There was. At least at first. All three built their "foundations" on one particular thing they did well. Ebay for instance was the place to buy and sell Pez dispensers in its early days. Yahoo was only a search directory and Google a search engine. No other real products or services. In other words they kept it very simple and did what they did best.
I'm an entrepreneur. My mind is complex. Chances are, if you are reading this, so is yours. Some days we are ready to conquer the world, some days we are in bed late licking our wounds from trying to conquer it yesterday.
Zen is at work here. There is a yin and a yang pulling us in either direction. The secret is to get centered, focused, and open to learn.
There are many "opportunities" on the Internet. I put opportunities in parenthesis because, as you may know from my previous writings, I do not believe in Internet gurus. The only way they are gurus is that they make money off your hard earned money and time promoting themselves. If that is a guru to you, go get him, tiger. To me, it is another snake-oil cyber-sales con man/woman.
Why sell what everyone else is selling, even if they are the "hottest products on the market". Unless you are a trust-fund baby, you won't win. I'd rather sell kitchen cutting boards that sell well than Calvin Kleins best fragrances. Why? Why not. Why beat my head against the wall competing with people who have been doing it for years, have a name, have more resources, etc. Provide a service or product that is needed, carve a niche, get wealthy, and have fun.
When or if you can't find something on the web to sell you like, then try creating your own. If you are an artist, got to Cafe Press or one of their competitors and digitally produce products. Let them worry with inventory and orders and such.
Copyrighting your own designs simply deepens your brand and public awareness. If you don't want to sell someone else's sell your own!
I own several stores that sell a myriad of products, but none of them really specialize in a niche product. I want to try what the superstars tried when they got started. My "success" evolved over the years by having a following; but not necessarily because I was using the marketing technique of "finding a niche".
A nice shop is your best bet. Wal-mart pretty much has the monopoly on "we please everyone" type of store. So why go to the trouble unless, again, you are a trust-fund baby and can afford to waste a lot of time and money just to stay busy. I can't. i have to work hard for mine. Such is life.
Then research further, and find a product on the web that people need, and use, and make it a little different than what others are selling.
Sell to others something you would like to buy yourself at a price you would like to pay. Transcend your own soul and put yourself in his/her shoes. We are not all that much different.
Then promote, promote, promote with blogs, article marketing, ppc engines, pinging, and every other method of which you can think. Suddenly you will wake up successful. The odds are on your side. The harder you work, the more research you do, the more action you take, the luckier you get. In fact, the big dogs did the same thing to become big dogs, and they have nothing on you, if you just allow yourself to take the action. Keep an open mind and be prepared for failure and success. You will have your share of both.
It is not how many times you fall down that count, but how many times you get back up. And if you use your "Zen", you will get back up. It's all a matter of physics, getting pulled back into balance.
