proebayer

"More Canadian small business owners than ever are turning to the web as a cost-efficient way to expand their customer base. It's a very attractive online option - the costs of start-up are low, and returns can be very high," said Nancy Hughes Anthony, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

Just ask Marilyn Bild, a Vancouver entrepreneur who hit it big selling Indian fabrics on eBay (user ID: totallytextiles) and was recently named 2006 eBay Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year.

Five years ago, Bild saw a television feature on Vancouver's thriving Indo-Canadian community and hit the pavement, browsing every store in the Punjabi market area around Main Street and 49th Avenue.

"The fabrics were so gorgeous, and fit the criteria that I wanted. And, at the time, there weren't that many people selling Indian fabrics and no one in North America selling on a large-scale basis," she said.

Now, not only does she work from home, she also works the hours she chooses and takes vacations without pangs of guilt or fits of work-related panic.

"You can devote as much time to it as you want - that's the beauty of eBay," she said.

Bild has also taken her eBay success story one step further, teaching other aspiring online sellers a crash course in The Basics of Selling on eBay at Langara College and Small Business B.C.

"It's a very straightforward process. I can teach someone all the basics in no more than three hours - you can learn the basics in the morning and be up and running by the afternoon," she said.

Check out http://bildauctiontraining.poweru.net for information on Bild's upcoming seminars.

What do you think? Post your comment below.