Have web-based opportunities peaked?

[InMotion]

I hear this discussion from time to time on the net and I wanted to know what some of the heavy hitters, and others, on this forum say about the future of web based business. Some say E-commerce and the like has peaked; I may get raked over the coals, so to speak, for mentioning this but is the net maturing? Most of the net millionaires I know of started their businesses in the late 90's and early 2000's; obviously there are still plenty of people getting rich from the net but overall the entry barriers to net businesses are fairly low, which invites floods of entrants. Are web based opportunities still as prevalent as they were several years ago for people bootstrapping one man operations void of millions in startup funding? Im interested in your opinions.

 

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[Neon]

Some things are tougher, some things are easier.

There's always room for great ideas.

A lot of people made big money during the dot com boom, but a lot of that was speculation and those businesses were doomed anyway- they just made an exit at the right time.

I know all sorts of people that are making 6-7 figures that just got started in the last couple of years.

I think it's still wide open.

The biggest risk to the net is not saturation or competition but government or regulatory intervention. Look at Amazon battling sales tax bills at the state level.

The time to make money is NOW, but no, it hasn't peaked IMO. You just can't create a startup, throw a ".com" behind the name and wait to get rich anymore like 1998.

 

[neptune]

There are still plenty of opportunities out there. Trust me there are dudes living somewhere the unknown villages Eastern Europe making six or seven figures online

IMHO Back in the beginning of the century everyone on the web was concerned about creating the "big hit", "the next big thing", whereas now it looks like entrepreneurs around the web have gone underground.

They run businesses in some of the most obscure markets that most of the world has no idea about and this is where the money is beeing made.

There are still plenty of opportunities out there. People always want to see new faces, new ideas, new solutions to their problems and I think we will never reach the tipping point where all of the markets will be dominated by one company or another.

 

[ChrisRempel]

The web is still the wild west.

Plenty of opportunity. I've done quite well with affiliate marketing, email marketing, and product/service development.

The dot-com blowup was just speculation and excitement about a new frontier. It wasn't based on value, it was based on the "next-bigger-fool".

IMO the key for long-term survival (and thriving) is to build a large base of customers who trust you.

Regardless of what others may tell you, nothing on the web is "self-perpetual". That doesn't exist. There's stuff that gets close, but in the end it always requires upkeep, priming and consistent promotion.

This applies to everything - SEO, running an affiliate program/producing products, JV's, licensing, etc. It all has an "adjustable" expiry date, but if you just set it up and promote it once, eventually it will expire.

This is why the KEY is your list of subscribers and customers. If you don't have that, I am sorry to say that in 99% of cases, you don't have a business; just a moneymaker with an expiry date.

Impress them and genuinely make a difference - and they will vote for you (with their wallets) for as long as they're interested in the market.

-Chris

 

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[Rickson9]

No. Opportunity just started getting good. If an individual can sell, they will be successful as an entrepreneur. That's pretty much it.

Best regards.

 

[InMotion]

Thanks so far for the comments. I very much appreciate a forum where people actually take interest in their members and converse instead of attack, lol.

 

[Andrew]

There are more opportunities now, not less. Way more people are online than in the 90s. Its so cheap to start an internet business now that there is a bubble in angel investing.

Groupon was started in 2008.

Minecraft was released in spring 2009 by a "hobbiest" developer and has sold something like $20 million worth of copies.

Those are two notable and public examples. There are a whole lot more.

 

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[oddball]

"The problem is everything is already done."

Seems like this is what a lot of people say. In reality, its just not true. People were saying this years and years ago. New things are always coming out that are huge! It is about being on top of your game, being a step ahead.

While yes, a lot of internet niches have been filled, there are still many untraveled paths to try. You can still compete too. Just because something is done, doesn't mean it is done right. If you can see flaws in something and means of fixing it, you can create something bigger and better.

 

[ChrisRempel]

If you find an "untapped" market, ask yourself why it's untapped.

Usually it's because there's nothing there.

It's like surfing. The best spots are well-known. And if you've got skill, getting waves is easy.

In this business it's MUCH easier to innovate within a very competitive market than it is to find "new" ones.

