There once was a time when consumers woke up at the break of dawn to race to the local toy store to buy the year’s hottest trend. Years ago, housewives across the country eagerly awaited the debut of hefty department store catalogs to order everything from scouting uniforms for their kids to lawn mowers for their husbands. Today, the world is a different place.

One only has to watch television or listen to the radio for a short time to realize that ‘dot coms’ and e-commerce are catching the eye, and perhaps better meeting the needs, of consumers around the globe. The evolution of technology has made it possible for shoppers to sit at home and, in a short time, complete their grocery shopping, order the latest best-seller, check their bank account, start an auction for a collectable, plan their summer vacation and even attend a college course on-line.

What Came First, E-commerce or the Web?

Today’s technology is based solely on the concept of providing convenience amidst the hustle and bustle of our fast-paced world. Studies show that nearly every American with Internet access has engaged in some sort of e-commerce, whether it be selling, buying or trading goods over the Internet. However, the origin of e-commerce itself is a controversial and long debated issue.

E-commerce, or electronic commerce, is defined as the act of buying, selling or trading goods via an electronic medium. Some argue that e-commerce could date back as far as 1846 when private companies built telegraph lines from Washington to Boston and Buffalo for trade and transactions. While others argue that e-commerce strictly refers to the flood of trade occurring on the web, which is driving America’s economy today.

From its modest beginnings in the early 1990s, the World Wide Web has grown to the point where hundreds of millions of people across the globe access it on a regular basis. This tremendous growth has also fueled the rapid and unprecedented increase in use of the Internet for business applications.

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, worldwide e-commerce revenues in 1997 were $26 billion. By 2003, it is expected to grow to more than $1 trillion.

Companies like Amazon.com were the first to tap into the multi-trillion dollar global retail industry. Investment services companies like E*TRADE now make the buying and selling of securities a daily occurrence for millions of investors. And schools like Keller Graduate School of Management in San Diego offer graduate degrees to thousands of students entirely via this revolutionary medium. Many say this is only the beginning.

Who is Driving This Train?

E-commerce has initiated a transformation of our society. We have become “wired,” and futurists predict these changes will become more far-reaching than we can even imagine. Rural communities can access the same opportunities that traditionally have been limited to big city residents. Today, it is not uncommon for a farmer and a stockbroker to attend the same, graduate-level business development class online. Many say e-commerce is changing the face of America back to the small-town community it once started as.

The intriguing aspect of the e-commerce industry is its infancy. To date, there is no concrete history, no regulated source of knowledge. Its policies and standards are lead by a limited number of “experts,” whose tenure seldom exceeds five years. The reality is that, together, every e-commerce entrepreneur is laying the tracks for this informational and economic revolution. The question is then, who is driving the train?

That’s what every good on-line businessperson is striving for the driver’s seat. As an Internet entrepreneur, what do you need to know to get on board this rapidly increasing mode of economic activity? Flashback to Business 101. Even though your innovative venture ends in “dot com,” your efforts still do not defy the fundamental principles of business.

Ten Steps to Managing a Successful Dot Com

1 Consider the first mover advantage

Amazon.com is the classic example of finding a niche and capturing the opportunity. Being one step ahead is not enough. You should be three laps ahead of everyone else to seize your forte.

2 Define your product or service

Why should customers pay for your good or service? What makes you better than (a) any other dot com company, and (b) any other ‘brick and mortar’ company?

3 Study your competition

Know what you are up against and where your industry is going. Tune into industry trends, and monitor the successes and failures of your counterparts.

4 Be conservative about sales and costs

The most common mistake many start-ups make is erring on the side of wild optimism when it comes to anticipating the costs and sales of a new business.

5 Have a financing plan

Create your ideal plan, review your plan and then review your plan realistically. With everything relying on your financing, you can never evaluate your plan enough.

6 Define a revenue model

How are you going to bring cash into the business? Of course selling goods or services is one way. But many dot coms also sell advertising, participate in referral networks (known as “click-through” revenue), host other web sites, offer ancillary services and so on.

7 Get a profitability model

Know when you will be truly profitable. Do not overestimate and go public prematurely. Remember, dot coms are not as valuable as they previously were, and investors are more discerning than ever.

8 Consider your scalability

Be prepared for your first live day to have 5,000 hits, 10,000 the next day, 15,000 the next, and then zero hits the last day because your site was not prepared to process the traffic influx. Know how rapidly you can adapt to change, and plan far in advance for growth.

9 Know your customer

Your customers’ needs will change often times on a daily or even hourly basis. Anticipate your customers’ needs, and provide your product or service before they even realize they have use for it.

10 Know your investors

There once was a time when any company with the dot com suffix could share minimal prospect with investors and sell shares for $50. Investors wised up quickly, and, after some hard-learned lessons, they are much more skeptical.

This just gives you a glimpse at what obstacles could lie ahead. We live in an exciting time of unique exploration. Different from Columbus, Armstrong or Magellan, our entire society is the pioneer into these newfound realms of information, technology and industrialism. Whether you are an entrepreneur, investor or consumer, you play a role in the revolution. It’s up to you to decide where you sit on the train.

David Overbye is director of curriculum at Keller Graduate School of Management, one of the largest part-time, evening graduate schools in the country. More than 7,000 students attend Keller Graduate School at 37 educational centers across the country, including California sites in Fremont, Irvine, Long Beach, Pomona, San Diego and West Hills, as well as the on-line education program at www.keller.edu.