Every conceivable type of business can profit from having a website. If you have a business, however large or small, a good website can only be a bonus to you. Many small local businesses question whether or not they need to be visible to the entire world, but selling globally is not the only reason to have a website.

Let’s take the hypothetical example of a small picket fence manufacturer who does business within a limited range. Our business owner, Stan, manufactures picket fences in a small factory and delivers and installs them only in suburbs that lie within a fifty mile radius of his factory. Stan was on the road almost every day chasing leads and was becoming increasingly frustrated because only about a quarter of his leads turned into sales.

One of his employees liked to make websites in his spare time and suggested he make a small website that featured a photograph album, some pictures of the manufacturing process and of the factory premises. There was nothing sophisticated about the site - it was like an online scrapbook album, but it worked brilliantly.

Within a couple of months, Stan found that he was getting far more sales from his initial visits to people’s homes because they already knew what he had to offer before he went to their homes. The first time they called, Stan told them they could see his portfolio online and if that was the sort of work they wanted, he would come out and see them. His website was already a huge timesaver for him.

Impressed with what the little website his employee made for him could do, Stan asked him what else they could do to make the site work even better. The employee suggested that they contact other local businesses who had websites and do link exchanges with them.

Stan made a few phone calls and it didn’t take long before a nearby home decor accents business nearby happily agreed to do a link exchange. To Stan’s surprise, within a short time he was getting quite a few more leads. Over the course of a few months, he saw his profits increase by ten percent, thanks to an inexpensive website and a single link exchange.

Then he got his big break. A home developer was just getting ready for a new property launch and agreed to do a link exchange with Stan. They had nearly completed a development of over a hundred homes. Everyone who went to their website saw Stan’s link and when they purchased their home, they remembered him and called him first when they wanted to fence in their house.

Stan’s business doubled in size and profits thanks to a simple website and an employee’s bright ideas. This hypothetical story illustrates the power of the internet, even for small local enterprises.

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