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E-Commerce (Electronic Commerce) is hot. More and more small businesses and entrepreneurs are selling on-line.  Do you think your product or service has what it takes to meet the world  market head on and build a bigger, better, more profitable customer base? If you can answer yes to the following  questions than setting up your own Web site with E-Commerce capability could lead to your pot of gold. 

1) Can you showcase your product or service on-line?
2) Can you offer faster, 24 hour customer service on-line? 
3) Do you have the means of distribution nationally?
4) Are you prepared to invest in a E-Commerce Web site? 
5) Are you able to offer payment options?
6) Is E-Commerce a strategic business direction for your firm or home grown business? 

f you answered yes to all of the above you can see the end of the rainbow and the E-Commerce pot of gold! 

With your E-Commerce you can be open all the time, worldwide, without bricks or mortar or extra sales people. Be prepared to provide customer service and keep that site fresh and up-to-date. Be your own boss, set your own hours,  feel the pride of owning and operating your own business! These incentives have now become more than  just "wishful thinking" to many American families and recent college grads. Owning and operating your own home-based business,  whether it be a small landscaping company, accounting firm or direct mail order operation, has never been easier or more lucrative. Home computers and the Internet are making it much simpler to download, fill out, and understand the multiple forms needed to begin a small company, and software programs and on-line services make business management and accounting a breeze for just about anyone. Armed with a willingness to "go it alone", some help from the Internet and a home PC, Americans are giving up their "9 to 5" jobs and creating a multitude of home-based businesses dealing with everything from transcription services to catering and beyond. 

Why should someone buy from you and not from a local store? People need a reason to buy online. It could be better prices, convenience or  hard to find items, Once you have your store up and running — and a unique product to sell — you still need to attract customers who buy, not just  browse. Here are a few tips: 

 1. Lower your prices—Offer specials that are limited to online orders.    That way, your customers will feel like they "got a deal.  Promote a very few, select products that you can offer at a great price to win new customers,

   2. Send a newsletter—Newsletters, by direct mail and/or email, allow you to build a relationship  with your customers. And, once you have their names and addresses, you can do all sorts of traditional advertising and direct marketing.  Always provide something interesting. Your subscribers will bail quickly if you just send them a sales pitch every month.

   3. Check out the e-commerce newsletters and magazines online—You'll find a wealth of information that will not only help you get started, but continue to give you tips along the way. Check out Web Commerce Today at (www.webcommercetoday.com) or E-Commerce Times at (www.ecommercetimes.com). 

   4. Use banner exchanges—As many of you already know, banner exchanges give your site the visibility needed to generate sales. Put simply, your banner ad runs on other members' Web sites and their ads
   run on yours. If you are not a member yet visit (www.smartclicks.com/join/banner_ex.html) to join for free. 

   5. Subscribe to search engines—Search engines don't do it all, but let's face it, they do get a lot of traffic. That will allow your products or services to be reached by a wider audience. Your URL may be submitted to the search engines for free at (www.smartage.com/submit/faq/index.htmll). 

   6. Join an affiliate program—This is a good way to make a little cash and at the same time give your site fresh content. It's free and all you have to do is put another company's logo on your site that links to theirs. When people click on the logo and buy something, you get a portion of the returns. To explore a number of affiliate programs go to (www.smartage.com/smartopps/more_info/index.htmll#ap) But be selective, warns Baxter, "People don't like to wait while 20 banners load." 

   7. Change/update often—You may have a cool site, but if it never changes, no one is going to come back to it. Imagine if your local  grocery store never changed its signs, put anything on sale or added new products. If you want the word to spread about your site, give people a reason to talk about it.