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In an e-nutshell

Entrepreneur, May, 2000 by Robert McGarvey

If the only reason you haven't started an e-business is you're waiting for someone to tell you in comprehensive detail exactly how to do it [ldots] well, wait no more.

If you're not on the Web, you're probably not in business--not in 2000 anyway, when there are now more than one billion Web pages. (In case you're wondering, that's one for every seven people on the planet.) Just a couple years ago, the established megacorporations still snickered at the Web, dismissing it as a '90s edition of the CB radio or 8-track tapes, as just another fad that would surely pass. But it didn't--the Web has kept growing, exponentially, and now it looms as the biggest marketplace the world has ever seen.

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Chew on these numbers: IT consulting firm GartnerGroup predicts that business-to-business e-commerce will hit a staggering $2.7 trillion in 2004. By 2005, consulting group ActivMedia says online sales of consumables (from prescription drugs to groceries) will reach $119 billion. Meanwhile, Nielsen/NetRatings says Net usage continues to grow--the company measured a 22.7 percent jump in the number of users between February and December 1999, adding that by year-end 1999, 119 million of us were online, with the average time spent surfing exceeding eight hours per month.

For small businesses, this is news worth shouting from the nearest rooftop. "The Internet remains a place where you can start with nothing and soon challenge the gods," says Mark DiMassimo, president and creative director of DiMassimo Brand Advertising, an advertising agency in New York City.

The Web remains a lucrative playing field for newcomers, the little guys with little beyond a bright idea, lots of brains and an appetite for enormously competitive combat on a battlefield that--despite the potential riches that go to the winners--claims many more losers than victors. Just ask the big corporations. Ones that "get" the Net remain scarce, while many (from Toys "R" Us to Levi's) continue to fumble, stumble and look plain foolish as they fail to mount effective Internet strategies. But their failures are good news for you, because the message is that on the Net, the playing field is level--and you could come out a winner if you play smart, stay smart and keep your eyes on the continuing evolution of this medium into the global marketplace.

So what do you need to compete on the Net? Read on because in the pages that follow, you'll find a tool kit that covers the A-to-Z of mounting an effective business Web site. Everything's included--from building a site to managing it, marketing it and keeping it buffed, polished and compelling. Need detailed explanations written for nongeeks? That's what you'll find here, along with plentiful tips, pointers and good ideas for launching a site, winning the battle for eyeballs and getting your very own cyber cash register to ring, ring, ring.

What's holding you back? Nothing, because in this how-to, you'll find a complete do-it-yourself guide for getting started in e-business no matter what your budget. Plug in to the Net and--who knows?--next year you may be the one smiling as your company's IPO soars. It happened to thousands of entrepreneurs in 1999 and, before 2000 closes, it will happen to thousands more. The Web is the gold rush of the 21st century, and everything you need to know to compete is right here. Good luck[ldots]and get busy.

Business Services Industry

In an e-nutshell

Entrepreneur, May, 2000 by Robert McGarvey

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