Little e, Big Commerce: How to Make a Profit Online (Virgin Business Guides) [Paperback]

Now that the first wave of dotcom mania has passed, the right way to run a website is becoming clearer. If you haven't taken the e-Commerce plunge yet, or if you want to get more out of your website, this book offers simple, plain-speaking advice on how to move forward. We'll introduce you to the world of e-customers, e-competitors and e-suppliers, taking you through the practical steps of getting and staying online. You'll find out what e-Commerce really is and how to do it properly - and above all, profitably - so you can make money instead of draining your resources. With the expert advice in this book, you can stay ahead of this fast-moving game.

All the business know-how to turn a profit from e-commerce.
In the five months that it took to write and edit this work, the world of e-Commerce of course moved forward dramatically. "Of course", because we've all become familiar with the speed of change on the Internet. So how is it that none of us ever seem to get familiar with developing our businesses at the same speed? I suppose that in many senses, that was the starting point for this book - just how can the entrepreneur keep up?

Overcoming this madness was my main goal in writing this book. I hope I have simplified the choices, and reduced the risks of entreprenurship in e-Commerce.

This book should arm you with all the business know-how and net-savvy to turn a profit from e-Commerce. It shows you how to take the plunge into the fast and competitive world of e-Commerce, without losing sight of the main goal - financial gain. Working in phases, it introduces you to e-customers, e-competitors and e-suppliers. It takes you through practical steps to get online, and to stay there, profitably. Simple guides, simple diagrams, simple strategies. It also helps you to avoid the traps of conventional thinking.

When you've read it, you'll see that e-Commerce doesn't change everything, but it does change a lot. The way you work, serve customers, innovate and compete. These are business methods - real world activities, not technologies. So find out how to practice e-Commerce before your competitors do!

As one of Britain's best-loved brands, Virgin is synonymous with enterprise and business know-how. This series of inspiring and practical business guides has been created with the help of Warwick Business School, one of the world's leading teaching and research institutions in the field of business and management. Warwick's Centre for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises has internationally acclaimed expertise in the subject of entrepreneurship, gained by working closely with start-up and growth-seeking companies, focusing on their practical needs.

Now that the first wave of dotcom mania has passed, the right way to run a website is becoming clearer. If you haven't taken the e-Commerce plunge yet, or if you want to get more out of your website, this book offers simple, plain-speaking advice on how to move forward.

We'll introduce you to the world of e-customers, e-competitors and e-suppliers, taking you through the practical steps of getting and staying online. You'll find out what e-Commerce really is and how to do it properly - and above all, profitability - so you can make money instead of draining your resources. With the expert advice in this book, you can stay ahead of this fast-moving game.

Timothy Cumming runs a combined incubator and e-Commerce agency for small and large businesses alike, specialising in start-ups and in moving bricks-and -mortar businesses online. As an authority on internet and strategic marketing, he is frequently invited to initiate or troubleshoot new e-Commerce operations. He is an advisor to the DTI's 'Grow with Marketing' Group, an Associate of Warwick Business School and has lectured at London's South Bank University.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Timothy Cumming runs a combined incubator and e-commerce agency for small and large businesses alike, specialising in start-ups and in moving bricks-and-mortar businesses online. As an authority on Internet and strategic marketing, he is frequently invited to initiate or troubleshoot new e-commerce operations. He is an advisor to the DTI's 'Grow with Marketing' Group, an Associate of Warwick Business School and has lectured at London's South Bank University.