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When Debbie Kesling was dressing for her IBM engineering job in a business suit, she had no idea that one day she'd be working from home in her jammies. And whoever would have thought that making miniature teddy bears could turn into a lucrative business proposition?

Debbie is only five feet tall, but her presence on the Internet is certainly not diminutive. Her web site Cybearspace, has won numerous awards. In addition, she now has a new business online: PureGenius! Web Services. If anyone knows how to market successfully on the Internet, Debbie is that person.

When I asked Debbie how the Internet has changed her life, she replied: "I think I see the world much differently than most people. It's smaller. We're all closer. The immediacy of e-mail makes my friends and clients in Singapore easier to contact than my best friend down the road. The Internet has made me incredibly impatient."

She adds: "I can put up a new store online in a heartbeat, make a public announcement of said store and be processing orders in the time it takes to make a sandwich. Over half my business is international. I never liked the hassle of snail-mail anyway, and the cost of faxing was, at times, prohibitive. The Internet has made it possible for me to sell to people anywhere in the world just as easily as I would if they were local."

Debbie was one of the first women to have an online presence, so she was somewhat of a novelty for years. When Prodigy was the only online service, Debbie started getting people to go online. Her articles about the Internet for non-computer magazines were the first to target the 24-40 year old women who are collectors.

It took a long time for her to get magazines to accept her story ideas, but once they did, she was well on her way toward becoming one of the most successful women entrepreneurs on the 'net. That led to one magazine asking her to write a regular column, and "Cybearspace" was born two years ago.

Debbie quickly learned that creating a good web site involves several things. One is making sure that the site is "…fairly clean, comprehensive" and kept updated regularly. "It's never stale," Debbie told me.

She also said, "I make sure that I recheck and resubmit my site to the major search engines as needed. People seem to think you do that once and you're done with it. Not so. It's a constant battle to try to stay near the top of the hit list."

Her recent book, "How to Make Enchanting Miniature Teddy Bears", went into a second printing after just two weeks, delighting her publishers. Her bear site features everything from articles about her, to links for people who want to buy supplies for making the miniature bears.

Although she's based in the United States, Debbie's clients from overseas have bought most of her teddy bears. She's also produced an instructional video, "Secrets of Miniature Bear Artistry." The tape has sold thousands of copies, and Debbie is now working on a documentary series for television. She's looking for people to help underwrite the series. (Given her success thus far, it seems this would be a wise investment for folks looking to fund a compelling venture!)

Based on her years of experience, Debbie has lots of advice for people who want to market products on the Internet. "You need a good product line, easy payment options for people and the energy to get the word out about it. From that standpoint, doing business online is fairly similar to doing business in real life."

Debbie also suggests that by tying e-mail software into a database system, there is much less paperwork than with most other businesses. That allows more time for a person to make money. Another critical aspect of starting a business online is to accept credit cards. Taking credit cards over a secure server makes sure that someone with an online business will be paid.

Adequate capitalization is critical to success. Debbie is realistic about doing business on the Internet and believes it's very important to not start a business without enough capital to do so. She suggests that people be able to prepay their Internet service and web site costs for at least six months.

Having enough stock on hand for a six-month period is also key. Of course, these are good business practices for anyone starting any kind of business. In that sense, doing business online is no different than doing business in a store opened in your local neighborhood.

Doing business on the Internet also has its disadvantages. "Online customers expect their orders filled immediately, almost as though they are dealing with a magical machine that will fulfill their every desire instantaneously. They also tend to expect answers to their e-mail in a heartbeat.

"I have had customers e-mail me up to seven times in an afternoon, because they were concerned that they 'hadn't heard back from me'," she explains. "Well, I went to the grocery store. Geeeez! That demanding nature is the most difficult aspect to deal with."

Debbie learned by the mistakes she made with her first web site and is incorporating those lessons into her newest venture PureGenius!, a web services company. "I tell clients I am NOT reachable on weekends (unless it's an emergency). I no longer sell products or services at a really deep discount, just because I can work in my pajamas: It's very easy to start an online business because you perceive it as being 'easier.' It isn't. You typically find you work longer hours. Believe me on this. By shortchanging yourself and working longer hours, you're simply working harder to make the same amount of money."

Her online business encounters have provided Debbie with the pleasure of meeting many, diverse people. She tells a story of meeting some clients for whom she had done a large corporate website last year. When she finally met them, they all stared at her, and one of them said, 'Sorry about that, but you just seem SO much bigger online.' As Debbie said, "The Internet is the Great Equalizer."

Debbie's success on the Internet has not come from just good luck. She's worked tirelessly to constantly improve and update her online business. Her many hours are now paying off in exciting ways. As Debbie grows and changes, so too is her business changing. It takes more than just a good idea to have a successful business, whether online or in the real world. However, Debbie's success is an inspiration to all people who wonder, "Can the Internet help my business?" For this petite and energetic woman, the answer is definitely a resounding "YES!"

Copyright,1998 by Ellie Kuykendall