In today’s economy, small business owners who may not have the monetary funds, highly-developed technological infrastructure and skilled work force of large companies, are still able to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the World Wide Web. Small business owners who effectively prepare by gaining some basic knowledge and an understanding of the benefits and limitations of small business global ecommerce, can stake a claim in the international marketplace.
Purpose: Going Global: A Guide to e-Commerce Expansion is intended specifically for owners of small (micro) businesses with less than 10 employees who are already using existing Web sites and who are interested in selling products or services online to international customers. The purpose of this guide is to provide global e-commerce information in a user-friendly format to support small business owners interested in expanding their markets internationally.
Global e-commerce is, however, a likely next step for those who have previously sold goods or services internationally, are able to identify potential global markets or are simply eager to broaden their knowledge by learning how to adapt a Web site in order to target international customers. It is important to remember that although new technology is available and accessible for small business owners to reach distant markets through online commerce, not every business is a global business; careful and thoughtful planning are prerequisites for determining if a business is ready to ‘go global’.