Creating Successful eBusiness Very Different from Traditional Methods.

Business Editors

eHealthcareWorld 2000

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 2000

In today's business world, many entrepreneurs are turning to the Internet to stake their claim. The steps to being successful in such a venture are quite different, however, from traditional business methods.

Traditionally, entrepreneurs would seek the "Three Ps": products, purchasers, and profits. The Internet changes this, causing the successful "netpreneur" to focus on the "Four Bs": big vision, buddies, buzz, and brand, according to Stan Bernard MD, MBA, president of Bernard Associates. Bernard's talk "Who Wants to be a Healthcare Millionaire.com?" was presented at the eHealthcare World conference May 1, 2000, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In off-line business ventures the vision of the company is the starting point from which a company builds. The long term profits of the company derive from building a solid base of customers who buy the products.

According to Bernard, the Internet game reverses this pyramid, placing the big vision as the deciding attribute in longevity. If a new Internet company has the vision, the next step is to find "buddies" or partners. Since anything and everything can go out on the Internet, today's consumer finds it difficult to determine validity. Associating a new Internet company with an already established big player adds this validation. "You really need to focus on getting the right partner," says Bernard. "You should pro-actively find someone." An example given was when Drugstore.com connected themselves with Amazon.com. "It gave them a tremendous boost," stated Bernard about the association. Some strategic partnering examples given were presented in categories such as media (Lycos, Yahoo, etc.) and computer related (Microsoft, Dell, etc.).

The next step in the chain goes to buzz, meaning basically PR and getting the word out. This step is crucial in the Internet game according to Bernard. He suggests finding a good agency to handle this aspect of the venture, one that can handle both Internet and traditional advertising, press releases and so on. He also enthusiastically recommends enlisting the help of someone who has experience with the ways of e-business, professionals he referred to as "i-coaches". "Find somebody who can help you play the Internet game, try to find at least one i-coach," said Bernard.

Some people may be concerned about the recent troubles that larger Internet based companies have had. To deal with this, Bernard recommends playing both games simultaneously. Approaching the business from both an eBusiness and traditional point of view will help level the playing field.

Bernard seemed very optimistic about eHealth. "Healthcare information is becoming a commodity," he stated.

Bernard began healthcare consulting in the 1980's and has worked with fortune 500 companies. He has spent the last three years consulting entirely for e-health.

This report was compiled by NewsRx.com editors from staff and other reports.

NewsRx.com ( http://www.NewsRx.com ) is official online news sponsor of the eHealthcare World 2000 conference ( http://www.eHealthcareWorld.com ), Las Vegas produced and managed by eMarketWorld.