SBTDC e-BRG ready

Am I ready for e-commerce?

"Everyone now has a website and many naturally want to sell their product or service over the Internet." This myth can cost your company a lot of wasted time and more importantly money.

Not every company is ready for Internet sales, and some companies may have a product or service that is not suitable for this type of distribution. Everyone has seen the television commercial where the Internet drug company employees are excited about getting their first order, but then thousands of orders start coming in, and then millions follow, and sweat starts pouring from the employees' faces. You have to be ready to fulfill orders from outside your normal market area and possibly around the world when you embark on e-commerce.

This is just one of the many considerations you will have before determining if you are ready to sell on the Internet. Are you ready? The University of Arkansas in Little Rock, Arkansas, has come up with an assessment tool to help you determine if you are indeed ready or if your product or service might be a good candidate for e-commerce. You can access the assessment at the following website: E-commerce assessment tool: http://www.asbdc.ualr.edu/ecommerce/tool.htm

This site gives you an overview of the differences between your bricks-and-mortar store and the virtual store. You will get a good idea from this site about what challenges you may face.

http://www.connectingonline.com/articles/980105.html

This article offers a contrary opinion to the prevailing attitude that every business must have an e-commerce site.

Back to e-Business Resource Guide homepage

Find a word in the glossary

Contact an SBTDC counselor

Return to the SBTDC homepage