Get a free card reader and start accepting credit cards today at http://www.square.com.
Accept all major credit cards and use your Square Dashboard to track all your sales data in real time. Then use that information to make smarter business decisions, and watch your business grow. Get started free today.
TRANSCRIPTION:
Square had a bright idea—to make it easy for everyone to accept credit cards like this, like this, and like this.
And the free Square Dashboard makes it easy for you to get bright ideas on the job, or on the go. It helps you make sense of all your sales to then make smarter business decisions.
You can see what time of day your “lightbulbs” are selling best, and watch how your business grows over days, weeks, or even years. ’Cause maybe it’s a good idea to stay open a little later this winter.
Pretty bright, huh?
Get started free at square.com
Visit http://square.com/ to learn how Square can help your business.
Transcript:
You know, before Square, I'd been in business quite a while and I had a bulky credit card machine.
You know, this machine here with the paper roll and that would jam or something and people would come in and want to pay and it's like, "Well, hold on. Let's write this down." And I don't have to think about that anymore.
It's just right here. It's wireless. Everything's there. All my records are taken care of.
It's amazing. It really is.
It makes things so much easier for me and my employees.
Sorry, but I'm gonna stick with Square.
- Sorry?
[laughs]
Well, not sorry.
Visit http://square.com/ to learn how Square can help your business.
Transcript:
So this is the new thing.
I know. I'm really excited, actually because I love newer technology.
Like, I love Apple Pay and I love anything that makes it easier for my patients and makes it easier for myself.
Patients aren't used to a health professional being so tech-savvy.
It always awes them, like, "Oh, you have one of these?"
It's just so seamless.
They just hover their phone and the charge is done. Awesome.
My name is Tracy Ng and I stick needles in people for a living.
Get a free card reader and start accepting credit cards today at https://squareup.com/.
The Cradle Company uses Square to spend less time running its business so it can spend more time supporting new families.
TRANSCRIPTION
Brandi Jordan: The Cradle Company is an ecofriendly baby boutique—all things baby, zero to two years old. The reason I opened The Cradle Company was to really support new families.
With Square, I'm able to focus more on that and less on accounting and paperwork. I always tell people that I'm a people-person, not a paper-person, and I'm able to take that time with each person that walks through the door because Square's handling all the back-end stuff for me in one place.
I used to have three systems, and now I have Square.
Get a free card reader and start accepting credit cards today at https://squareup.com/.
Dutch Monkey Doughnuts trusts Square as its reliable point of sale, so it can focus on making delicious doughnuts from scratch.
TRANSCRIPTION
Martin Burge: Hi, I'm Martin.
Arpana Satyu-Burge: And I'm Arpana. And we own Dutch Monkey Doughnuts in Cumming, Georgia.
Martin: We're a small doughnut shop where we hand-make every doughnut. We make all the fillings, all the icings, all the jellies, custards, everything.
Arpana: So yeah, doughnuts. The first time we used Square with a customer, I swiped their card. It was completely seamless, and I ran back into the kitchen to tell Martin that it worked
'cause I was so excited about it. I tell people that it's just the best thing that ever happened to small businesses.
Get a free card reader and start accepting credit cards today at http://www.square.com.
Amanda Weld uses Square to send targeted email promotions to her customers. She likes to offer discounts and give a little bit back to her community.
TRANSCRIPTION:
Amanda Weld: Tantrum's a midcentury classic designed kids' store. We sell toys that will be here for generations to come.
We're a small business but we have very loyal customers. We love to send a promotion and thank-you and Square makes it really easy. We’re able to target a specific customer. We get to choose if we want to give a reward.
Once we've run the campaign, we're able to see how many people have opened our email, how many people have redeemed it. It's helped to generate business and it's also nice to give a little bit back, to show customers that we appreciate them.
Get a free card reader and start accepting credit cards today at https://squareup.com/.
The Williamsburg Seamster gives brides one less thing to worry about when planning their wedding. Square gives The Seamster one less thing to worry about when running her business.
