Part 1: Simple business model equals success

First off, congratulations for being awarded the 4 stars by Smart Business Magazine! Can you briefly tell us the story behind 4smallbusiness.com and its remarkable success story as a business portal?
I formerly owned a marketing firm named New Millennium marketing. A client of mine took interest in how I managed my business and what services I was able to perform. He made an offer to fund an Internet-based company that would allow me to service more clients by automating some of what I did and how I communicated with my clients.

The business model is simple. I used to charge a retainer fee at New Millennium, we now charge a yearly subscription fee. The purpose of the fee is to enable merchants and business owners to receive non-biased advice, discount pricing on services and an education on areas of marketing and advertising that they are unfamiliar with.

My clients, our Members, really trust the advice we give them because they realize that we do not make extra money by recommending services and products and pass our commissions along to them.

If a member is too busy or would like professional help to fulfill the task his business requires, he/she can hire a business advisor to complete the task. All of our fees are spelled out upfront and are based upon time and not profits.

What is your mission in regard to your members, and what is the best thing about helping small business owners succeed?
My mission is to offer solid, honest advice, that will enable small business owners to make educated decisions. I enjoy working with people to take their ideas and businesses to the next level. I like to share my own experiences and those of other members to enlighten the members so that they do not make the same mistakes and so that they feel that they can truly trust that the information they are receiving is for their benefit and not the benefit of someone looking to sell them something.

I enjoy the enthusiasm of small business owners and know the pain of wearing many hats. I can relate to them and that makes them realize that they can succeed.

When you started your service two years ago, what went into the decision to make it a fee based subscriber service?
I came from twenty years of traditional advertising. I knew that banner ads would become ineffective similar to highway billboards. Great for branding, bad for sales. I didn't want my business model dependent on others' advertising budgets. It was tough at first since our competition was giving everything away but if you compare the prices of our services with those of others you will see how we save our members money.

Why are your members willing to pay for your services when there are so many free alternatives out there?
We act as their marketing/advertising director. We are there for those who might never get a chance to get advice from people that have been in their shoes. Our monthly consultations and marketing workbook costs us out of pocket money which I don't think our members mind paying for, since the rewards of our service is ten times what they pay.

To be able to save our members time and money and discuss their needs before determining whether or not they need to spend money or look into other options is invaluable. We provide custom advice and guidance, not cookie cutter. What's good for a restaurant is not the same for an online health food store. Although they are very similar, they have different challenges.

Your site refers to 4smallbusiness.com as the "missing link", how does it address the gap of the Internet for small business owners?
We learned early on that small business owners were either too engrossed in their daily business routine to learn a new marketing technique or that they were so ignorant toward computers and the Internet that they just flatly refused it.

By providing a human being to walk the members through a step by step process of integrating the Internet into their routine, we have bridged the gap. We show them how to use the Internet to communicate with their customers, employees and vendors, research their competitors and new products, as well as how to sell, advertise and provide customer service.

How can small business compete with big business online?
They shouldn't try to compete at all. We try to guide our members into creating a niche. If you try to capture "Internet Visitors" you will surely go broke. We help them identify their best prospects and target their efforts instead of trying to obtain market share.

Most small businesses will see the same disadvantages as on land, such as brand recognition, price and selection. We show our members how to offer better customer service and support, how to cater to the needs of a particular market. How to offer something extra that the big boys cannot effectively do.

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