[May 30, 2009] Wise Web work: Small business Facebooks off with big guys Tweet LIMA, May 30, 2009 (The Lima News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Small business owners are all a-Twitter about the possibilities of the Internet. And a-Facebook and a-MySpace and so on. The rise of the Internet and the more recent proliferation of social networking sites has helped level the playing field for small businesses, allowing them to stretch marketing and advertising dollars and better compete with the conglomerates that once threatened their existence. "The things small businesses can do online, it's incredible," said Tim Stuckey, owner of CorpComm Group, a Lima-based marketing firm. "The minute you go online, you become a global company." Stuckey was joined by Old Barn Out Back owner Pete Williams and Bob Schulte Jr., owner of HR Services, in a panel discussion on technological trends for small business during Friday's Wake, Rattle and Roll, held by the Lima Allen County Chamber of Commerce. All three men said keeping up with new technology is a necessity for small businesses hoping to compete in the market. The accessibility of new software and online options make it possible. A business that just five years ago might have been unable to compete can now take on the big guys, Schulte said. "The technology has become a lot more sophisticated, but this sophistication is available even to small companies. Things that were available only to Fortune 500 companies five or ten years ago are available to a company with 30 employees today," Schulte said. Technology doesn't have to mean impersonal. Williams' family started the Old Barn Out Back 30 years ago and has survived because of its personal connection with customers. But today, that connection is supported by technology, including a database of customers and even a Facebook page with more than 250 fans who receive regular updates on specials and events. "I have a database of 2,500 customers. I can tell you when they were in last, what they ate and how often they come in," Williams said. "These days you have to do more." You can comment on this story at www.limaohio.com. To see more of The Lima News or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.limanews.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Lima News, Ohio Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]