TRANSCRIPTION
Nayantara Banerjee: My name is Nayantara. I am the Williamsburg Seamster in Brooklyn, New York.
Working with brides is awesome because they are so happy. They come to me and they already have a lot on their plates, so I'm like, "You just have to show up, drop off your dress—I'm gonna do all the work."
That's the exact same thing Square does for me. There's a great weight off of my shoulders knowing that I don't have to worry about that part of my business. It's not something I think about. It's reliable. Whatever Square's doing on its end with its bleepy bloopy blops allows me to do the thing I love, which is sewing.
Yassin Terou fled Syria with a suitcase and a few hundred dollars. He knew no one in Knoxville, Tennessee, and he spoke no English, but he went there to rebuild his life and pursue his dream of perfect falafel anyway.
Every business starts with a dream, and Square exists to serve them—every kind of dream. “Yassin Falafel” is our first short film chronicling our remarkable sellers and their tireless pursuit of their dreams.
Transcription:
YASSIN: This last year has been hard on me and my family. Sometimes I don’t sleep. When you see all that is going on in the media, it will make you afraid.It’s like, what will happen to us? Even, like, make me scared about my business. It’s like, are we still welcome here? But when my baby was born, I remember looking at her. She’s born here. She’s an American. So at that moment—that moment I decide to be strong.
In 2011, when things got worse in Syria, and I just have to leave. Like, maybe the thing will get better, and I will go back—but this never happened. The first time I came to Knoxville, I still remember that day. Driving around from the highway, a lot of, like, big cars. I was scared of almost everything.
A lot of my Arabic friends, they scared to come here, like, “Oh, they hate Muslims.” “You will not have a good life in America.” You come to a country and you don’t have nothing. Nothing. Zero. You can’t make money because I wasn’t allowed to work. I don’t speak English. You don’t know nobody. Refugee life is very hard. Where do you start? Like you start with people, maybe they speak the same language.
So I went to the mosque. It was, like, about 4 minutes walking. And that took me like 2 months to know where it’s at, ’Cause I don’t know GPS. I never work with the GPS in Syria. I asked them for work, and they told me like, unfortunately, they can’t offer a lot of jobs, but we can offer you food, monthly help. And that was hard for me. It’s like, I can’t do it. Can you let me just sell sandwiches here? My small dream was to sell falafel and juices like we have it in Syria. This my food. And I want to give it with my love, with my style. And they let me do it. So I wasn’t making much money, but I was happy doing something.
NADEEM: I met Yassin here at the mosque, and this guy for a year or two years just consistently would come and sell these sandwiches. A lot of people would line up after the prayers got out.So I tried out his sandwich and it was really some of the best I’ve ever had. So I asked him, I was like, “Why don’t you just open up a store?”
YASSIN: Because I don’t have money! It’s the only reason I’m not doing this. It’s like my credit was, even if I claim everything, the best credit line I was given was $300.
NADEEM: So we decided to team up and we found an empty spot in an a building downtown, and opened up Yassin’s Falafel House.
YASSIN: The feeling of having like a restaurant, a real restaurant—so when I see it now I still don’t believe it. It’s not an easy job. Sometimes you have a very hard day, a 12-hour shift, catering in the morning, you’ll get tired. But having a business will give you the chance to represent yourself. It’s not only work. It’s a message.
My customers, they are my friends. Different faiths, different colors, different race. Because this is what Yassin’s Falafel House is about. It’s about community. Whatever happens outside of this store, just forget about it and come in. You are safe here. We hire refugees. Who are just like me. Who come here with nothing. People who want to work, and want to be happy.
The situation in Syria destroyed our family. My brother is in another country, I’m here, my father’s with my sisters. It’s not easy. It’s like, what will happen to them? Their future? It’s hard for me.
SERMON: A lot of people that you know and you don’t know have contributed to what makes you. And for that, we ought to be grateful. Everybody is great at a time of ease. Everybody wants to show the best of them at a time of prosperity. But it is at the time of adversity, at the times when things are not going your way, is when we really realize what that gratitude of yours, what that gratitude of mine, is made of.
