by Dailton Felipini

   This question can on the basis of be answered two distinct premises: of the entrepreneur who already has a physical business and thinks about using the new canal of commercialization and businesses; and of the entrepreneur, who cogitates to mainly implant a new business in the Internet, wants either a virtual store directed toward the final consumer (B2C) wants either toward the commerce with other companies (B2B).

   For who it acts in the traditional commerce, to use the Internet left of being a choice and started to be a strategical necessity. Almost all the companies nowadays have some type of presence in the Internet, since a simple institucional site, passing for electronic catalogue of products, for the relationship most agile with customers, suppliers, employees or deliverers, saw web, until the implantation of a virtual store where sales are accomplished of electronic form.

   This advance occurred in so fast way that, many times, the entrepreneur doesn't even gave account of himself that some business-oriented processes, that before demanded a great structure of the hardware and software, had passed to be carried through in environment web in more efficient way and, what it is better, to a surprising lower cost.

   The Internet became a species of digital road that gratuitously arrives at the doors of all the companies. It can until not using this infrastructure, but it is good for having conscience of that the competition goes to use it and goes to gain productivity and agility with this.

The Internet for new entrepreneurs

   After the many company in addition point-with occured in 2000 middle, mainly in the United States, the myth was created of that the companies in the Internet could not be lucrative. It occurs that the main factor of failure, in that occasion, was the existence of a still incipient market in the Internet, with many companies for few consumers. Moreover, it sufficiently weighed the strong speculative influence of the stock markets, that took investors to place much money in not feasible projects simply to sale the participation, after that, with profit. The reality today is totally different. Already we have a substantial market, with about 1,1 billion of internautas in the whole world and something around of 25 million in Brazil.

   The invoicing of the companies retail on-line comes growing the taxes of 40% to the year since 2001, and the good companies of the sector are going very well. That the Submarino.com says to it, that closed the year passed with a profit of R$ 18,7 million and invoicing of R$ 547 million, what it represents a growth of 192% in relation to the previous year. The fact is that space for new enterprises in the retail how much in the B2B exists in such a way. However, it is necessary to plan well the business very. Not valley the penalty, for the new entrepreneurs, to try to concur with the great retailers of the Internet, who disponibilizam in its store hundreds of thousand of itens and that they had invested Real millions to mount the enterprise.

   The strategy recommended for the small entrepreneur is to search the market and to find segments still little explored. This way, working with a lesser variety of products that demand minor investment, it will be able to fight to be recognized and, if possible, to be the leader in its niche of market. A positive factor currently is that already it is much more easy to find good suppliers of services related to the electronic commerce, as lodging, development, solutions of ready store, among others.

   Valley to point out that the moment still is very favorable for the Electronic Commerce, that continues growing and adds thousand of new customers in potential all year. And could be different, after all, in a economy the whose “slide” GIP the taxes of 1,5% to the year, are not whenever a sector meets whose forecast of growth for 2006 is of 56% in relation to the previous year.

Dailton Felipini. he is Master in Administration for Fundação Getúlio Vargas and professor of Electronic Commerce in the University Mackenzie (Brazil).