This is the seventh in a series of articles which will help you to
save money.
I'm constantly being asked "how can an Internet connection save me
money?" Well, it works like this for me: I pay 100.00 per year to my
local Service Provider for Internet Access.
Having an Internet address means that I can send and receive mail
from around the globe. I keep costs down by dialling up the server
for just two minutes each evening. During those two minutes I
retrieve about fifteen messages and send my replies to the messages
from the previous day. I'm currently handling around 150 per week.
The messages generally arrive within two hours - often much quicker
than this! It's not as quick as fax but remember that I can send
fifteen messages by e-mail in the time it would take to send one fax
and I'm paying for just a local call.
The alternative of typing, printing, posting letters is far less
efficient and cost effective. In fact I could not send more than
fifty local rate letters per month for the same overall cost.
The "Web Page" allows anyone in the world to read about me and my
upgrade kits and other products. I attract visitors to the "Web Page"
by listing lots of information about satellite TV. To ensure that
they find it, I got my Service Provider to "register" dozens of "key
words" with the "search engines." So anybody searching for the
manufacturers' names "Amstrad" or "Pace", for example, will be given
my "Web Page" address.
"That's fine for mail order but I just have a shop" you say? This
argument crops up frequently. But if you sell something which is not
readily available in a small village in Outer Mongolia (for example)
somebody there might be interested in having you post it. Only last
week, I had an enquiry from a small village in Switzerland from a guy
who wants an LNB. He'd rather pay me to post it than drive eighty
kilometres to the nearest town! Don't think that, because you have
only a local shop (or just a van!) nobody will be interested in
buying from you. Don't limit your sights to your local area. You
might live in a town where prices are depressed - well that's all the
more reason to advertise world-wide.
My advice is to try an e-mail connection first. Better still, use a
ready-made service such as CompuServe. This is great for a beginner
because the computer set up is simple and you get immediate access to
"Forums" (discussion groups) where you can make useful contacts, both
for business and socially. When I was made redundant a few years ago.
I was in desperate need of advice and help to start my own business.
I paid for access to CompuServe and never regretted it. I found lots
of people willing to help. In fact, even though I now use a local
Internet Service Provider, I still maintain my CompuServe
account.
In a previous article, I mentioned a lack of bandpass I.F. filters
for satellite TV. This prompted Bengt Jöckert of Parabola AB to
contact me with his range of filters which are available in four
segments: 950 to 1200, 1200 to 1450, 1450 to 1700 and 1700 to 2050
MHz. For more information fax Bengt on +46 300 40621 in Sweden or
email: sm6cku@parabolic.se
Keep up to date with those satellite channels by visiting the
Internet site http://www.funet.fi/index/esi/channels/
You'll find a list of programme channels for each satellite covering
Europe and more.