Many small businesses today think on a localized plane in regard to marketing and sales. They own a store-front with the merchandise on shelves and the customer base consists of walk-ins. This is not a bad attitude except the small business owner shares in the economic plight of the his or her community.

Many communities in the United States were formed around a particular industry, like steel production. As industries restructured and moved into regions providing more favorable economic conditions, small business owners were faced with dwindling customers. The small business owner can either accept the lower sales, physically move to better economic regions, or get on the e-commerce bandwagon.

E-commerce enables the small business to obtain a global presence virtually overnight. Offering your merchandise on a web site and or “bidding” site provides the small business with access to over 1 billion potential customers. E-commerce also enables the small business to create multiple income streams to offset economic cycles.

One other aspect to consider is that your competition is engaged in e-commerce and e-commerce is increasing at a whopping 30% annually.  Can you not afford to take away your competitions competitive edge?

Mike Kniaziewicz, MIS