Apple has long been a tiny piece of the pie in the whole personal computer market. Today, in the US, Apple has about 5%.

Even though those numbers look like a weakness, we all enjoy the advantages of the "boutique" nature of Apple.

Apple caters to the creative markets, developing hardware and software that is ideally suited to the needs of creative professionals, and their color-accurate Apple displays are just an example of that. Virus issues are all but nonexistent, Applecare is a model of the highest standards of customer service and support. The reliability and quality of Apple components are the highest standard of the PC market, (and, by the way, the reason why you'll never find a $400 Mac laptop at a discount chain).

Beyond that, Apple enjoys the ability to develop and adapt remarkably quickly. The Windows companies lumber on like huge behemoths, while Apple releases innovation after innovation in response to your needs. Remember the story of Apple giving a prize to the first independent developer who got Windows to run on an Intel Mac? Within a month, Apple released Boot-Camp, its own free Windows/Mac solution.

...and there's the perfect example of how Apple's size can benefit you. By responding to the business market's need to run Windows, Apple has opened up a whole new world to creative professionals who work in a Windows/Apple office, as well as opening more than a few eyes in the Windows world.

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee..."

In the '70s and '80s, Detroit automakers learned a tough lesson about size, market share, and the ability to respond to the demands of the customer in a rapidly changing market. It's a lesson that Apple has learned from the start, and a lesson that you can now, as a small business and with our help, take to the bank.