My clients often ask me, "Do I need to do business on the Internet?" They want me to compare and contrast online business with offline business. I usually just give them the bluntest response: The phrase 'business on the Internet' is redundant. Like breathing the little bit of air left at the top of a sinking car, the remaining offline businesses are just trying to last as long as possible in the new ever-changing technological world. Like the dinosaurs, offline entrepreneurship is an artifact of history. The question is not "Do I need to do business on the Internet?" The question is "Do I need to do business?" If you need to do business, than you have no choice but to do it on the Internet. You need not fear the Internet. Many people new to the Internet business seem nervous or even afraid at the thought of doing business online. Many people hesitate to move their business to or start their business on the Internet. However, they should fear offline business! One can find opportunity, new developments, and emerging markets all over the Internet. The offline market dries up more and more everyday. It is not the desk and computer that business-people should avoid. It is the "brick-and-mortar" store that is dangerous and failure-ridden. The Internet is the Wall Street of the 21st century. The great thing about this new Wall Street is the empowerment it gives to the little guys and to the beginners. The questions of a beginner (or an expert for that matter) are always one Google search away. With an email account a new entrepreneur can instantly talk to anyone anywhere in the world. Even better, with a website a new entrepreneur can do business with anyone anywhere in the world. In the comfort of one's own home or local office, one can fiber-optically connect to people, businesses, and information in an instant. No longer is this form of business capability monopolized by high-rollers with private jet planes and satellite picture phones. Such efficient and available access to the Internet brings opportunity - opportunity not just for the few, but rather freedom of opportunity for everyone. To those who worship meritocracy, the Internet truly is the messiah. So, if you plan on doing business, you have to do it on the Internet, but that's not a bad thing; that's a great thing. |
