e-Business Resource Guide

a guide to your business on the Internet

a business development service of The University of North Carolina system
operated in partnership with the US Small Business Administration (SBA)

The North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) has written this e-Business Resource Guide to help you understand your e-business options; make sound, affordable decisions for your business; and learn where to go beyond this guide.

We have developed two scenarios — one for businesses which may only need a promotional website, and another for businesses which intend to conduct e-commerce transactions online (with customers, vendors, and other business entities).

Promotional sites essentially provide a web-based "brochure" for your business. They are relatively simple, with costs ranging from free to whatever you wish to spend.

E-Commerce (transactional) sites tend to be more complex, more costly, and involve ongoing expenses.

For both, you will need to make careful investments of your time and resources, and do so with a strategic focus.

This e-Business Resource Guide provides a decision schematic based on questions most frequently asked by owners of small to mid-sized businesses. You may follow the sequence of questions top to bottom for either promotional or e-commerce sites, or proceed directly to specific questions of interest.

For each question, you will find a brief response, followed by annotated links to related resources. The annotations are designed to help you determine whether this particular resource may be of benefit to you. In addition, at the bottom of each page is a glossary link in case you don't understand any terms used.

Best wishes for e-success as you explore the exciting world of e-business! We are interested in your feedback, so please direct any questions or comments on this guide to info@sbtdc.org.