MAKING THE Switch - incorporating technology into small businesses

Black Enterprise, Nov, 2001 by Paula Mccoy-Pinderhughes

SMALL BUSINESSES WILL NEED TO TAKE A GIANT STEP FORWARD WITH TECHNOLOGY TO SECURE THEIR PLACE IN THE MARKET

CALL IT "TECHNOPHOBIA" OR "PC PANIC." THE FEAR OF USING technology and incorporating it into the workplace is an all too real phenomenon, especially in the African American small-business community. "It takes too long to learn it." "I can't afford the expense right now." "I've gotten along just fine for all of these years without it." These excuses and a thousand more are just some of the reasons small black companies give for not embracing technology.

According to the most recent data from the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), there are approximately 3 million minority-owned businesses operating in the United States, of which 823,000 are owned by African Americans. The data suggests that these businesses have to begin thinking strategically if they are to survive in the new economy, where technological implementation, access to information, and the means to effectively use and disseminate it are critical to survival.

Waynett A. Sobers Jr., owner and senior consultant at WayVon Consulting (www.mycashflowplus.com) in White Plains, New York, says that the average small-business owner is concerned with daily cash flow and customer service and retention efforts and is slow to realize the impact new technology can have in alleviating these concerns. "Some business owners literally have to be taken by the hand to become a convert," says Sobers. The fear of change, the need for control over their operation, and the commitment of time needed to learn new technology are often reasons these business owners are falling behind. "African American businesses may not have knowingly experienced the pain of lost opportunity due to their technological complacency," says Sobers. "Unfortunately, when this loss [of business] does occur, whether present or future, it is oftentimes beyond their grasp to correct it."

Dwain Warren, owner and president of Executive Carriages II, a limousine service in Somerset, New Jersey, has run his business for 20 years--eight of those as a partnership with silent financial partners and the past 12 as sole owner and proprietor-operating from his home office.

As the company grew steadily, Warren decided the time had come to invest in a computer and input his list of more than 200 clients, using the Quicken accounting software application. Although aware that he could do more with an accounting package than just insert names into a database, he felt the time and effort the process required would take away from his effectively running his business. "I understood that its capabilities could enhance my operation and alleviate the bits and scraps of paper I kept my expenses on from which the financials were gathered at tax time and subsequently handed over to my accountant," Warren admits. "But time stood in the way of learning."

FINDING SOLUTIONS

Bob Stoesser, vice president of e-commerce at KeyCorp.'s small-business online solutions center (OSC), says that his organization provides the tools and services needed to help small businesses run more efficiently and effectively.

The OSC offers help in several different categories, including: human resources, bookkeeping and accounting, marketing and sales, and e-commerce. Stoesser says that when logging on to the OSC through www.key.com/smallbiz, customers will immediately be linked to a growing number of e-commerce partners who will provide them with the services, tools, and solutions necessary to meet their business objectives.

PrivateCo.com, an e-commerce partner of the OSC, provides tools to help you compare your company with other businesses, estimate the value of your business, and access industry information in minutes. "No matter the size of your business, in the Internet space, everybody is the same size," says Stoesser.

The National Federation of Independent Business (www.nfib.com), the nation's largest small-business advocacy group, provides comprehensive online resources such as daily how-to workshops, e-newsletters, chats, and discussions, as well as human resources, legal, and tax advice for small firms. "The nonprofit site is designed to do nothing more than help people succeed in business," says Bernie Butler, vice president of marketing, development, and technology for the 600,000-member federation. Through a link on nfib.com--www. smallbusiness.com, a strategic partner--users can connect to an extensive network of small-business owners where they may exchange advice, ideas, and information. Members are offered discounts on products and services through exclusive strategic alliances with FedEx, QuickBooks, Gateway, and the Hartford Insurance Co.

EXPLORING THE ISSUES

For the past few years, revenues for Executive Carriages II have been between $60,000 and $80,000. "It all depends on the economy," says Warren. "If businesses are doing well, then they allow their employees to travel and use car services to take them around. If not, then my business suffers."