As Rodrigo Miranda, Managing Director of the most prestigious digital business school ISDI, says, the list of fears is short but repetitive, preventing many small and medium-sized businesses from opening up a new avenue of income “and self-employment.” in Spain. Three of the main myths that keep freelancers and small and medium-sized businesses from offering their products and services for sale on the web are basically three:
- Setting up a website is expensive and requires technology knowledge. As Miranda answered, configuring it doesn’t take any longer than creating a blog by choosing preset templates. And he gives another example: configuring a payment gateway (a system) on that page takes less time than launching a new smartphone we just bought.
- E-commerce is only used to sell large volumes and is not effective for local commerce. ISDI’s general manager denies this, saying that the cost of shipments has come down so much that it’s worth it, and that online sales also encourage sales in the physical store… and vice versa. He adds that the consumer changes his selection criteria and prefers products and services that he knows personally.
- Selling products online has a different logic than contracting services such as plumbing or psychological assistance. Miranda points out that the steps to acquiring customers and explaining what is being sold are the same, only that a professional has a website to book what they want online, and the service is paid for later rather than at the moment. That’s all the difference.
The founder of ISDI (which offers in-person and online courses and masters) also talks about how his business school students dispel all these unfounded fears in small starter courses in e-commerce and “it’s harder for them”. changing their mindset rather than the use of technologies and programs that should be used to set up and manage an online store.
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RODRİGO MİRANDA
ISDI General Manager
A Telecommunications Engineer and MBA from IESE, Miranda combined her professional and business studies with teaching. She has lectured at institutions such as uoc, ESIC, IE and ISDI. She has advised many companies, including start-ups, and also acts as a ‘business angel’. A significant part of his professional work is linked to social media.