YASSIN: I’m very grateful to be here. I’m very grateful for my family. And, we are strong together. I just think back about where I was, and what if I was still in Syria.
Not many people know my last name. A lot of people are like, “Yassin Falafel.” And I’m not mad about it. If they remember me of the good food and good taste, I’m really happy with it, like, it’s okay.
One of my dreams is not having one store only. One of my dreams is to get our message everywhere. Even the people who decide, oh, they don’t like Muslims, they don’t like refugees, they don’t like immigrants, we have to change their ideas about it. And that’s our job and that’s our message. If you believe in something, you don’t have to leave it and just go. I say, “No.” We’re going to keep the American dream going because this country is for everybody.
For eligible Square sellers, Square Capital offers exclusive access to small business loans to grow your business. Whether it’s payments or funding, Square is your trusted financial partner every step of the way.
See how Andy used Capital to expand his electrician business in Cincinnati, Ohio; how Courtney grew her salon and beauty line in NYC, New York; what Jenn did for her mobile flower business in Sandpoint, Idaho; and how Lucia in Bushwick, NYC, took her community darkroom from a closet to a complex.
For more information on Square Capital, visit https://squareup.com/capital
TRANSCRIPTION:
JACKIE: We hear about success stories all the time and they kind of tear at your heartstrings. There are so many stories that you hear of people living the total American dream.
COURTNEY: Having my own business has set my soul on fire. It’s made me realize that I can achieve anything that I want to do; it doesn’t matter where you came from.
LUCIA: I graduated from art school in 2009. I couldn’t really find a job and I just wanted to work in the darkroom.
JENN: When I lost my job, I had this vision that I would have a mobile flower truck. When I realized that this was something I was really passionate about everything started happening really quickly.
ANDY: If you’ve ever been a business and you’ve gone to look for funding, you have to fill out hundreds of pieces of paper, and all of the typical loan documents.
COURTNEY: I did try to get a loan the traditional way by going to the bank, but they required so much of what I didn’t have, being a new business. It just made it really dif ficult to get that financial help. That’s when I was introduced to Square Capital.
JACK: What sets Square apart is that we have a deep relationship and understanding with our sellers and we ask the questions ‘Can we be more proactive? Can we help a seller buy a new salon chair, or hire a new employee?’ That lead us to an answer of Square Capital.
JENN: About a year ago, I was running some reports on Square and just had a little window pop up…
LUCIA: So I got this email from Square, announcing this new program, Square Capital…
JENN: That mentioned something about Square Capital and I was like, ‘Hm, what’s this?’
COURTNEY: What is this? This is nice.
LUCIA: What? You’re basically offering me money at a fixed rate?
ANDY: You click on Capital in your dashboard…
JENN: They said, ‘Here is the amount that we approve you for,’ and the money was in my account 24 hours later. That was it. It was easy as that.
LUCIA: It was kind of magic.
JACK: We’ve been working with business of every type, of every size. The beauty of Square and Square Capital together is that we’re helping to empower a business that’s been underserved by the financial industry.
LUCIA: The process of growing from a closet in a basement to a complex has been really incredible and having the Square Capital funding has made such a huge difference.
JENN: As soon as I got the funds, I decided to freshen up the truck a little bit. It’s just nice to give her a little spa day.
ANDY: We’ve taken three loans through Square Capital. We’ve tripled our workforce and tripled our fleet size.
COURTNEY: I’m now on my second loan and that has allowed me to expand my brand.
JACKIE: I think what’s interesting about Square Capital is you really can see how we serve an underserved population. We make it incredibly easy so that these small businesses can grow.
ANDY: And we thank you for your business.
JENN: Fresh Sunshine has really taken on a life of its own. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m exactly where I need to be.
ANDY: As a business owner, it fills me with a lot of pride to provide for my family.
LUCIA: This was a dream, and now it’s reality.