Technology Clothing Store into Booming Online Success

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Thomas William Vice President of Partner Solutions Broadband in a Box 1302 Clear Springs Trace Louisville Kentucky 40223 Direct: (502) 426.2067 Toll Free: (800) 761.9149 Cell: (502) 263.9879 Fax: (502) 515.3710 Email: tomw@bbinabox.com Download: www.bbinabox.com/docs Blog: broadbandinabox.blogspot.com Chat: broadbandinabox@gmail.com Network: linkedin.com/in/broadbandinabox

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…While Allowing it to Maintain its “Mom and Pop” Sentiment



Dresden, TN - When E.T. Reavis first started his small clothing store on the Dresden town square back in 1890, the words “World Wide Web” didn’t quite have the same significance that they do today.

Fast forward nearly 120 years, and those three words have helped his quaint family-owned business reach beyond the 2,800 people that live in Dresden to the more than 300 million people that live across the United States.

These days, the store is run by E.T.’s great-grandchildren, Tom, Martha and Carol. Tom admits taking the family business online originally started as just a sideline to the store itself, but when they saw how their hard-to-find and specialty items caught the attention of Internet shoppers, an entirely new business was born. “People’s shopping habits have changed dramatically over the last five years,” says Tom. “A few clicks and two or three minutes and a person can have just about anything they want.”

One particularly popular item E.T. Reavis and Son has to offer is, in grand Southern tradition, overalls. The store features unique styles and sizes (sizes range from 6 months to a 74 waist) that the larger, well-known department stores don’t carry anymore. “I get calls all the time from people saying ‘Wal-Mart used to carry these, but they changed to another brand,’” says Tom.

The store’s distinctive items have caught the attention of everyone from the History Channel to the Minnesota Timberwolves. And with 90% of their revenue now coming from online sales, the company shows no signs of slowing down. Transitioning with the times by moving his business to the Internet literally changed the course of Tom’s entire business. “The Internet has relieved me of competition locally,” he says. “Instead of having to rely on the local economy for sales, I rely on the whole United States.”

And the United States delivers. “We have customers from Maine to California, Alaska to Hawaii,” says Tom.

Their popularity comes as no surprise. Just one visit to the E.T. Reavis and Son website and their number one motto is clear:

“If you are ever in the Dresden area of Northwest Tennessee, please come by and visit. We would love to meet you.”

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Economic stimulus package: $6 billion for broadband

January 16, 2009 — 12:27am ET | By Doug Mohney

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The $825 billion economic stimulus proposal includes $6 billion for improving U.S. broadband infrastructure - but no tax breaks.

A summary of the proposed spending released by House Democrats calls for the money to be used for "broadband and wireless grants in under-served areas to strengthen the economy and provide business and job opportunities in every section of America, with benefits to e-commerce, education, and health care. For every dollar invested in broadband, the economy sees a ten-fold return on that investment."

Phone and cable companies were hoping and lobbying for tax breaks, but the wireless industry considers the proposal a win since they wanted to be included in any broadband stimulus program.

Earlier in the week, Obama transition team member Blair Levin said that any monies which came from the economic stimulus package would likely use "existing structures" and programs to get money pumped into the economy in a timely fashion. The Wall Street Journal has tallied up a list of existing programs and departments that might be handing out the cash, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Broadband Loan and Guarantee Program, the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and possible a one-time shot into the FCC's Universal Service Fund mechanism.

Public interest groups were hoping upwards of $44 billion to be spent, but $6 billion is a good start for Free Press - so long as tax dollars aren't used to fund "closed, proprietary networks that shut out content providers, control consumer behavior and encourage anticompetitive activity." Well! Free Press wants strings, including "mandatory requirements" to insure non-discrimination (i.e. Net Neutrality).

There's also likely to be a brewing dog fight over the definition of what broadband should be, with some companies and public interest groups calling for 100 Mbps download speeds, while others might be content to see a modest 10-50 Mbps download speed. Lower download speeds might allow Clearwire and other wireless broadband buildouts to fit in.

For more:
- Wall Street Journal reports on the $6 billion stalking horse. Blog.
- DSL Reports provides a little more detail here.
- And RCR Wireless has its stimulus package spin here.

Related articles
Blair Levin illuminates Obama broadband policy, TIGR
More predictions for Obama broadband, telecommunications policies

Email In: Another Future Satisfied Partner

I just recieved this email from an ISP in Florida/Georgia who evaluated our services. What a great way to start the New Year!!! Call us today to order your RISK-FREE, No obligation Evaluation unit and see for yourself.

Happy New Year.

Sincerely,

Thomas William
Vice President of Partner Solutions
Broadband in a Box
1302 Clear Springs Trace
Louisville Kentucky 40223
Direct: (502) 426.2067
Toll Free: (800) 761.9149
Cell: (502) 263.9879
Fax: (502) 515.3710
Email: tomw@bbinabox.com
Download: www.bbinabox.com/docs
Blog: broadbandinabox.blogspot.com
Chat: broadbandinabox@gmail.com
Network: linkedin.com/in/broadbandinabox

Tom... BBinaBox ROCKS... Installation was smooth, even the little compass works well... dish is extremely well made, kit is all-inclusive. I had my doubts about the little beeper -- it too, worked like a dream. I had nightmares about old [OMITTED] tweeking, twisting, pounding, praying and the like, and calling a support line that just rings and rings... your product is like a Cadillac -- not one single glitch.

Now that your head is swollen, and your ego larger than life -- this report is only going to get better. Your signal is (like you said it would be) is HUGE in this area. And at 47 degrees, it's above the trees -- and we have lots of those. 'Worked flawlessly with IKANO dialup, even on a crappy phone line. 'Ran it wireless on a Cisco elcheepo router -- once again -- flawless. 'Tried it with UBUNTU Linux latest version -- it just smoked... and that's a real plus -- most of the Linux versions out there don't support modems very well... if at all.

I'm sold. Let me gather my thoughts on our pricing in our neck of the woods -- and what the little weekly newspapers are going to charge for ads. And let me munch on this for a day or two -- OH, and by the way, I showed it to my daughter Jane on her laptop -- and she thought is was DSL -- how 'bout them apples.

Talk to you soon...