R|amp|D offers e-commerce for small businesses

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Even the smallest small business can afford to market and sell its goods online, according to Russell Aldredge of R&D Innovations, a 4-year-old marketing firm on East Walnut owned by Aldredge and Dale Nimmo.|ret||ret||tab|

R&D, which already operates an online gallery at |bold_on|www.innovativeegallery.com that showcases local artists such as Scott Hepper, will launch |bold_on|www.hoopla mall.com.|ret||ret||tab|

"The problem with selling online, as many of our clients found out, is it can be very, very expensive, both in the programming and development of the Web site and in the back-of-the-house operations, such as shipping and customer service," Aldredge said. "We came up with the idea of becoming an outsourced solution for small to medium-sized businesses, those who typically wouldn't be able to provide their own free-standing e-commerce solution."|ret||ret||tab|

Aldredge said hooplamall.com will be the Battlefield Mall of the online world. R&D Innovations will design the businesses' electronic storefront, process orders, pick up inventory from businesses and ship orders to customers.|ret||ret||tab|

"For a monthly fee and percentage of their sales, we will become their e-commerce solution ... which for them is really a good deal," Aldredge said. |ret||ret||tab|

One of the retailers on the hooplamall.com site will be House of Tea, which opened in November 1999 and is located near R&D on Walnut Street. Aldredge said House of Tea owner Sharon Beisly also sells unique collectibles and one-of-a-kind teapots and sets. |ret||ret||tab|

"On a couple of the (product) lines she has, she's one of only two (sources) in the U.S. that sell the line. Although she sells some locally, she gets calls from all over the country asking for a specific piece to add to a collection. Selling online is very natural for her, but her business couldn't afford to do a full-blown e-commerce Web site," Aldredge said. |ret||ret||tab|

Beisly said House of Tea's presence on R&D's site will be like having another store without the overhead.|ret||ret||tab|

"This will get my product out to more people. Several people I know who have tea rooms like mine also take orders on their Web sites, and they've said it can be a real hassle almost more than its worth to take care of the orders and make sure everything is done correctly. When (R&D) mentioned hooplamall. I thought, that's perfect,'" Beisly said. |ret||ret||tab|

Beisly said House of Tea's Web site will have a link to hooplamall, and R&D will take the orders and handle payment and shipping, which she said is what made her reluctant to sell products from her Web site. |ret||ret||tab|

Another business on the hooplamall.com site will be Ozark Mountain Country Outdoor Products, owned by Jim Stout. |ret||ret||tab|

Aldredge said Stout, who operates Engineered Packaging Inc. on Trafficway, began a line of custom packaging for outdoor equipment transportation and sold the products wholesale to local retailers. |ret||ret||tab|

The line sold well, and soon Stout had the demand and the potential to sell the products retail. Opening a store and staffing it to do so, however, would be too expensive.|ret||ret||tab|

"This is a great alternative for him (Stout); he has a retail store on the Internet. This will be much more cost-effective for him and will add incrementally to what he's doing already," Aldredge said. |ret||ret||tab|

He said on the Web, the line dividing small businesses and large businesses is becoming more and more blurred because of the availability of Internet technology to businesses of all sizes. |ret||ret||tab|

"The Internet has created a level playing field for large companies vs. small companies, and everything in between," Aldredge said. "Typically, many years ago, the companies who were online were the ones who were considered high-tech or on the cutting edge; now everyone is online." |ret||ret||tab|

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