Anyone from Maynardville to Madagascar can connect to www.salonbyronbarker.com for a real-time look at Barker's work in progress.
The salon set up shop on the Internet, complete with a Web camera focused on Barker's chair, in 1999, putting the two-stylist business ahead of its time.
Small businesses have been slower than their larger counterparts to establish a storefront on the Internet. A report from the National Federation of Independent Business shows just 57 percent of small businesses, those employing 250 or less, actually use the Web for business. And only 35 percent have Web sites themselves.
Knoxville small businesses that do have Web sites have a variety of reasons why - to promote a specific service; to improve customer service; to sell goods and to establish an image.
Buddy's Bar-B-Q launched its Web site, www.buddysbarbq.com, six months ago, said Suzanne Lindsey, director of marketing for the company, which operates 12 restaurants, a catering service and a banquet hall.
The restaurant chain's business relied mostly on word-of-mouth reviews from customers rather than marketing efforts. Corporate employees got access to the Internet just a couple of months ago.
The family-owned business decided to use its Web site primarily to promote its catering business, a competitive marketplace in Knoxville. The site introduces Buddy's as "BBQ & Caterer," and provides prominent links to its on-site catering services and its Bearden Banquet Hall.
"We had to focus on where we need the business most," Lindsey said. "Where do we have the most competition?"
Edward Mannis, owner of Knoxville-based Prestige Cleaners, set up his Web site a year ago.
At www.prestigecleaners.net customers can schedule pick-up and delivery or open an account online, most customers use the site to communicate with the company.
But many visitors click on "E-mail Eddie" to inquire about everything from stain removal to bridal gown care or to comment on customer service.
"If they (customers) have a problem in the store they will not hesitate to (e-mail me)," said Mannis. "That, in my opinion, is one of the best things about it. It gives us the advantage of hearing the problem and rectifying it."
Like many small businesses, however, Mannis is not tracking the site's impact on his finances, or even the number of visitors.
According to the NFIB study, Prestige Cleaners would be among 22 percent of businesses who don't know how much revenue is generated either directly or indirectly from their Web sites. Twenty-eight percent of businesses with Web sites estimated they generated less than 1 percent of their businesses' total revenue.
Yet, most small businesses felt it was a good investment - especially since the sites represented a fairly small expense. Most companies who knew the cost of the site paid $2,500 or less for its initial set-up. Thirty-five percent of those surveyed either did not know how much they paid to set up the site or refused to disclose the amount.
Mannis paid $2,500 for the initial set-up, and he pays $130 monthly to maintain it. The response, although purely anecdotal, has been well worth the investment, he said.
"I think that we have already gotten the value for what we have invested in that," he said.
Hairstylist Barker is one of about 35 percent of businesses on the Web, according to the NFIB study, that actually sells products and services online, which makes it easier to pin a monetary value to the Web site.
Barker said selling high-end hair and beauty products online has brought an average of $12,000 into the business each year since he launched the Web site, although he expects sales to decline for 2001.
"These (customers) are people in California, Florida, all over the country," he said. "They're searching by product."
The NFIB study predicts the number of businesses on the Web will grow. About half of companies with Internet access, but without a Web site, indicated they would launch sites within the year.
While the majority of small business Web sites primarily serve up information, rather than selling merchandise or services, local small business owners believe their sites affect their image, which in turn impacts the bottom line.
For Knoxville criminal lawyer James A.H. Bell, setting up his Web site - www.jamesahbell.com - makes a statement about his business.
The law practice needed "something to distinguish us," he said. Setting up the site in 1997 allowed the business to get its "foot in the door" of the exploding Internet, said Bell. "Then we could kind of be like a linebacker in the football game and go with the flow."
(25 November, 2001) Source from msnbc.com
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