To get you started, let's take a look at an imaginary (yet all too real) company that suddenly decides to heed the siren call of e-commerce.

    Say you're working for Computer Chip Corporation, the world's leading supplier of computer memory products. After the recent meltdown in the tech sector, your CEO is more determined than ever to crush the competition. So the big boss meets with the board of directors, and after a long, heated debate, they call you in to tell you they want to open CCC's cyberdoors in (gulp!) six weeks. That should be plenty of time, they insist. After all, the CEO's daughter (a sophomore at Berkeley) built her own online store in a mere three weeks, so she's selling enough Beanie Babies to put herself through college. "Surely we can sell our RAM computer memory chips for less? You know, direct to the customer?" the board chimes in unison.

    Don't panic. Six weeks may sound a bit tight, but it's still not a hellish 24-hour turnaround. With the right planning and a little luck, you just might make it. So calmly say, "I'll get right on it," and then immediately register the domain name ramforless.com with Network Solutions or another domain registry service. (Actually, you'll have to come up with your own name since ramforless.com has already been grabbed for the purposes of this tutorial.) That done, take a deep breath and then read the rest of this tutorial in its entirety. By looking before leaping, you'll learn about all the e-commerce gotchas that can hit you unexpectedly. Planning ahead will not only save you quite a bit of redevelopment time down the road, it will also help you make educated decisions as you choose the right e-business solution for your company.

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