Paypal Business Online Guide.pdf

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The Entrepreneur’s Guide to
Doing Business Online
by Rieva Lesonsky,
Entrepreneur
magazine
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53 percent of online shoppers planned to buy even more
on the Internet in the coming year.
Not so many years ago, when I’d meet with entrepreneurs and small
business owners, we’d discuss how to move customers faster through lines
– phone lines, checkout lines, fashion lines and product lines. These days,
the topic generally is how to move customers faster
online.
Small-business owners who have extended their operations to the
Internet tell me it’s the smartest, most productive, competitive step
they’ve ever taken and want to know how to capitalize further on this
market. Those who aren’t yet online are tripping over themselves to
find out if and how they can manage the move to the web.
As with any business move or expansion, considering an online
presence can raise a sometimes dizzying list of questions for an entrepre-
neur. Exactly what must be put in place to make it happen? How does an
online presence change the market for the business? What are competi-
tors doing? How will people shop? What kind of security is required? How
will customers pay online? We put together this guide, a primer of sorts,
to help answer those questions.
Small businesses that have little or no e-commerce capabilities on their
web sites will learn about taking the next step in converting their market-
ing sites into selling locations that extend their customer bases, images
and sales in entirely new ways. Those entrepreneurs not yet online will
discover how the Internet is likely to transform their businesses and
introduce them to markets far beyond those which are currently in reach.
According to research firm IDC, the cost of setting up a web site has
decreased significantly from the height of the Internet boom, when small-
business owners could expect to shell out as much as $10,000 for the
design and set-up, plus hundreds more to update it. Today it can be done
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Only about half of the nation’s small businesses
are estimated to have their own web sites.
for as little as $1,200. In 2005, though, only about half of the nation’s
small businesses are estimated to have their own web sites, up from
about 40 percent in 2002.
An AC Nielsen survey recently reported that 53 percent of online
shoppers planned to buy even more on the Internet in the coming
year. Why? It seems customers – who once were reluctant to try online
shopping – discovered a new level of convenience, speed, selection
and security after ordering online.
The irony is that even though consumers have overcome their initial
doubts about Internet shopping, many small businesses are holding back
from leveraging all they can from e-commerce. The problem here is a
perception – often misguided – about what it takes to start an online store
that sells directly to consumers. Concerns that small business owners may
have include:
• The cost of maintaining an online operation.
• Fear of technology and inexperience with the online medium.
• Perceptions of complicated set-up processes.
Today, entrepreneurs have access to a host of packaged e-commerce
programs, online experts for hire, and most importantly a global market-
place that allows small businesses to grow. Equipped with the right tools,
resources and expertise, the time has never been better for small business
owners to take the plunge and make the move to the web.
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The Internet is increasing the number of potential
customers, but it’s also driving profitability.
Why Go Online?
The most amazing aspect of e-commerce is its ability to impact sales and
marketing efforts immediately. By going online, suddenly a neighborhood
bakery or a home-based consulting service expands its reach to a national,
or even international base of potential customers. Web-based sales know
no international boundaries.
Forrester Research, which analyzes online trends and statistics, projects
the online retail market for U.S. businesses to be $230 billion by 2008.
That’s a full 10 percent of anticipated total U.S. retail sales.
Not only is the Internet increasing the number of potential customers
that a company can reach, but it’s also driving profitability, according to
research from IPSOS, commissioned by PayPal. The survey discovered that,
far from being an extra “expense,” Internet operations boosted businesses’
bottom lines.
• Of small businesses that sell online, 64 percent said the
Internet has increased their revenues or sales.
• 48 percent felt the Internet helped to expand their
geographic reach in the U.S.
• And 73 percent saved money by decreasing administrative costs.
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Of small businesses that sell online, 73 percent
saved money by decreasing administrative costs.
Cash flow is of significant importance to a new business – online or brick
and mortar. The study found that small business owners who conduct
business online feel it allows them to receive payments faster and conduct
business easier.
When entrepreneurs move online, they establish themselves on a level
playing field with larger competitors. On the Internet, even the smallest
online retailer can be as attractive and as functional as the largest big
box store – without the need to have a physical presence on every street
corner. Often, small shops project a “boutique” feel that attracts shoppers,
who perceive smaller businesses as more distinctive than larger stores.
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