Brad Jones
October 7th, 2002, 08:55 AM
giladasaf asked about e-commerce ideas. Due to the thread getting way off topic, it was closed. I wanted to re-address the issue here....
It was stated that entertainment and productivity were two areas to look into. I'd like to make a different comment towards ecommerce on the web.
Many of the 'big' and more successful businesses on the Web offer a SERVICE rather than a product. This service meets a need.
For example, Amazon.com sells products, but they also provide a service. They give you feedback on products already in the market, plus they give you the largest selection possible.
**** also offers a service. There is no physical product that **** offers. Rather, they offer the service of brining buyers and sellers together. For this service, they charge a fee.
paypal offers the service of making it easy to spend and get money on the web in a relatively safe manner.
Jupitermedia offers information on the Web. Additionally Jupitermedia offers the ability for a company to associate their product (via advertising) to the sites that are presenting that information (CodeGuru is a part of this).
This is four examples of businesses. Only one is making their money by selling a physical product. These are all relatively successful ecommerce businesses. One nice thing about looking for a service based business is that the initial overhead (money) is lower than doing a "mall" or store type business. Of course on the web, you can be a middle man or join affiliate programs so that you never have to actually deal with the products; however, you margin for profits goes down to near nothing.
When trying to find a business to do on the web, don't look at other businesses. First look at the people around you. Look at the businesses around you. Find something that they need or that could be done better. If that "something is good, then you'll be able to build something to meet the need. Most successful businesses start by trying to fill a need.
Just my thoughts...
Brad!
It was stated that entertainment and productivity were two areas to look into. I'd like to make a different comment towards ecommerce on the web.
Many of the 'big' and more successful businesses on the Web offer a SERVICE rather than a product. This service meets a need.
For example, Amazon.com sells products, but they also provide a service. They give you feedback on products already in the market, plus they give you the largest selection possible.
**** also offers a service. There is no physical product that **** offers. Rather, they offer the service of brining buyers and sellers together. For this service, they charge a fee.
paypal offers the service of making it easy to spend and get money on the web in a relatively safe manner.
Jupitermedia offers information on the Web. Additionally Jupitermedia offers the ability for a company to associate their product (via advertising) to the sites that are presenting that information (CodeGuru is a part of this).
This is four examples of businesses. Only one is making their money by selling a physical product. These are all relatively successful ecommerce businesses. One nice thing about looking for a service based business is that the initial overhead (money) is lower than doing a "mall" or store type business. Of course on the web, you can be a middle man or join affiliate programs so that you never have to actually deal with the products; however, you margin for profits goes down to near nothing.
When trying to find a business to do on the web, don't look at other businesses. First look at the people around you. Look at the businesses around you. Find something that they need or that could be done better. If that "something is good, then you'll be able to build something to meet the need. Most successful businesses start by trying to fill a need.
Just my thoughts...
Brad!