The world has fewer barriers than its people have ever seen before. There is no place that seem scary and out of the way to the cameras of international news agencies. People routinely converse online from locations the world over. A business trip to an overseas destination is not unheard of. The truth is this has become common in many quarters.



With the explosion of online business there has been a further fracturing of the idea that there are pronounced borders. A craftsman in Idaho can sell merchandise to an importer in Hong Kong. A clock maker in Holland can sell a handmade timepiece to a client in Mexico.

Most online checkouts provide the ability to manage financial exchange rates so there is little delay in completing an order and submitting the funds. Suddenly there are very few locations in the world where ecommerce cannot take place.

Imagine a gentleman in Jamaica who has made handcrafted items for tourists for years. He can now take those one of a kind items and sell them online. He can provide jobs for some of his family and friends to help fulfill orders and assemble the materials he needs to complete his art.

Business was once thought of in terms of taking the physical business to individuals. This has largely meant developing a physical structure that houses actual merchandise that can be purchased using real sales associates.

Online sales have made this idea one that deserves a second look. Today you can take your retail business idea anywhere in the world. You can reach the rancher's wife who lives 60 miles from the nearest gas station. You can reach out to countries where it has never been financially possible to place a store.

Sure there may always be room for actual shopping, but vacant store fronts and empty mall properties are an indication that many commercial enterprises are not expanding in the traditional sense.

Online sales are accounting for a growing number of sales. Underperforming retail outlets are being closed while existing customers are continuing a link with their favorite companies via the Internet.

Retail outlets like Wal-Mart continue to do well because they have a great focus on customer essentials. This includes food, household goods and related items. They understand the need to be very intentional about meeting the physical needs of their customers. Niche stores, on the other hand, are finding greater success in an online environment when traditional retail has been harsh. These are the stores that are making inroads into the very personal wants of a worldwide consumer base - online.

My guess is that as this dynamic becomes more entrenched into the psyche of consumers there will also be a pronounced shift in the way colleges define business to students and how they help them learn to adapt to global sales strategies and business branding.

While many will see businesses close and believe that times have never been this difficult there will be others who see this as an atmosphere charged with opportunity. It may well be these starry eyed optimists who help recraft communities into a Mecca for online businesses to place product fulfillment centers.