E-Commerce Planning Toolkit for Small Businesses in Vermont.

USDA-Special Grant.

Many small, agriculture- and natural resource-dependent businesses in Vermont do not have the access and/or expertise necessary to use e-commerce technology. The goal of this project is to integrate e-commerce possibilities into a business planning template to act as a toolkit for these businesses. This project is currently exploring the I.T. and e-commerce capabilities and needs of agricultural / small business networks in the state, like the Women's Agricultural Network. Research is being done on other examples of e-commerce outreach and technical assistance. This toolkit will help small businesses in Vermont effectively and successfully incoporate e-commerce tools into their operations. Project members: Schmidt, Sawyer, Jordan, Peabody, Moser