Entrepreneurs gather in Hays to discuss cyber business
Published on -10/2/2011, 6:15 PM
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By JUDY SHERARD
From vintage clothes to toys, entrepreneurs are building businesses selling their products online.
That was the theme of the Kansas Jubilee eBay to eCommerce Conference Friday and Saturday at Fort Hays State University.
About 70 people, including speakers, registered for the grassroots conference, said coordinator Joyce Banbury, Russell.
"We're rural Kansas, and we can offer different venues for people like eBay and Bonanza, so people can learn what it's like to start a business on eBay and how to sell online," she said.
Kat Simpson, Mount Plymouth, Fla., assistant coordinator, has been selling on eBay since 1997 and Amazon since 2002. She also presents an eCommerce podcast "helping people make the connection to move their business to the next level," she said.
"It's a very solitary endeavor in some ways, sitting at home by yourself in front of the computer, so these eCommerce events become a lifeline," Simpson said.
Judy Oglesby, Galena, is a member of the support team for Bonanza.com, a fixed price market place. Oglesby works from her home in southeast Kansas answering questions from all over the world.
"If somebody has a question, I'm just as likely to answer it as anybody. ... Everything from 'How do I set up my booth,' to 'I didn't get my order, what do I do,' " she said.
Besides learning about marketplace sites, those attending learned some of the practical aspects of online business.
Jennifer Dunn, who owns Social Street, a social media agency in Atlanta, represented her client Outright.com. at the conference.
"They help eBay and eCommerce sellers simplify their finances," Dunn said.
Most people selling on those sites don't have accounting degrees and have a hard time keeping track of their finances.
"Outright strives to make that simple for them," she said.
Attorney Cliff Ennico of Fairfield, Conn., was a member of eBay University, a group that traveled around the country a few years ago teaching people how to make businesses out of their eBay selling.
"I was the legal and tax expert on that team," he said.
Conferences like the Kansas Jubilee let sellers hear from experts and get advice from other sellers.
"Selling online is a great way to bring in income no matter who you are or what you're doing, and it's not all that hard to get started," Ennico said.
Banbury said postal service changes probably won't hurt online businesses because the postal service still will provide services in rural areas. However, the way they do it might change.
Rich Matsuura, San Jose, Calif., eBay director of selling platforms, said rural areas can have a shipping cost advantage over both coasts.
"Everybody starts on eBay to clean out their attic, or a loved one dies, and they have to clean out a house, so they start putting things on eBay, and find out people are actually buying old Aunt Erma's blouses," Ennico said.
"The rural economy is just now opening up to the Internet. ... We target the micro seller, small seller. We have a lot of growth to see here in rural Kansas. You can live in a farm house and sell all over the world, but it does take some skills," Banbury said.
