No, I'm not commenting on my personality. But this post does seem, at first glance, to be something of a departure for a Wine Chic. You see, I've been contemplating an upgrade to the new(ish) Square Register point of sale app. This is actually a reasonably priced upgrade - as in free for the app, and a lower price when it comes to the credit card fees charged by the company, and now they've added gift card capability at no extra charge. Yep, that's what I call reasonable (not that I'm a cheap skate or anything...) You do need an iPad (or at least iPhone/Smart Phone,) but I already have that, so I'm pretty much good to go.
However, that isn't really why I'm writing about Square this evening. What really impressed me today is the new(er) Square Wallet app.
I have to give you a bit of back story on this. You may have noticed that I didn't actually promote "Small Business Saturday" as such. I have been a big proponent of shopping and supporting local businesses, so this may seem a bit strange, but the problem for me is that "Small Business Saturday" was created by American Express Corporation. In other words, a really BIG bank. It seems pretty disingenuous to me that AmEx cares one way or the other about small business - oh wait, except that it was a good way for them to get small businesses to sign up to take American Express cards. For which privilege they charge a higher fee to small business than any of the other three major cards (VISA, MasterCard, Discover.) Kinda makes me want to say "please, stop helping me!!!"
Anyway, so jump ahead to today. I downloaded the Square Wallet app, which is a payment app that allows you to pay at any store that uses Square by just giving your name. OK, maybe a bit big brother-ish in a way, but it really feels more like a community, a neighborhood of small businesses from around the country. Here is a screen shot of just a few of the business that popped up as "near me" when I signed up. First of all, The Upcycle Exchange looks like an awesome store, which I can't wait to seek out. In addition to the ones in the photo, there are dozens of coffee houses, resale shops, restaurants, and specialty stores of every kind. The Headband Hut LLC. Prints Charming Gallery (love THAT play on words.) Left Bank Books. And lo and behold, West Winery - owners Jen and Chris West are good friends of the Wine Chics!
So my point is that if you are looking for a way to really support local business, this might be a better reference to find those businesses that you consider interesting, helpful, and/or fun that are owned by small entrepreneurs in your area - in other words, quest-worthy businesses. I'm sold; I'll be making the move to Square completely in the next couple of weeks, if all goes as planned. Don't worry, you don't have to join Square Wallet in order to buy wine from me, that is purely voluntary; we can still take cash, checks, or credit cards the "old fashioned" way of swiping it at the register.
Plus, I think with all the savings, I'll have an excuse to get this:
Wouldn't this amazing steampunk-ish charging station look beautiful sitting in my sales room??? I've been looking for a reason to buy something from this craftsman; Old Time Computers on Etsy. Don't even get me started about the old fashioned look functional keyboards....
Happy Trills,
Laura
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