If you don't have a Web site at all, you're already missing out on customers. People routinely go to a Web site just like they do the phone-book yellow pages, and type in www.nameofmybusiness.com to get a phone number or to check out a company and its products. If your business isn't there, they'll type in some competitor's name.

Even more serious is the fact that if you don't have your company's name registered as an Internet domain name by now, you may never get it as a "dot-com" name.

"I've had a few customers come to me in the last few months, and say, 'I've been looking for your Web site,'" Griffin admits. "It'd be much more cost-effective for us to have one.

"About 38% of all U.S. small businesses (100 employees or less) now have Web sites or home pages, up from 28% in 1999, according to Dun & Bradstreet. That's an annual growth rate of better than 30%.

Six out of 10 small businesses expect to have at least some of their employees online this year, according to International Data Corp. Of those, 60% also either have a home page or a Web site, but only about one-third now sell goods online.

Half of all small- and mid-sized businesses in the United States view the Internet as their most favored growth strategy over the next 12 months, up from 33% a year ago, according to Arthur Andersen.

As many as 85% of small businesses will be conducting their business over the Internet by the year 2002, through either business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Finally, small businesses generated $33.1 billion in business-to-consumer e-commerce sales last year, a figure expected to grow by 85 percent to more than $61 billion in 2000. Though small-business B2B e-commerce has started off slower, its rate of growth is expected to balloon even more rapidly than B2C in the years ahead, according to the SBA.

To fall behind or not to fall behind

Industry analysts say the message is clear: You need a Web site for your business, and you need to use it for more than just providing your address and phone number. If you haven't considered using your site for business, now is the time.

"The way I view it, virtually all commerce is going to someday be e-commerce," says Mark Anderson, a technology consultant and founder of Strategic News Service, a business newsletter. "That doesn't mean that brick-and-mortar stores will go away. It just means that a majority of transactions will someday be technology-based.

"As we develop these technologies, both wireless and wired, companies without a Web presence will fall further and further behind."

But just getting a Web site is no longer enough in today's changing times, he and others agree. "You not only need to be on the Web; you need to benefit from the Web," says Jesse Berst, editorial director of ZDNet AnchorDesk, a technology news site. "Putting up a Web site just gets you into the game. If you want to win the game, you've got to invest more time and effort to take advantage of the business opportunities the Web offers."

Kim Boyer, whose ornamental iron fencing company does have a Web site, seconds that. He'd like to start using his 10-month-old Web site for more than just describing his company and its product line.

If Boyer could sell his company's security fences, railings and other products on the Web, it could help sales during the cold-weather months when the seasonal construction business slows, he says. He adds, "I'd love to be able to purchase (online) from my suppliers,".

If you have a Web site, says Michael Murphy, editor of the California Technology Stock Letter, you need to be thinking about these three things:

• What can you do over the Web to increase your revenues?
• What can you do to reduce your production costs?
• What can you do to reduce your internal costs, such as your employee costs, office-supply costs and so on?

"For all three, you need to be thinking outside the box," says Murphy. "But there is just a lot you can do."

"It takes some real thought," analyst Anderson agrees. "But the key question is: How can you use the Internet to better serve your customers, whether they're local or national?"

At the very minimum, most companies could save some money by posting frequently asked questions, or FAQs, about their business, Murphy says. The savings will come in reduced time on the telephone - you can refer callers to the Web site for answers to the same old questions.

The Web's effectiveness as a local medium

Certainly, many small businesses may not be interested or financially able to develop fulfillment and credit card payment systems allowing them to sell goods to customers worldwide. Doing business on the Web doesn't mean transforming your entire selling process. How about allowing your local customers to order online? How about using the Web to order your supplies? How about providing helpful information over the Web that will deepen the relationship between your business and your customers?

Maybe you're a dentist. Obviously, you're not going to clean people's teeth through the Internet. But you could make it easy for your customers to make appointments using the Web, Berst notes.

Likewise, a foot doctor can't examine feet over the Internet, but he can educate people about foot ailments and how to treat them. My friend the sporting goods dealer could provide information about the running shoes he sells or soccer clubs in the eastern Oregon area, or schedules of the local high-school sports teams.

"These are the kind of services that get people to take notice of your business and want to come and visit," Murphy says. "In other words, you're offering something beyond your service or product line. You're developing a community among your customers."

While the World Wide Web has gained its stature by connecting people worldwide, the "great untold story" is its local impact, says Anderson. "You are seeing political candidates and political activists making great use of the Net to raise money," he says. "Small businesses are using it the same way to generate business."

Murphy seconds that, saying he knows of an island restaurant off the coast of Maine that posts its menu on its Web site and e-mails daily specials to those who sign up. Despite its remote location, the restaurant thrives, with the Web helping give it an image of sophistication.

"You can use the Web to compete globally," he says, "but you can also use it very effectively locally." But if you aren't using it much, or not at all, the time is now to start - unless, of course, you're not interested in new customers.