Call them late adapters, but small businesses have turned to the Web in a big way.
Seventy percent of all firms with 100 or less employees either have or will have an online presence by the end of this year, according to a Yahoo survey conducted by Harris Interactive. A similar survey in October 2002 showed that only 35% had developed their own Web site.
Those surveyed described the following activities as important for the growth of their business:
*Having or establishing an online presence (35%).
*Having or obtaining dedicated business e-mail (30%).
*Increasing their online advertising effort (30%).
*Hiring more employees (19%). In addition, two thirds of predicted that their annual revenue will rise this year. Of those, 75% said they now have an online presence. Meanwhile, 94% feel that small businesses will have a moderate to very large impact on U.S. economic growth. To get these results, Harris Interactive surveyed more than 1,000 small business owners in the U.S.
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