[dogma1138]

In the US there are also tons of processes that require paper, since SMB's won't benefit and can't afford doing everything 2-3 times (digital > paper > digital) they might as well keep everything one paper.

They pay suppliers with cash or cheques, they pay employees with cash or cheques, they take orders over the phone or via walk ins.

There are a few companies like Sage Software that do have all in one solutions for self employed to SMB's but again they still require quite a bit of time investment to manage.

It's also important to note that many SMB's at least usually "computerize" (jesus what is this the 80's) at least one thing and that's accounting primarily for tax reasons but most of them don't maintain their own books for this purpose and use an accounting firm so whilst tech is use the 500 SMB's that use a single accounting firm don't need to buy their own accounting software since most firms aimed at SMB's would offer a SAAS accounting platform or some way to upload your spreadsheets.

[nickff]

Sage has repeatedly engaged in disruptive practices that hurt an employer of mine, and I recommend that everyone stay far away from them. Sage only cares about their fiscal year end results, and will discontinue and/or renew support for software as many times as they feel is profitable; you are at the mercy of their whims.

[DenisM]

Can you share any more details or links? It would be really helpful for me. Thanks!

[nickff]

The employer is a user of Sage Businessvision software, which Sage claims to be supporting in exchange for a ~$1500 annual fee. Sage actually doesn't update the software or fix any bugs, they just send out the file needed for tax calculation (which is about 30 mins of work per year on their end). They have said they are discontinuing the software two or three times now, then retracted the statement. They are also pressuring all their on-prem customers to switch to cloud, but offering no porting options.

[DenisM]

Very interesting, thank you.

[zeveb]

> In the US there are also tons of processes that require paper, since SMB's won't benefit and can't afford doing everything 2-3 times (digital > paper > digital) they might as well keep everything one paper.

One huge advantage of paper over computer systems is that it's typically very easy to accidentally delete digital data (and cheap or poorly-architected systems often have no way to restore data), while it's more difficult to accidentally destroy a piece of paper. Moreover, in many digital systems it's possible to delete a record and not even know it, which is less likely with a paper system (and if one knows, then one can often just create a new paper record, no problem).

And of course a piece of paper will still be legible in a decade. Will a digital record?

Paper's not perfect, but it's not bad.

[ghaff]

Heck, there are lots of small businesses that don't have a web page--maybe they have a Facebook page instead, if that--and, to the degree they do have a web page it's probably something just static and informational. Nothing wrong with the latter by the way but it does point to the general level of tech at a lot of local small businesses.

[dogma1138]

They don't need a web page if 90% of their customer base knows who they are and the 10% that doesn't still uses yellow pages.

I would really want to know how much business would some car mechanic in pleasantville missouri would see from having a web page.

[DenisM]

Having a site with work hours, phone number, and current address helps in Google Maps. You can also add a "sign up for updates and coupons" thingy and at least some people will sign up. If it's cheap to setup, might as well do it.

In particular with car mechanic I would like to know the cost of basic services like tire rotation. I know it's $20-$30 at a major brandname, but I could use a local shop so I don't have to drive out of my way. Some car dealers service departments now have online services to schedule appointments and such, I think half of that can be repurposed for a small car mechanic shop as well.

[omouse]

There are two ways to run a business after it reaches some profitability: always optimizing or just kicking back and relaxing. Some people are happy with just their Facebook page and others would optimize and increase sales further by funneling people in through Google Maps.

(This is why I've taken photos of some restaurants in Google Maps and posted them; they aren't doing any advertising on their own so it's nice to help them along and get more visitors).

[ghaff]

I don't really disagree and a Facebook page is probably a lot better than nothing. I would note that SquareSpace seems to do a good business (assuming that's a reasonable conclusion to draw from the amount of advertising they do) so there does seem to be a market for simple template-driven websites.

(on the other hand, given they advertise a lot on podcasts and the like, they may not be targeting traditional local businesses.)

[no_wizard]

I think they're mostly targeting the people those local businesses ask for assistance with those ads, to be frank :)

[builtinbuffalo]

You'd be surprised. There's more customer using the internet than businesses investing in it across many niches. I launched a trades business with my brothers and thanks to seo and social we've grown a real, substantial business. We launched the site and marketing before we bought the equipment. We acquired over 150 accounts in the first two years (businesses paying thousands per year). Phone just keeps ringing now.

[no_wizard]

I think in part this to me, shows that sometimes, small businesses don't think about long term planning. Being on the web, having a real web presence as others have mentioned, from both having a website, a facebook/instagram/twitter/yelp page (not saying all of those, just examples) to doing advertising on the web (which when done properly, is better ROI at a cost that most small businesses can afford, than say a single billboard perhaps). Thats just not meeting your customers where they are, and sometimes that means future and not existing customers.

Its a lot to take in, to be sure, but you can't beat the scale of the internet for getting your message out.