NFIB

Getting Started Online for Free
04/ 15/ 2002

by Mark Kakkuri

Forget the hype. You don't have to spend thousands to put up an e-commerce site. And if you're concerned that "free" equals bare bones, featureless sites that are loaded with advertising, that's not necessarily the case.

Ask Srini AnnF, owner of Conga Coffee & Tea Co. in Mt. Clemens, Mich. He used Freemerchant.com to create his coffee shop's online store, at http://www.congacoffee.com.

"It's been great," says AnnF. The fact that he uses Freemerchant.com is virtually invisible to Conga Coffee customers. "There are no tacky banners of any kind," says AnnF. The only clue is a reference to Freemerchant on the order confirmation emails. "It would be nice if that wasn't there. Customers have never commented on it, however."

Free services are a way for small businesses to be introduced to the Internet with negligible up-front costs, says Steve Sydness of Burlington, Mass.-based Bizland.com. With a Web presence, he says, small businesses have "a simple, low-cost way to level the playing field with large companies. Just because it is a free service does not mean that you cannot achieve an impressive and professional Web presence."

But Ramon Ray, author of the Small Business Technology Survival Guide and online at http://www.smallbiztechnology.com, cautions that a growing business looking to attract venture capital and/or partners needs to look professional. Free Web sites, while a good start for a small business, "are a dime a dozen," says Ramon, so a growing business should upgrade and pay for certain Web features when it can.

"This is the chicken or the egg scenario, though," says Ramon. "You can't have a good online presence without spending some money on it but you can't spend the money unless the business is growing."

Ramon's solution: Start with a free Web site and eventually start paying for the better, value-added services. "Tend a Web site carefully, like a garden," he says, "and the business will grow."

---

This article originally appeared in the January/February 2001 issue of MyBusiness Magazine, NFIB's member magazine.

Small Business Sound Off
Does this story hit home?  Share your story with us