Released January 09, 2009
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Just because you're retired doesn't mean you have to settle for a fixed income, and just because you're a rural resident doesn't mean you have to settle for limited income opportunities.
That's the message the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture is bringing across Arkansas with a new program to teach e-commerce skills.
Deborah Tootle, extension community development specialist, says retirees, farmers and others can use e-commerce to increase their income.
"A lot of retirees have been successful, and they want to keep busy and keep on earning money. They like having a second career," she says.
She hopes the program will help Arkansans understand the link between farming and community development and help farmers diversify operations.
Farmers can find new, direct markets for their products online, she says. "This connects farmers directly to consumers without going through middle men. It has been done in other places successfully. One example is lobster fishermen in New England who market directly to consumers, and there's no reason why it won't work here."
Tootle says e-commerce can work with niche products or any specialty item or food. "You can buy apples from farmers in Ohio and the northeast. Why can't we do that?
"According to the USDA, family farms, which make up most of the farms in Arkansas, generate a substantial part - 88 percent - of their income from off-farm wage and salary employment," she says.
Richard Moss, extension program associate in the Community and Economic Development Department, is teaching people how to use the Internet to increase their income, while Kim Magee, another extension program associate, has been showing people how to use eBay to sell products and used items.
Moss began his part of the program in Baxter County, which he says has a high number of retirees and a highly educated population. Using a $4,900 innovative grant from the Division of Agriculture, he worked with County Agent Mark Keaton who hosted the workshop and Arkansas State University at Mountain Home.
"Some retirees we work with already have storefront businesses and want to use e-commerce to enhance their efforts. Some want to use e-commerce only to increase their income," he says.
E-commerce, he says, is a low-cost way of entering the market. There's no store front or office furniture to buy. Entrepreneurs simply set up a Web site to market their products along with a method of collecting payments and shipping the products. You may need a Web designer or incur other related expenses, but it's still cheaper than starting up other businesses.
Moss taught four training sessions in the county in 2008. Magee followed up his sessions with training on how to use eBay, a popular e-commerce Web site.
Ed Keeter, who took Moss' class, has a cutlery company and plans to sell his ware worldwide through a Web site. Another class member already had a storefront business and another member was already selling online. They wanted to enhance their customer base and knowledge through the course.
Keeter says he was attracted to the program because he lives in Yellville, far from the major consumer centers. E-commerce is a way for his startup cutlery company to get known and make sales.
"Richard is going to help me with information about how to structure costs for shipping out of country," he says. He plans to use eBay to help promote his Web site.
Magee says eBay represents a viable income option for many people. She says it can connect people with customers worldwide.
Why eBay? "It's the fastest, easiest way for people to work from home and make a substantial income. You can sell products ranging from clothing and collectables to vehicles. The No 1 selling items are cosmetics and clothing," she says.
"Selling products on eBay is easier than people think," she says. "Once you sign up, you click the sell button, and it's very intuitive and helps you out. There's a tutorial that walks you through the process step by step. The hardest thing for many people is uploading pictures." That's necessary, Magee says, because items usually sell better with photos.
"It's hard for some people," she says, "because they have to take a photo with their digital camera and be able to download the picture to their computer. But it's not as hard as you think."
Magee says her classes always fill up and sometimes she has to schedule additional classes. She says county agents request a program from her, then they provide an audience and place for the meetings.
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http://www.uaex.edu/news/january2009/0109ecommerce.htm
Contact: Lamar James, (501) 671-2187, ljames@uaex.edu
