It is easy to find a local
"access provider" and get an "Internet
account" which allows you to connect into the Internet. One
way to find these providers is to check in the business section
of your local newspaper. Cost is around $12-$20/month which will
give you unlimited access. More good news: Required software for
your computer is generally free or very low cost shareware
available from the provider (or you can download it from various
hosts with help from your provider).
There are different types of Internet
accounts that provide various levels of service. Suffice it to
say here that you will need a "dial-in PPP" account
which will allow you to take full advantage of the Internet at a
low cost. (PPP stands for Point-to-Point Protocol)
Be careful when selecting your Internet
provider since many are coming in existence to support the
demand. Some are good, some are not. Use the following checklist
to help in making your selection.
- How long has the provider been in
operation? (1 year minimum)
- Are an adequate number of
telephone lines are available to ensure you will not receive
a busy-signal when attempting to connect?
- Is a local access telephone number
available? (You don't want to incur long-distance charges
since you will find that you're spending hours connected!)
- Are 28.8Kbps modems (minimum) being
used for dial-in accounts?.
- Are personalized E-mail addresses
available? You want this for identification. It is your
"name" on the Internet. For example, my Internet
E-mail address is "bobs@isquare.com. "bobs"
is what I've chosen for my "name," "isquare"
is the name of the node of my Internet service provider, and
"com" indicates a commercial account.
- Will software be provided? (It usually
is).
- Are there any restrictions on doing
business?
- Is technical help available? During
what times? (This assistance should be free.)
- What services are offered? You must
have E-mail and FTP at a minimum. Will the provider be able
to support your "home page" when you're ready?
(more on this below).
Equipment required
Hopefully, you have already decided that a computer is an
absolute necessity for your business. Given you already have or
will get a computer, the only additional piece of equipment
required to support Internet access is a modem. This is the
device that connects your computer to the telephone line. It is
very important that this modem be able to transfer lots of data
quickly. Fortunately, the cost of modems has come down
considerably and for around $100 you can add a 56Kbps modem to
your computer. 56Kbps defines how fast the modem transfers data
and is the minimum speed you should use with the Internet for
satisfactory performance.
Learn to use the net.
At this point a lot of what you have read in this section
may be confusing but believe me, once you get connected and
start using the various tools we've described, everything will
start to make sense.
When you are up and running on the
Internet, start looking around on the WWW (called "surfing
the net") and get familiar with what's there. You will
quickly be amazed at what is available and the possibilities.
Send me an E-mail!
Create your own presence on the net.
Using the Internet to advertise your product or service is
considerably different than traditional sales and promotional
techniques. You must stand out in a crowd of millions! To do so
requires you to carefully think through your strategy to ensure
whatever you place on the Internet is very unique and
interesting.
When using the net to advertise, and
again contrary to the traditional, you must "give to the
net" as well as utilize its capabilities. In other words,
your advertising must also provide useful information to the
reader. Also note that the major unwritten rule for advertising
on the Internet is to NEVER send unsolicited information to
specific individuals.
The form of your presence on the net is
dependent on your business goals and marketing specifics. In any
case, I strongly suggest you learn more about the Internet and
see how it might fit into your business.
Okay, you have an Internet provider, your
modem is installed, and you've connected to the Internet by
dialing up your local access number. Now try the following
URL's, all of which should be useful to the small business owner
or entrepreneur.
This article is an excerpt from "The
Small Business Start-Up Guide" by Robert Sullivan, which is
available in most libraries and bookstores or may be purchased
from the publisher, Information International. 1 800 375 8439.
Visit "The Small Business Advisor" at http://www.isquare.com
