Time To Wake Up – And Smell The Internet
A new day is dawning – f-a-s-t!

Today's consensus is that the Internet was born in 1994, and I have no real argument with this. But I remember back in the 80's, when it took several hours, some leading edge equipment, a stack of manuals and notes, several phone calls, and a wealth of technical skill to get hooked up to another computer somewhere.

A very slow speed telephone hookup was the only option, and Hayes was emperor of 'planet modem.' You had to be one of the geekiest of nerds to even get your hands on one of the few phone numbers that could lead to the Internet, which was no more than a handful of computers. On those few computers, available only to the elite who could access them, was practically nothing at all. It wasn't called the "Internet" then, nor was it called the "world wide web." Back then, we'd sit at coffee and muse over what the future of this new, problem-laden medium could hold. But even in our wildest fantasies, we never saw it coming.

Since 1995, some of the most gifted high technologists and high technology collaborations on the planet have attempted to foresee what the Internet holds. Some predictions came to be, though some of those were surely self-fulfilling prophecies. But across the board, nobody has accurately predicted what's coming next. The Internet always surpasses whatever projections are made. Still, we've learned a lot about the Internet.

Here are some things we do know about the Internet:

• It grows every day – not a little, a lot – by the population of a large city, at least.
• Well over three times the population of the entire United States uses the Internet.
• About 70% of people in the United States use email.
• Even the infamous dotcom crash, the Internet's own Black Friday, didn't phase the explosive growth of the phenomenal medium.
• Already, over half of the world's advertising budget is being spent on the Internet.
• The Internet can make or break businesses overnight – literally.
• Sales? Christmas of 2005 tells the tale. Brick and mortar up 7-10%, Internet up 22-29% - not including sales made as a result of Internet research and pricing.

So, as a business owner, how do you plan for the future when you can't grab hold of a reasonable prediction? Go with what we know! From this point on, it will help if you try to think of your Internet presence as another store, shop, or location.

The first thing you should do is get your website up, if it's not already. Get it properly optimized and submitted. This begins the process of getting your business into the search engines, which is how most people will find you.

When you get serious about your Internet business, your search engine rankings will become critical. You'll need to be on the first page of search results to really win, and if you're site is listed after page three, nobody will find you. This makes doing what's necessary for high rankings necessary to your site's survival, and therefore your business's survival.

You should also start shifting your advertising budget towards the Internet. You don't have to shift huge chunks all at once, but you do need to initiate the process. He who hesitates is lost.

Mostly, you need to take an active, creative, and aggressive stance in your Internet expansion, ranking, and advertising programs. No matter what your industry is, the change is already affecting you, and those affects will only grow more in scope and scale as each day passes.

Unfortunately, a lot of business owners will not make this shift to the Internet. It would actually be more accurate to say: it is unfortunate for those who do not make the shift, fortunate for those who do. This is simply because all that 'new' business will be divided by the larger, established Internet companies.

If you think that your business is insulated from this mass migration to the Internet, better think again. I recently saw a 4-generation jewelry store go from being number one in sales within its city, to going out of business. Why? People started going to sites like www.mysimon.com, and finding hundreds of prices on jewelry – all in one place. Then they simply pick the lowest price and place an order – on the Internet. No driving (or expensive gas use), no standing in lines, no hassles.

Some of the industries that are starting to feel the Internet at their heels (and this will only get worse) include: electronics, real estate, banking/loans, travel, florists, specialty gifts, furniture, and clothing. One of the things that's changing dramatically is education. What a person can study and get degrees in over the Internet, is mind boggling.

Take heart! It's not too late, not yet, anyway. Not for most businesses. You likely wouldn't do well to start a search engine company, or a massive, general Internet shopping business, or reselling business. Companies like Yahoo, Ebay, and Amazon have those nailed down pretty well, and competing against them would take a trainload of money, and a city full of technicians. But most other businesses are still reasonable to start or grow on the Internet.

Time to quit reading, and start taking action. Go through the Internet and see what other businesses like yours are doing. Read a few statistics on Internet use and growth, and start to plan your future course in cyberspace. Then all that's left is to get rolling. It's time, and time is moving fast – so don't delay. It really is time to wake up and smell the Internet!