How has the Internet made it easier to start a small business?
The Internet has made it infinitely easier to start up small businesses. Before the Internet came around a small business required a location, required a massive communication center, required alot of start-up funds, required advertising that was in print, was on billboards, was on radio, maybe even on TV, depending on what that company was doing.All of these things cost money and start up companys by definintion don't have a lot of money, they are just getting started.What the Internet did to change that was to make it irrelevant where you are. It made it irrelevant how you advertize. You can now advertise easily and inexpensively directly to people who are looking for your information. You could just put up a web site and with enough attention to that web site people would find it before even putting ads on the Internet. You can also find many cheap places to put ads, to put links, which connect your website to other peoples websites or to put banners or places where somebody browsing your website would see about your website and be able to connect to it. The communication structure of a start-up business required phone lines, required fax machines, required a mailing location. The Internet takes care of all that. You no longer need phone lines, you can use your e-mail, you can use scipe accounts or other formats to communicate through the Internet.You don't need a static office location, nobody cares where you are, they just care that they can get to you.
