Today, we look at what types of niche internet businesses to potentially consider setting up for the coming year. Hopefully, over 2008 you’ve managed to set-up a handful of quality niche sites and are starting to see good returns from them. Certainly, over the past 18 months I’ve handed you some gems that should now be coming home to roost – the debt help and credit repair one (first highlighted in 2007) is beginning to gather pace, as is the foreclosures niche to name but a couple.
It’s certainly been an eventful 2008. The economic disaster that had been looming for years, threatening to cut short the credit fuelled boom in many global economies finally did – and did so pretty convincingly. Some huge Fortune 500 companies (and their UK equivalents) that many thought to be unsinkable went into liquidation. And that process is still going on, as market forces put fundamentally weak businesses with flawed business models or over-geared balance sheets to the sword. Who can forget the sad image of a cringing Dick Fuld (CEO of Lehman Brothers) in front of a panel of US Congress, trying desperately to explain how his mighty financial empire, which reported a record year only some months ago, could now be in the position of going bust.
And it doesn’t stop at just the banks. Throw a dart at the stock pages of the Financial Times and there’s a probability that you’ll strike a company that’s struggling to survive. The huge auto industry, once the very backbone of the U.S. economy has taken a seriously bloody nose – the big 3 have experienced such a downturn that they simply cannot survive (at least not without a huge blank check courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer).
So, aside from maintaining and growing your existing niche businesses, will you still be able to set up thriving sites and blogs in 2009 and enjoy the same level of profits? Surprisingly, the answer is actually “yes”. Whatever the economy is doing, some businesses and some industries always prosper. There is often a “transfer of wealth” during times of economic uncertainty, which means that there is always an opportunity to set-up niche online businesses that have outstanding potentials for revenues. But, make no mistake over the next 2 years it will become more crucial than ever before to identify and penetrate only the strongest niches with the biggest financial muscle. It will be more important than ever to follow the correct advice, and steer clear of the insidious “1000 niches in a box” type junk that’s floating around. And, now more than ever it has become crucial to select only the pedigree niches to set-up shop in, and back them all the way. Luckily, that’s what I’m here for…
How To Pick Your Online Niches In 2009? Time To Get Defensive…
In 2009, our online-niche-business set-up strategy should be to get into defensive industries that are more resilient to economic downturns. Niches for which online business is on the grow, where advertising spends (be that via pay per lead and Adsense or pay per sale) continue to be strong.
Often, these are niches where the underlying products/services are a “need” rather than a “luxury”. Because, this is what people look for when times are tough. This is why (in the UK), luxury supermarkets like Marks & Spencer and Waitrose have experienced downturns while the budget supermarkets like Aldi have actually increased their market share and profits. And, this is also why the car industry has all but collapsed – the sudden unavailability of cheap loans coupled with people scaling back on luxuries (of which a new car is certainly one) is responsible for the deep plight of this industry.
That’s the bad news – now here’s the good news. The internet as an economy within it’s own right is STILL growing. Businesses from far and wide, across countless niches are continuing to report that a greater percentage of their sales are being generated online. The number of global online browsers and shoppers also continues it’s march north. So, now is still a very good time to set-up new online blogs and websites in the RIGHT niches. In fact, get in the correct niches, and get the delivery right and I can all but guarantee you won’t even know there’s a slowdown. Amazing things are happening online.
If you’d like to know about a new niche that ticks all the boxes then check out these niches below which should perform well in an up, down or sideways economy:
