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Page 10 GO IT ALONE!
and multiple employees—leading to a substantial start-up cost and substantial operating expenses.
• In contrast, powerful, easy-to-use tools now make it possible for anyone with an idea for a store in the online world to get up and going at almost no cost—in a matter of hours. The Yahoo! Store, for example, typically charges under $100 per month and provides a full e-commerce suite. In the virtual world, unlike the physical world, stores are generally leased on a month-to-month basis: No large financial commitment to a multiyear lease is required.
That is not to suggest that Internet retailing is always a good business or even that it is an easy business. In fact, it can be an intensely competitive and often difficult business. The point is that in the past, it was not possible for a single person without access to capital to even consider participating in the business arena. Until recently, you either had to risk a great deal of money and time—if you could afford both—to start your own retail business or had to remain an employee somewhere. Today, the cost and time involved in becoming your own boss has decreased dramatically. The risk of striking out on your own today can also be significantly decreased. Now, a person with a skill, a strong service idea, or an innovative product idea can achieve leverage through a wide range of inexpensive, easy-to-use services. The costs and time involved in getting a new business off the ground are substantially lower, which in turn makes such an effort a far less risky undertaking. In this new working environment, the individual stands at the center of a carefully constructed business system. In Archimedes’ world, physical power was amplified by combining a lever with a fulcrum. In today’s world, business strength is achieved when you become the fulcrum, and the business system
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GO IT ALONE! Copyright 2004 by Bruce Judson. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
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