Programs help businesses use e-commerce

58% of small businesses say the Internet has helped their business grow

By Anne Byers, Nebraska Information Technology Commission

The Internet is having a significant impact on businesses. In a recent survey of small businesses, 58 % of the businesses surveyed said that the Internet has helped their business grow or expand. Just over half of the respondents indicated that the Internet has helped their business become more profitable.

Nebraska businesses wanting to learn more about e-commerce have several options. The University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension offers a beginning e-commerce program, the Nebraska Electronic Main Street Program, and is developing an advanced e-commerce training program. The REAP program based at the Center for Rural Affairs also offers e-commerce training. Congressman Tom Osborne has offered a number of e-commerce and entrepreneurship conferences across the state. His economic development and entrepreneurship handbooks also contain information on resources. The Nebraska Department of Economic Development offers e-commerce training to businesses in communities that have participated in the business retention and expansion program. The Nebraska Business Development Center in Omaha offers classes on building and managing Web sites. The Nebraska Business Development Center will also travel to provide training to groups. Community colleges may also offer courses. Through a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Technology Opportunities Program, the AIM Institute is providing e-commerce assistance to businesses in Columbus, Fremont, and Norfolk.

To learn more about these e-commerce training programs, you can access an inventory of e-commerce programs compiled by the Nebraska Rural Initiative, the Nebraska Rural Development Commission, and the Nebraska Information Technology Commission at www.nitc.state.ne.us/toolkit/ecominv.pdf or check out the websites below:

Nebraska Electronic Main Street Program
http://connecting.unl.edu

REAP
www.cfra.org/reap

Congressman Tom Osborne E-Commerce/Entrepreneur Workshops
www.house.gov/osborne

Department of Economic Development E-Commerce Training
http://assist.neded.org/

Nebraska Business Development Center E-Commerce Training
http://nbdc.unomaha.edu

AIM's Cyberseed Program
http://www.cyberseed.com

TANgents, a quarterly publication of Technologies Across Nebraska, is edited and produced by Linda Tempel, University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension, ltempel@unlnotes.unl.edu, and Anne Byers, Nebraska Information Technology Commission, abyers@notes.state.ne.us. Please contact us if you would like to contribute an article or an idea for an article. Comments and suggestions are also welcome.