Life in the slow lane: Money and market share are two things the usps is losing its grip on. Ready to step in? - Smarts - businesses competing with U.S.
Author: Entrepreneur

THE ORGANIZATION IS CUTting staff furiously, lost more than $1.5 billion in 2001 alone and has run up $11 billion in debt. A dying dotcom? No--it's the U.S. Postal Service. Now, with the addition of anthrax to its woes, snail mail could slide into long-term decline, opening the door for entrepreneurs to offer alternatives.

With businesses increasingly using the Internet for external communications, need for the USPS' services is decreasing. The growing popularity of e-newsletters, for instance, is eating into traditional newsletter delivery. "The postal service can't compete in the newsletter market, since newsletter information has to be timely and sent out quickly," says Bill Densmore, founder of Clickshare Service Corp., a Williamstown, Massachusetts, developer of e-newsletter distribution platforms.

Several small private-delivery courier services have sprung up in the past five years to do battle with the postal service's Priority Mail service. And while customers will probably never accept reading magazines and catalogs solely online, some business experts suggest that, if the USPS fades into oblivion, businesses could make money providing specific magazine- and catalog-delivery services.

Perhaps the most exciting development among USPS alternatives is the potential for online banking and bill payment. TheBancorp.com, a small online banking service in Wilmington, Delaware, tailors banking services to certain professions; for instance, it created TheArtBiz.com, a bank for artists. And several small companies offering online bill payment already are reaching a critical mass of consumers.