What Kind of an Internet Business Will You Create?

It’s interesting that some entrepreneurs come up with a great idea that leads them into creating a very specific type of solo online business.  Yet others struggle in this regard.  They know they want to create something online that will generate an income stream (or several) yet they have no idea what to sell or what marketplace to enter.

Of course, having a clear idea about a specific business path is critical.  Yes, that path may alter or modify as the business matures and it (the business) may look very different than what was anticipated at the outset after a couple of years.

There are some categories (or subjects) of online business that seem to offer great opportunity for creative and energetic new online business operators.  These categories and their marketplaces have proven over the years to have continual consumer demand and they seem to be ripe for great business ideas for those entering into the competitive marketplace.

Remember, as we have discussed before . . . there is a certain amount of counter-intuitive thinking that goes into choosing a business subject.  The new would-be solo operator may naturally feel that he/she would like to find a niche where there is little or even no competition.  That thinking, however, has proven to be the wrong mindset in most cases.

It’s typically best to search for marketplaces that have lots of competition and lots of money flowing freely.  Then the entrepreneur can “position” his business in a way that makes him unique or different from the competition yet still serving the overall marketplace that has lots of buying demand.

Many entrepreneurs struggle to come up with good ideas. It only takes one, however, to lay the foundation of a profitable business.

Here’s a tip: instead of trying to think of the exact, final idea that will be the basis of your business, it might help to start out surveying the field. In other words, begin by looking at general areas or industries rather than focused, tight subjects.

Start at the wide end of the funnel and narrow your choices and focus as you move down the funnel toward the small end. There will be a lot of areas or industries that you’ll be able to eliminate right off the bat to narrow the field.

Let me tell you about some general categories of Internet business that have historically been of great interest to lots of customers. These are not niches – they’re just wide areas or subjects that have proven to hold many potential prospects.  These are marketplaces where money for online purchases seems to flow strongly.

In no particular order of importance, here are 10 strong Internet categories that have performed well for small online businesses over the years:

1. Travel. There are a lot of sub-categories within travel that hold great promise for Internet businesses like outdoor recreation (biking, hiking, camping, fishing, etc), taking cruises, cross country sight seeing, RVing, foreign travel, and on and on. Folks like to hear about personal experiences and impressions of other travelers in addition to taking a tour operator’s word or reading a brochure.

2. Golden living. Information, ideas, and places that are of interest to seniors. There are millions of baby-boomers nearing retirement and they are not going to abandon their computers for rocking chairs. Oh, and they have money too!

3. Home planning, decorating, improving, etc. Lots of do-it-yourselfers will keep this topic hot for a long time to come. The Internet is the perfect medium for seeing what great concepts and ideas have been incorporated by others.  In addition, online instructions, designs, and “how to” sequences are typically strong money-makers.

4. Health care and beauty products. These are actually separate subjects but I will lump them together here. I can tell you that there is continued great potential for innovative business ideas in this space. Here’s another tip: there are more women than men online these days – and they are not shy about shopping online.  Included in this category are exercise, body-building, dieting, eating healthy, and lots of niches that are specific to stronger, healthier, and more meaning living.

5. Comparison shopping. There are many different business models and strategies in this space. Portals, directories, recommendation resources, product review sites, and a lot of other strategies fit into this category. Many of these methods use affiliate sales, “Adsense” type links, and pay-per-click links to generate business revenue.

6. Small electronics. Included in this subject are sales for CDs, music subscriptions, digital cameras, camcorders, smart phones, tablets, smart watches, DVDs, and on and on. Is there a more popular subject on the Internet? Sometime, just for fun, go to eBay and check out the number of auctions for all these items within this subject – it will blow you away!

7. How-to information. Whenever I have a question about how to do something or where to find something, I turn to the Internet. Millions and millions of folks do the same thing and the audience is growing all the time. Think of the information you have a special passion for or knowledge about – it may be an excellent candidate for the subject of your new solo online business.

8. Hobbies and pets.  Again, I’ll lump these together even though they are their own subjects. I have an idea why these subjects are so popular on the Internet. I think it’s because the audience somehow feels a kinship or friendship with others in their same hobby even though they have never met face to face. They feel like their among friends when they chat, or post to forums, or participate in surveys and give feedback. I could be wrong, but I think hobbies and pets are going to be around for a long, long time.

9. Landscaping, gardening, farming. Again, a huge number of people go online to find answers to their questions in these subjects. It’s a way to tap into expertise and solid information that is often hard to come by locally. One of the nice aspects of this subject is the fact that it lends itself to deep, deep specialization. There are a lot of targeted customers for every variety of flower, every plant, vegetable and tree.  Another plus is the fact that plants are “consumed” or replaced quite often so there is a constant marketplace for multiple and repeat sales.

10. Money-making. This subject has taken it’s knocks with all the hype and get rich quick advertising that is so commonplace; nevertheless, there is a great and growing interest among Internet viewers in subjects like investing, the stock market, job placement, work-at-home, working moms, self-employment, eBaying, franchises, career development, and on and on.

Hopefully, one of these broad categories will strike your interest and lead you down the funnel toward your future specialty (niche) subject.

Good luck!

To your online business success,

Steve Browne

www.SteveBrowneDirect.com