Small Business Question

Q:This is my first posting to this newsgroup. I have learned a lot by reading articles posted on this newsgroup. I own a small business and would like to get some advice from readers.

A:It does make sense to provide an online ad placement service. Perhaps you should consider working out a referral deal with someone who is already providing web service. You could simply help your clients by filling out a form which you would then send to the web service provider. Naturally, you should require a fee from the provider for your referral. This way, it would not be necessary for you to spend your own time and energy starting from scratch, and you would still project a technologically adept image to your clients. Sometimes the best solution is to ride someone's coattails to success! Great idea. Low cost and value added. Only problem I see is pictures tend to load s-l-o-w-l-y from the web and unfortunately, impatience is considered a good character trait by most Americans. Get a legal beagle to write up some of that great legal double speak and post on your site. You may want to read a few other sites and use theirs as a model to write your own. Who cares if the big boys are using the web. The net is a great equalizer. I would prefer to go to a site that has what I want quickly. Pay particular attention to the post from Casey L. Hughlett. Great idea with a minimum of fuss. You may want to locate several page developers in your area. They may be able to help you with the actual logistics of helping your customers onto the web. It may be correct that more and more businesses are using the web as a medium to advertise. That does not make it right for your business. I would suggest that you could invest a ton of time in this to get no return. Instead of doing that first, try going back to your customers. Ask them (both groups) how much time they spend on the web. If a lot, looking at what? Look for their patterns and then see if you can match them. If you find that they spend little time on the web, ask their customers. It may be that none of your customers or theirs are really using the tool. If that is the case, your presence may not be enough to create a new habit. Be careful not to let us in cyberspace tell you what your customers do. Ask them, not us.