Web sites give small businesses needed exposure

When prospective entrepreneurs ask small-business consultant John Maynard whether they should develop a Web site for their planned enterprises, Maynard responds with a question of his own.

"When ... they ask me that, I (ask) them if they would consider operating a business without a telephone," said Maynard, who serves as the director of program development with the Small Business Development Center in Athens.

Sarah Van Ophuijsen, a Web services project manager for Digital Insight in Athens, reinforced Maynard's observation.

"There is an entire generation of people that will never pick up the Yellow Pages," she said. "When I sit at my desk to make plans for lunch, I use instant messaging with my friends about where to go, and I need to be able to go online to pick a restaurant's menu and link my friends to that."

Setting up a Web site for a small business, whether for a restaurant, retailer or service company, is a crucial aspect of promotion for a small venture, Maynard said.

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