3 Things You Should Know About Small Business: March 16

NEW YORK (MainStreet) -- What's happening in small business today?

1. One private practice is promoting vasectomy services with free pizza. Marketing products and services with ties to March Madness isn't just for food and bars -- one Massachusetts private practice is promoting its vasectomy services with a free pizza afterward, according to the Cape Cod Times .

Urology Associates of Cape Cod practice administrator Evan Cohen sees this time of year as perfect timing. Men need a few days to recover from a vasectomy, and what better way than by eating pizza and watching basketball? The practice also launched a zippy commercial to promote the deal.

"It does actually come with one topping. Maybe you can put some meatballs on it," Cohen joked to the media outlet.

Oh my.

2. Cash mobs are descending on mom-and-pop retailers. USA Today reports that organized groups of do-gooders, or so-called cash mobs, are going on shopping sprees at small businesses across the country.

The cash mobs are hitting stores from San Diego to Buffalo, N.Y., and celebrating their community missions at a local bar afterward. The groups use social media to organize and get details on when and where the next event takes place, from farmers markets to toy retailers to hardware stores, the article says. Cash mob members spend between $10 and $20 each per store.

"We did the equivalent of a Christmas shopping day in 45 minutes," John Reburn, owner of Appalachia Press in Roanoke, Va., who was hit by a cash mob this week.

3. PayPal introduces a tool for small business. Calling it "the future of small business," eBay's (EBAY) PayPal has introduced PayPal Here, a mobile payments solution for small business.

Businesses will be able to accept any form of payment with the payment solution whether by swiping a card or taking pictures to scan and process cards and checks, allowing merchants to invoice directly from the mobile app, the company says.

The first question that comes to mind, of course, is how this offering is any different from what other companies, such as Intuit (INTU), are already doing?

Well, here's PayPal's answer: "The key differentiator is that it comes from PayPal, a trusted brand in the online payments industry with more than 100 million customers around the globe and years of proven payment innovation, driving growth for millions of businesses globally."

"PayPal Here comes with our world-class fraud management capabilities and our 24/7 live customer support. In addition to accepting more payment methods, PayPal Here offers a simple flat rate of 2.7% for card swipes and PayPal payments. Merchants are also given a business debit card for quick access to their funds and 1% cash back on eligible purchases -- which means if you use the debit card, your fees are actually just 1.7%!"

-- Written by Laurie Kulikowski in New York.

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