Bernard Schutte snickered when 17-year-old Thomas Bernthaler showed up at his car rental agency in Munich, Germany, and asked to work in the computer department. He gave Thomas a job washing cars, but soon found the teen solving problems for his computer staff.

Within two years, the two were in business together, with Thomas developing a medical databank that lets individuals carry their medical history, X-rays and other records inside a chip on a small, plastic card.
By the time the duo sold that business to one of the biggest ambulance companies in Germany, Schutte was set to retire, no longer snickering.
But Bernthaler, then 21, forged ahead into the world of high-speed data transmission and the Internet, doing consulting work in Portugal, a testing ground for new telecommunications for Europe. He sensed that Europe was lagging in using the Net for business and moved to the United States "to be on the cutting edge of the new technology."
Now, the youth can snicker: He has hired his former boss.
Welcome to the brave new world of Internet business, where many of the old rules no longer apply: Young hire old. Manufacturers sell abroad, without distributors and without opening foreign offices. Employees are contracted in foreign nations via computer, without face-to-face contact.
Bernthaler's Fort Lauderdale-based company, Digital Media Network, helps businesses use the Internet to boost profits in the U.S. and abroad, with a staff of 10 in Florida and more than 100 worldwide.
The company has proved so successful in just three years that it has been nominated by the World Trade Center-Fort Lauderdale for an annual World Trade Week award in the category of professional services. Award winners are to be announced on Wednesday. Digital Media's business, like Thomas as a teen, is more than meets the eye. Internet success is far more complex than just going on-line and hoping that clients will click in and buy, said Schutte, 41, a native of South Africa who runs marketing.
Today, only 1 percent of companies worldwide turn a profit on their Web sites, because Schutte says they approach the Net basically as a brochure rack, not as marketing: a way to build relationships and keep in touch with clients, suppliers and sales people.
"Most Web sites are there for prestige," said Bernthaler, 27, founder and CEO. "They're not seen as a business tool that can provide new service and eliminate tasks."
Bernthaler said Digital Media builds Net systems that allow companies to send newsletters and bulletins to clients, customers to track orders and salespeople to follow sales trends.
Theirs is a team approach: employing programmers, page designers, photographers, logistics experts and specialists in submitting Web Pages to Internet search engines.
Plus, Digital Media seeks on-going relationships with clients, with regular updates, in much the same way that companies work with tax accountants. Contracts so far range from about $10,000 to $250,000 per project, executives said.
Schutte blisters at the notion that a lone Webmaster could do the same.
"That's like GM wanting to build a car and going to an excellent mechanic. What does a mechanic know about engineering or after-sales service?," said Schutte. "You need a team for a real solution."
So far, Digital Media has carved out a niche with freight forwarders, helping them to develop on-line tracking systems that reduce the need for phone calls from customers. Clients include Philippines' Royal Cargo, Germany's MTC Cargo and U.S.-based HYH Cargo International.
Next, it's looking to help manufacturers and wholesalers sell direct on-line to consumers abroad, cutting out middlemen and boosting profits. Plus, Digital Media is working with banks to arrange financing for companies to set up new systems to sell on the Web, said Bernthaler.
The potential for Internet sales is astounding. Already, 37 million homes in the United States alone have access to the Internet. And 23 percent of Internet users buy on-line, while 71 percent research products on-line they will buy in stores, such as cars and computers, said Jupiter Communications, a research company specialized in the Internet and based in New York City.
Also nominated for the World Trade Week award in the category of professional services are: Comerica, Precision Environmental Laboratory, Union Planters Bank and Dynamic Imaging Group. The World Trade Center-Fort Lauderdale will present its awards at a dinner tonight in Davie, following a trade show that includes buyer delegations from Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil and Colombia.

Doreen Hemlock can be reached at dhemlock@sun-sentinel.com
or 305-810-5009.