What do people complain about? What are the common bitch threads on the major forums in your market?

THAT is your opportunity. And it's endless...

Chris

 

[oddball]

If you find an "untapped" market, ask yourself why it's untapped.

Usually it's because there's nothing there.

It's like surfing. The best spots are well-known. And if you've got skill, getting waves is easy.

In this business it's MUCH easier to innovate within a very competitive market than it is to find "new" ones.

What do people complain about? What are the common bitch threads on the major forums in your market?

THAT is your opportunity. And it's endless...

Chris

I really like that quote, its so true too.

 

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[Nicola]

"The problem is everything is already done."

Sounds a lot like this quote:

Everything that can be invented has been invented.

Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. patent office, 1899 (attributed)

Life, technology, the internet is constantly evolving.

I simply look back through my lifetime.

40 years ago there were only a few computers in the world.

30 years ago computers were a novelty item - if you had one at home it was a toy. Only a few people used them at work.

20 years ago few people had a computer at home, they were just starting to take over from typewriters in offices - most workplaces would have one computer in the building.

10 years ago computers were now mainstream, a lot of people had computers at home, Internet access was probably just at the office on one or two computers.

Now - most people have a computer, and it is expected that people have broadband Internet access.


The internet is just a few years old and already there are no more opportunities? How old is Facebook? How old is Skype?

Just because you aren't in inventor doesn't mean other people aren't.

There are things in our future that we haven't even thought of yet.

If you are looking for an excuse to give up, then fine you do that, there is plenty of room in the slowlane.

 

[LightHouse]

To me the web is just starting to become more mature. More like offline business has been for centuries. You can no longer just toss up a shifty website with a halfass idea and get millions in VC funds(it atleast has to be a complete idea, lol).

Small sites and niche markets are becoming smaller and smaller oppurtunities, to start companies to make millions now you have to think in terms of an offline business. Giving great value and a great product/service to your customer and have them become loyal(lol) long term customers. When the web fully matures and becomes and even more standard mode of commerce it will be tougher to compete since everyone is accessible from everywhere.

So if you are looking for the next big thing, its pretty much just being a rockstar at any of the old things.

 

[ChrisRempel]

When the web fully matures and becomes and even more standard mode of commerce it will be tougher to compete since everyone is accessible from everywhere.

You're right, but the beauty of online business will always be:

1) Reach (near-unlimited)

2) Infrastructure (virtual, 1000's of times more affordable than brick/mortar)

This puts the deciding factor almost exclusively on MARKETING.

Get good at that, and you can write your own ticket. This isn't the case in brick/mortar, where in addition to marketing you also need to basically be just as good at negotiating, contracts, managing tight cash-flow & accounting, managing staff & HR, etc.

This is why the time is NOW for anyone who wants to make it online. It's far from "full" at this stage. You can still get into most markets and make a killing, even with basic models like affiliate marketing via SEO.

I strongly suggest the following:

* Build a Brand, not just a Site - And Go as Big as you Can. Build as much content, as many products/services, and as big of a newsletter/customer list as you possibly can. Kick, scratch and claw.

* Focus on Markets with Lifelong Customers - This way you can activate and leverage your customer list whenever you want. Build one big enough - and impress enough people the first time around - and you can literally send a single email and pull down in a day what most slowlaners are happy making in a year.

That's not the only way, but I believe it's the best way given that the web is growing more rapidly than ever before.

Cheers

-Chris

 

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[wallstreet]

I think there aren't any oppurtinites left, if thats your mind set.

 

[InMotion]

I didn’t say it was my mindset; it is being discussed among some in the community and thought it would be relevant to this board, perhaps not. I believe Neon is on the right track with

"The time to make money is NOW, but no, it hasn't peaked IMO. You just can't create a startup, throw a ".com" behind the name and wait to get rich anymore like 1998."

 

[kwerner]

I think what wallstreet was alluding to was similar to Henry Ford's quote about "If you think you can or you think you can't, you're right".

There are opportunities that you pass by every day, you just have to train your eyes and mind to be able to see them.

