Part 2 : The secrets of success

Actually delivering the goods has been the downfall of many an Internet venture. What's your solution, and how can you do it so cheaply?
Keep it simple. The most common reason why mistakes are made is unnecessary complications once the order has been received. Chinese whispers is another factor. In my case, the orders come in and the man that takes the order from the computer is responsible for that order until it is prepared, packed and dispatched. He can do nothing else until it has been processed.

This way the order is only passed through one pair of hands until the courier delivers it to your door. We are able to take an order, process, pack and deliver anywhere in the UK in 24 hours.

Not only this, but every dispatch is followed up with a phone call to check everything was satisfactory. It is this level of service that people have every right to expect. I don't have a van or a shop to distract me, so the least I can do is get the order right!

Opinion seems divided on whether the Internet helps or hinders smaller businesses survive competition from the big guys. Obviously your organic cooperative is doing very well, so what's your opinion on this issue?
The internet can help the small business survive if he is prepared to break the mould and throw out every preconceived concept about how retailing should work. We are not just dealing with new systems of business, but retailing with a whole new conceptual understanding of what can be achieved.

What this really boils down to is playing to your strengths rather than your weaknesses. One of the most important strengths in this new economy is flexibility and the ability to make rapid and profound decisions. The supermarkets haven't got a hope in competing on this level. They are burdened with traditional retail structure and rigid management control.

In bypassing the middleman, I can get my organic food to the customer faster and cheaper than a multinational retailer. What's more, it is fresher, better quality and the vast proportion of the profit goes back to the farmer that raised the chicken! Look at your strengths and you may well find they are more substantial than you realize.

What do you think has been the difference that has helped you succeed where so many have floundered?
I can't speak for other businesses, only my own. The only thing I will say, is that the lack of good old fashioned common sense is staggering in our industry. I would rather employ a ten year old than I would the vast majority of so called web experts. I am extremely dubious about anyone who puts themselves up as an expert in this sector.

Sometimes, as with anything this new and this intense, often a very young mind has this incredible ability to see with a clarity of vision that would escape all but the most imaginative amongst us. Above all else, the internet - and therefore your website - is a means of communication. If it does not communicate better than a simple telephone call then take it down, you've missed the point. Although the technology behind it baffles all but the most dedicated techno-head, the simplicity of what it allows us to achieve is almost 'childlike'.

With the benefit of hindsight, would you have done anything differently?
I would have bought a pornographic magazine and registered every word I came across adding dot.com several times!!

If only! But how do you see the future for Somerset Organics?
Watch this space! I have been approached by 3 other countries to get similar operations up and running using the local farmers and selling direct on a nationwide basis. I can't wait to get started on these. What started off with a 100 acre farm in Somerset, looks like evolving into an international business with the chance to achieve something I have always dreamed of. It looks like there are a few more late nights on the horizon!

Thanks Richard, and I hope we can catch up with you again and see how these plans have worked out.