Kilmer shared with me that most of us small businesses already know the value that technology can have for our businesses but often have problems implementing that technology.

Be it finding a technology consultant or just finding a solution for a need.

There are thousands of consultants and Value Added Providers/Resellers--but you need to find the right person for your small business.

By the same token there are thousands of technology products on the market--but how can you dig through the stack and find what's best for YOUR SMALL BUSINESS?

Yah, we all know about Microsoft,Corel and Intuit, but there are lots of others that you may not have heard of.

How do you find a technology consultant? Check out www.microsoft.com/smallbiz/consultant/ or http://www.rentageek.com.

To browse software and hardware offerings check out http://www.pcmall.com or http://www.cdw.com.

These general computing and small business magazines will keep you up to date with technology and enable you to be more informed when you talk to your technology consultant.

Kilmer explained to me that small businesses need to develop a "technology business plan" and set goals for their small businesses.

(In his book "Getting Your Business Wired, Using Computer Networking and the Internet to Grow Your Business" he has a "technology business plan" template that you can use).

He said it's not just about the technology--but about the "goals" of your small business.

I would suggest you look for technology from the solution end onward, not from the technology specification backwards.

You'll end up very unhappy, and wasting money if you just buy technology for the sake of buying technology.

Many of you are very familiar with Intel’s chips--from the 286 to the Pentium’s that we have today.

However, over the past several months Intel has also been developing a series of products and services specifically targeted to the small-business person.

From Intel’s InBusiness line of networking products (Email Station, for individual, personal email--no more shared AOL accounts) to the recent purchase of Icat, which enables them to host ecommerce-enabled small business WEB sites, also.

In this dot.com age of the Internet, every Tom, Dick and Harry has a product or service to sell.

However, once you’ve plunked down $3,000 for this product what happens when things go wrong, what will you do if the vendor goes out of business?

Intel and other strong companies (DELL, IBM, Cisco, 3COM, HP, Gateway, and etc) should be looked at first when considering technology.

Don’t bet your business on a Free-PC!!

If you see Intel’s name pop-up from time to time in other small-business spheres it’s because Intel recognizes that one company can’t possibly reach all the small business market and has therefore invested in and/or partnered with various companies such as HotOffice, iPrint, Allbusiness.com to increase its reach to the small business person.

At the beginning of our conversation William pointed out that the reasons companies are courting small businesses: a) they make up a large percentage of the economy, b) less than 25 percent have networks, c) in general, small businesses have not yet adopted technology to its fullest potential.

But William’s feels that this market for the small-business person is "just starting", there’s plenty of room for growth. LISTEN, small business owner, you hold the cards - businesses want your money.

Play hard to get and ask,no--DEMAND that any product you purchase is backed by excellent support, customer service and reliability.