Are people clicking on the ads?
• Is anyone leaving their email address?

If answered yes to all three, then you’re all set. If not, Yoav Vilner, CEO of Ranky, writes, that you tweak “the keywords, copy and landing page and trying again. If you’re still not getting positive results, well then, maybe it’s time to rethink your idea.”

7. Get Out and Talk to People

Entrepreneurs have a tendency to sometimes live in a bubble where in their mind, “ the idea and concept work perfectly.” Unfortunately, that’s not a reality.

Dr. Colleen Robb, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at California State, Chico, reminds us that, “talking to potential customers is ESSENTIAL.”

Dr. Robb uses the Segway as an example where there was a great technology behind the product, but its founders “simply assumed the market would buy it.” The team “didn’t ask potential customers about problems, price points, alternative solutions, etc. They simply assumed their technology was awesome (which it is) and that people would buy it. ”

“As entrepreneurs, it is essential to get outside your bubbles and talk to real customers,” Dr. Robb adds. “ If you are apprehensive about talking about your solution, ask potential customers about their problems.”

Originally published at due.com on September 12, 2016.

7 WAYS TO PICK A STARTUP TO PURSUE was originally published in Due.com on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

People are finally waking up to the fact freelancing is a better option that fighting the daily 9-to-5 rat race. The flexibility, independence, and opportunity to make more money are just a couple of the reason why people are opting to become freelancers. But, if you’re uncertain which freelancing career path to chose, here are 25 of the fastest growing freelance skills based on information from Upwork, CNBC, and Business News Daily.

1. User experience design

Nowadays, website and app users expect to be impressed whenever they visit a website or download an app. UX designers achieve these by creating products that are easy-to-use and enhance the visitor’s experience.

Average National Salary: $87,883

2. ASP development

Companies are searching for these type of web developers who can edit, change, or customize web pages using the old school Active Server Pages since it runs parallel with HTML5. Other responsibilities include responding to questions on forums, provide security, and access databases.

Average National Salary: $89,000

3. Shopify development

These developers build apps and sites for the popular ecommerce platform Shopify.

Average California Salary: $77,000

4. English proofreading

A proofreader simply reads copy and transcripts to make sure that there aren’t spelling, grammatical or typographical errors.

Average National Salary: $47,663

5. SEO/Content writing

SEO and content writers help websites and brands become visible to search engines like Google or Bing by composing engaging, relevant and keyword optimized articles.

Average National Salary: $40,951

6. Photography

Sure. Everyone has a camera on their phones. And, the demand for photographers in traditional media has declined, there’s still a high-demand for commercial and portrait photographers. In fact, there’s been a 37.2 percent since 2014.

Average National Salary: $42,375

7. Animation

These creative individuals draw illustrations for games, films, television shows, or commercials. The digital marketplace is driving the demand for animators who can draw icons or infographics for brands.

Average National Salary: $50,195

8. Virtual assistant

Business owners, managers, and entrepreneurs are using virtual assistants to help them manage tasks like responding to emails and scheduling appointments from a remote location.

Average National Salary: $39,183

9. Lead generation

Lead generators are responsible for prospecting, qualifying, and generating new sales leads for brands and companies through mediums like email and social media.

Average National Salary: $23,890

10. Data mining

Described as the ‘sexiest job of the 21st Century,’ data scientist basically analyze big data so that they can spot trends.

Average National Salary: $59,021

11. Social media marketing

Brands and companies completely understand the importance of having a strong online presence that they’re looking for talented individuals who can launch a strong social media campaign.

Average National Salary: $46,402

12. Video editing

Video editors look for errors, add audio or graphics, and make-sure that a story matches the overall storyline. With more brands wanting to develop content, especially video content, it’s no surprise that this is a booming industry.

Average National Salary: $61,750

13. WordPress development

As everyone is expected to have a blog, it’s no surprise that this skill, in which your build and develop plugins, is on-the-rise.

Average National Salary: $74,205

14. AngularJS development

With this skill you can extend HTML vocabulary so that you can build mobile and desktop web applications. Because this is the framework for dynamic web apps, expect the demand for this skill to increase. Here is our programmer guide for better understanding

Average National Salary: $102,000

15. Java development

These developers create complex web-based applications, such as animated drop-down menus. Despite over 20 years old, Java is the basis for many open-source projects, so the demand for this skill shouldn’t be slowing down anytime soon.

Average National Salary: $70,773

16. Voice talent

“While voiceover work has been around for decades, the move to digital is enabling talent to record from virtually anywhere, notes CNBC. “Telephony, audiobook readers, dubbing work, e-learning instruction, animation dialogue and video game voices are just some of the jobs calling for voice actors.”

Average National Salary: $40,000

17. Accounting

Even there is more than enough accounting software available, the freelancer generation still needs to turn to accountants to help them understand information like tax codes and deductions, which keeps this an in-demand skill.

Average National Salary: $65,940

18. Android development

No surprise here. Everyone owns a smartphone and the world needs people to develop apps for the devices running on the Android operating system.

Average National Salary: $84,562

19. iOS development

Just like the skill listed above, except for Apple devices.

Average National Salary: $85,000

20. Electrical engineer

As noted in Business News Daily, “With the internet-of-things market heating up, companies and entrepreneurs need electrical engineers to help build connected devices.

Average National Salary: $71,000

21. Zendesk

Zendesk is a growing customer service software company where you can customize the experience for your teams and customers by placing products into existing APIs, Apps and mobile SDKs

Software Engineer salaries at Zendesk can range from $76,969-$134,061.

22. MongoDB

This is an open-source cross-platform document-oriented database that’s classified as a NoSQL database. Adobe, eBay, LinkedIn, Foursquare, and Shutterfly are tracked by MongoDB, so this skill isn’t going to become irrelevant anytime soon.

Average National Salary: $102,000

23. Data visualization

As noted earlier, big data is all the rage. Data visualization help people understand this information by converting into visual content.

Average National Salary: $30,000

24. AutoCAD

With this skill you can simulate and animate 2D and 3D designs. Again, visual content is popular, so this is an excellent skill to acquire.

Average National Salary: $49,215

25. 3D design

Freelance designers in general are one of the hottest gigs around. With technology like 3D printing becoming more prevalent, expect this job to continue to become a hot commodity.

Average National Salary: $50,647

Now that you know which skills are going to be in-demand, start developing your skills, and start finding freelance gigs in the plentiful freelance marketplace.

Originally published at due.com on September 9, 2016.

25 FASTEST GROWING FREELANCE SKILLS was originally published in Due.com on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.