Have you ever seen a raw piece of gold? Covered in dirt and unpolished, it doesn't look anywhere near as impressive as what you would find in the jewelry store, but it's still gold. Opportunities are often like that. But it's up to you to knock the dirt off them, polish them up and bring out their luster.

 

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[oddball]

I think what wallstreet was alluding to was similar to Henry Ford's quote about "If you think you can or you think you can't, you're right".

There are opportunities that you pass by every day, you just have to train your eyes and mind to be able to see them.

Have you ever seen a raw piece of gold? Covered in dirt and unpolished, it doesn't look anywhere near as impressive as what you would find in the jewelry store, but it's still gold. Opportunities are often like that. But it's up to you to knock the dirt off them, polish them up and bring out their luster.

I am practicing honing my skills. I've been getting good lately, seeing something and everyone things one thing but I think, how can I make money off this. I take a few minutes to ponder and sometimes I have ideas but most of the time not. Well, I'll have ideas that seem good at first but after further thought they aren't so great. It takes time but practice helps.

 

[kerron a]

There are opportunities that you pass by every day, you just have to train your eyes and mind to be able to see them.

I believe this to be totally true. The dot com millionaire days may be long gone, but the opportunities for making enormous wealth on the internet still exists. I have noticed since the dot com bubble burst... the next big thing was affiliate marketing, selling your own info products, CPA etc.... and there are many marketers who have been quite successful at this and i'm sure these systems will continue to be profitable well into the future.

Lately thought I've been noticing another shift in terms of creating online wealth... Mobile Marketing. With devices like the Ipad, Galaxy Tab and many smartphones this opens up an entirely new opportunity to market ourselves, weather though app creation, mobile friendly websites or through social media channels.

But it's the way I see it, the world is going mobile and the opportunity for creativity is ripe within this market.

 

[InMotion]

Thanks for the clarification kwerner, it is my fault for titling this topic incorrectly; I should have alluded to the nature of those making it in the web today are increasingly becoming more and more skilled, which is creating and entry barrier to those who are not upping their game, gotta take it up a few more notches to make it.

 

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[ChrisRempel]

Lately thought I've been noticing another shift in terms of creating online wealth... Mobile Marketing. With devices like the Ipad, Galaxy Tab and many smartphones this opens up an entirely new opportunity to market ourselves, weather though app creation, mobile friendly websites or through social media channels.

Bingo.

An excellent strategy is to closely watch new marketplaces.

All you do is create mass-market offers that are otherwise uber-competitive on somewhere like Google, but where there's only 3 other vendors or whatever on a place like Apple's App Store.

Back in the day, I did this with free toolbars. Very few people were tapping into the shareware/freeware market for the sake of affiliate marketing. Mostly it was just developers who were hoping for paypal donations or Adsense exposure.

My best single day of passive revenue from this kind of marketing was $9K. In one day.

That's still a viable traffic strategy.

But there's definitely less saturation in the new marketplaces like SmartPhone networks. It's a goldmine, especially if you use the apps as list-builders (hint)...

-Chris

 

[Jonleehacker]

What do people complain about? What are the common bitch threads on the major forums in your market?

THAT is your opportunity. And it's endless...

Here's a post I ran across yesterday that walks you through this process:

Starting From Scratch: How to Find and Fill Holes « Jonathan Leger

 

[a1okac]

Chris Rempels posts basically sum up exactly what I would say too, I've done very nicely online and all within the last couple of years too, I have many friends earning six and seven figures a year with online businesses many of which like chris says can effectiveley be turned on as and when you like to generate more income than many people will make in an entire year. In the past I have actually made enough money whilst I've been on Holiday relaxing to pay for the holiday and still have change, its such a huge GLOBAL 24/7 market that its actually incredibly easy to make a LOT of money relatively quickly with the right knowledge.

 

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[NoMoneyDown]

Too many people are fixated on what technology has to offer TODAY. They see a web browser, an internet, some web sites, and think "It has been done", but refuse to see that technology is a process that is constantly evolving. Think the internet in terms of a technological process, and not just a keyboard with a screen and the same ole web site.