Click & Convert with Maria Sparagis

Most online business owners know how much revenue they're generating.Far fewer know how much money they're unnecessarily leaving on the table.After more than 20 years working behind the scenes in payments and ecommerce, I've seen profitable businesses overlook surprisingly small things that can add up to tens of thousands of dollars.In this episode, I'm breaking down some of the numbers, costs and decisions I look at when evaluating an established online business — including one number I think far too many business owners are paying attention to instead of the one that could matter more.You may be surprised where the profit is actually hiding.Chapters 00:00 03:31 06:08 08:39 #BusinessProfit #ProfitMargin #BusinessTips #Entrepreneur

In this episode, I compare Whop and Skool for online courses, coaching programs, communities and high-ticket offers. We look at the differences in features, pricing, transaction fees and payment processing — including what a $5,000 sale can cost on each platform.I also break down where Whop and Skool differ when it comes to international payments, financing, payment flexibility and what happens as your business and processing volume grow.If you're deciding between Whop vs Skool in 2026, this episode will help you understand the differences that matter beyond the basic feature list.In this episode:Whop vs Skool pricing and transaction feesCourses, coaching and community featuresThe cost of a $5,000 high-ticket saleInternational payments and financingPayment flexibility as you scaleThe risk of relying on one platform for your business and paymentsChapters:00:00 Whop vs SkoolXX:XX What Are Whop and Skool?XX:XX Whop vs Skool Pricing & FeesXX:XX Payments & High-Ticket SalesXX:XX The Risk of Relying on One PlatformXX:XX Whop or Skool: Which Is Right for Your Business?Need help with payment processing for your online business?Visit DirectPayNet to learn more about payment solutions for growing online businesses.About Click & Convert:Hosted by Maria Sparagis, Click & Convert covers payment processing, ecommerce and the strategies behind building and scaling an online business.

Shopify or WooCommerce—which is the better choice for your ecommerce business?Shopify offers an integrated, easy-to-manage ecommerce ecosystem, while WooCommerce gives you considerably more flexibility and control. But the differences become more important as your business grows.In this episode, I compare Shopify and WooCommerce from a business owner's perspective, including ease of use, customization, total operating costs and an area that's often overlooked: payments.I also explain why payment flexibility can become a financial decision at higher sales volumes, and what established ecommerce businesses should consider before deciding which platform makes the most sense as they scale. Learn more about DirectPayNet: https://directpaynet.com/contact-us/

Your ROAS might look great—but your business could still be leaving serious money on the table. The problem may have nothing to do with your ads or traffic. In this episode, I reveal an overlooked way to increase ROAS without increasing ad spend by focusing on what happens after the customer decides to buy. We’ll look at checkout optimization, payment declines, approval rates, fraud settings and payment methods that can quietly impact your eCommerce conversion rate and profitability. If you're spending money on ads to drive more traffic, make sure you're not losing the customers you've already paid to acquire.#ROAS #eCommerce #ConversionRateOptimization #DigitalMarketing #eCommerceMarketing ____________________________________________👇 Need help with your payment processing? DirectPayNet helps ecommerce businesses improve payment approvals, reduce payment issues, and build payment systems that scale.👉 https://directpaynet.com/contact-us/

If you're a non-US resident with a US LLC and Stripe suddenly puts your funds on reserve, holds your payouts, or shuts down your account, finding another US payment processor may be harder than you expect. In this episode, I explain why finding a Stripe alternative for a non-resident US LLC can be challenging; and what you can do before a Stripe problem leaves you scrambling for another payment processing option.I also share the story of an established e-commerce merchant processing $2–$3 million a month through Stripe who suddenly had a 25% reserve imposed after a temporary increase in chargebacks; potentially tying up hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash flow.We’ll look at why non-resident owners can face additional challenges qualifying for a US merchant account, even with a US LLC, EIN, ITIN and US bank account.I’ll also explain how building a strong processing history, maintaining low chargebacks, establishing legitimate US presence where possible, and understanding reserves can help improve your options.The biggest takeaway: using Stripe isn't necessarily the mistake.Waiting until Stripe becomes a problem before exploring another processing option can be.If you're a non-resident owner of a US company consistently processing $50,000+ per month with at least six months of processing history, my team at DirectPayNet can review your business and help you set up a US merchant account.CHAPTERSStripe Reserve: What Happens When 25% of Your Funds Are HeldWhy US Merchant Accounts Are Harder for Non-ResidentsWhy Stripe Is Easier to Start With 05:51 How to Build Your US Processing HistoryDoes Having a US Presence Help?Why a Merchant Account Reserve Isn't Always BadWhen to Look for a Stripe Alternative#Stripe #MerchantAccount #PaymentProcessing____________________________________________👇 Need help with your payment processing? DirectPayNet helps ecommerce businesses improve payment approvals, reduce payment issues, and build payment systems that scale. 👉 https://directpaynet.com/contact-us/━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━📣 Connect with Maria LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mariasparagis Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariasparagis.directpaynet/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariasparagis/━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Subscribe for weekly videos on ecommerce payments, merchant accounts, fraud prevention, and checkout optimization. https://www.youtube.com/@clickandconvertwithmaria