Corrections or additions?

Prepared for August 16, 2000 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All

rights reserved.

E-Business Reincarnation

Since 1998 Richard Telofski has had a fistful

of websites, supported by advertising, each one in a different area

of business research products and services. The websites included

ResearchMarket.com, InfoSupermarket.com, CISupermarket.com, and

TechInfoMarket.com.

"They did all right while advertising rates were still up on the

Internet, but then rates crashed, and it became a less attractive

proposition," says Telofski.

Then Telofski opened a virtual consultancy called Ebusinessanalysts.

For as little as $255 a year, businesses transitioning to E-commerce

could pose questions to a virtual consultant by the name of

"Buzzy,"

a composite of consultants at eBusiness Analysts. Answers were

custom-tailored

to each business based on information collected at registration, and

responses were promptly issued through E-mail.

His 18-month roller coaster ride with E-commerce left him breathless

but with a new idea. "Now I am doing competitive intelligence

in the E-business communities, particularly in manufacturing

distribution

and wholesaling," says Telofski, who went to Rutgers, Class 1975,

and has an MBA from Rutgers; his wife works at Johnson & Johnson.

He has renamed his company and moved from Research Park to a

home-based

business at 55 Hamilton South, Plainsboro (609-799-6490,

www.becker100.com).

The original name of the firm, before its E-commerce adventure, was

Becker Research, and during the E-commerce adventure it was High

Street

Communications and E-Business Analysts. Now it is Becker Intelligence.

"I learned an awful lot about E-business," says Telofski of

his lemons to lemonade endeavor, "and am now going to apply what

I learned in E-business and marry that up with competitive

intelligence

skills." It will be a relief to be a consultant again. "I

have had up to 10 people working for me, and have had the headaches

for all that. My overhead is not what it used to be," he says.

Enthusiasm about virtual consultants, as it turns out, is limited

to those who supply the information. The clients, on the other hand,

want to eyeball the person they pay. "They want more personal

attention, someone who knows the field of E-business, someone who

can come in and say this is what your competitors are doing. They

are looking for analysis and how to play against competitors. I found

over the past year that they want the more traditional format of

consulting

service, face to face, not electronic. Some previous clients will

call for a quick telephone consult. But they are using a website,

they want to know who is on the other side.

In the latest reincarnation of his business venture, Telofski is

following

advice from his 100-page primer, "Fast Food for E-Business

Marketers."

Find employees who know about people, he wrote, "because all

business

transactions are based on human behavior. People are the keys to the

New Economy." Finally, E-business is about action. Says Telofski:

"Get on board or get run-over."

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