Let me tell you a story. A success story.

My grandfather was an Irish immigrant’s son with a third grade education. He was also a tireless salesman and astute planner who taught me the power of strong revenue. He started Southern Supply and Manufacturing Company in 1927, which prospered and survived through the depths of the Great Depression. This humble ‘paddie’ made himself a millionaire before WWII. Back then, that was a lot of money.

“Gaga,” as we grandkids called him, raised 9 children in fine style, selling his Gold Seal Cutlery products. He left the Company to his sons, my uncles. As listed in Hoover’s, Southern Supply continues today with 25 employees and $1.2M of annual revenue.

Eighty years is a long history for a small business, considering 95% of all startups fail within 5 years. What made Gaga’s success possible? No doubt there were several factors. But Southern Supply survived on great adaptability.

At one point, it became impossible to compete with imported cutlery by continued manufacturing. Gaga responded by importing and selling the very foreign products that were stealing his market share. Which restored revenue. Bold, masterful strategy was his hallmark.

In good times or bad, any business will prosper or fail on revenue. Local, national, or international, whatever the product or service, it’s the same for all companies. Strong sales will pull you through transportation system failures, national economic downturns, or any other hardship, because when times get tough, whatever the reason, you can ramp up marketing to compensate by driving higher sales volume.

How to accomplish this may not be obvious if your retail business is location-dependent. Everyone knows you need local traffic for retail. But read on.

Nowadays, any business can escape from classic ‘retail location-dependence’ — the bane of old-style storefronts. If your business works on a local street, chances are excellent it will work on the internet, with traffic that moves on electrons instead of sidewalks. You can find out about the web as an option in a few weeks with a few hundred dollars of working capital. Plus big doses of moxie and sweat.

Any business based on products or services which can be delivered digitally, or shipped to a buyer, can succeed internationally on the web. My locale, Jefferson County, WA would benefit hugely from more online conversions and startups. Expert know-how is available right here in Port Townsend.

These days, internet technologies make it possible for just about any business to ‘go virtual.’ You don’t just ‘need a web site,’ though. And I’m not talking about Ebay.

To make virtual business work, start with 5 key elements of marketing — strategy, niche, media, timing, and offers. Create a coherent, rational system. Hone your marketing message to a keen edge. Plan to get the right message in front of the right market, at the right time, through the right media, with an irresistible offer.

Then put up a serious e-commerce web site. It’s easier than you think. Create a digital storefront that really sells your offerings. Drive traffic to it. Get new orders. Fulfill your sales. Then relax while you count your increasing revenue stream.

I personally built my business web site, referenced below, with my own hands, to represent my marketing services — and just recently added information products. No programming was required. The cost? $120 per month includes the e-commerce shopping cart and hosted site-builder service.Any average business person can learn to do this. You could use a lot of expensive web design services if you prefer. But it’s better to spend your money on developing your marketing message because the real purpose of a business web site is not to look pretty or give out information.

Your business web site exists to market your business.

Forget the ferry. Laugh at recession, like my Gaga did. What it takes to survive and prosper is the right adaptations, You can make this success story into your success story.

© Joseph Riden

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