You and I know that if you are about to enter a lucrative niche, it must have been loaded with businesses, trying to grab pieces of cake for themselves. The piece is getting smaller and smaller as many competitive new entrants offer something that existing businesses don’t.

Some will falter, some will thrive - Nothing personal, it’s just business. Talk about stiff competition.

I found out that what you need is actually Web Data Mining Software.

What is web data mining software?

Web data mining is an activity to gather abundant data from a website and process them to gain meaningful information.

Commonly used for business purpose, web data mining software enables you to mine data from various websites and use them to create information you need for your business, in a simpler manner.

One example of such software is Mozenda, that offer web data mining services starting from $49 a month. You can learn more by watching a video of Mozenda software in action.

Web data mining software = web scraper tool?

Yes. Web data mining software is, indeed, a Web Scraper tool.

Web scraping (or harvesting) is basically an activity of extracting content from a target website for various purposes.

I understand that for those of you who are dealing with the Internet and online business on regular basis, “web scraper” sounds an alarm and raises a red flag.

To clarify, although it is often used illegally - to take other’s content and claim it as your very own - web scraping is, by far, the best tool to analyse your competitors, and more.

If you are Noobpreneur.com long time readers, you might noticed that I once invested in franchise units. However, I have divested today.

Lucky for us who work with the Internet.

The Internet is becoming a more and more lucrative medium to support your brick-and-mortar business and/or to build your new startup entirely doing business online.

According to the data from Internet World Stats - Updated on March 2009, the number of people using the Internet has reaches 1,596 million (yes - that’s nearly 1.6 billion users worldwide!). In the US alone, the Internet user number has exceeded 220 million mark, with online retail sales growing exponentially from $172 billion in 2005 to $329 billion in 2010, as indicated by Forrester Research.

Here’s to compare: according to Euromonitor, World’s retail sales exceeded $8.69 trillion in 2005, where $2.58 trillion is from North America.

Combining the data above: The retail sales has grown 36.5 per cent from 2001, While in the US, the 2005-2010 growth of online retail sales is fantastic: a predicted 91 per cent increase - Online retail sales has grown almost 3 times faster than the growth of retail sales as a whole.

Too much stats? I have a point or two to take soon, I promise… Just bear with me for a while:)

What the stats are indicating

I learn a few things from the stats above:

• That $300 billion is on online retail sales alone. What about the revenue generated by sites selling consultancy services (i.e. website development) and information products (i.e. membership sites)?
• $300 billion from 220 million US Internet users - that’s $1,300 online retail spending per person anually.
• The 220 million Internet users in the US is only account about 14 per cent of world’s population of Internet user.
• The online retail sales is only a small fraction of the total number of retail sales.

Even considering the 80/20 rules, assuming 80% world’s online retail sales are originating from the US, while 20% of the Internet users are from the US, we can draw one conclusion: You ain’t seen nothing yet in making money online.

According to one study, 173 million people use credit cards. Personal debt is increasing from credit cards, but people still rely on them. Whether your company is online or offline, selling products or providing services, accepting credit cards and applying for a merchant account is a must. Before you decide on a merchant services provider, here are some tips to help negotiate a better deal.

• If your business is considered “high risk” meaning you operate a company that could have multiple returns and complaints (e.g. gaming, online adult stores), you might be at the provider’s mercy for rates and terms. If your sales volume and credit rating is good, you have room to negotiate.
• If you currently already use a merchant account service and are just looking to switch companies for better rates and repayment terms, you can usually negotiate with your current company before switching.
• If you need equipment for your retail store such as a credit card machine or terminal, you can negotiate these along with processing software to be included in the cost of the services.
• If you do get denied from a provider because your business doesn’t meet their qualifications and risk guidelines, don’t bargain – look elsewhere. There are literally thousands of companies that provide these services.
• Merchant accounts link between your customer’s credit card processing account and a business bank account so if you operate online, you’ll need a “gateway” software that collects and encrypts credit card information. If you operate an ecommerce site, make sure you find a company offering the software compatible with your existing website. This can save you hundreds of IT consulting fees.
• If you process credit cards at trade shows, music shows, festival concerts, or any other type of remote location, negotiate a free portable terminal or one to rent for a few months.
• If you sign an agreement, review the agreement thoroughly. Pay-transaction fees, chargebacks, “reserve” funds, and monthly minimums can all be in the agreement, but are hidden. Sometimes you can negotiate the length of the service contract agreement, but if you can’t, ask about cancellation fees.

First and foremost, allow me to say this: Don’t ignore advances in everything related to the Internet - doing so will set you and your business back, and eventually make your business obsolete. More on this later on, below…

For those of you that have open mind, congratulations! Being open mind can help you and your business to enter the making money online arena.

However, looking for resources and guides are not that easy - some are good resources, but some others are plain rubbish (’sorry to say…)

I do have some to recommend, but if you are new to doing business online and looking for make money online resources from a business standpoint, I have a particular niche blog to recommend you.

I have just stumble on Business Attitude, an online business blog that offers more than online business articles.

It is a fairly new business blog around the blogosphere, but reading the articles help me getting new insights in a what seemingly resource for newbie, but offering different, valuable, views that shed lights on common issues, such as how to register a domain name.

Online market is growing exponentially, and jumping into the bandwagon is not only a smart business move, but also essential in thriving in today’s unpredictable economic situation.

Seeing the trend and potential today, one major advice is this - Go niche.

One of the niche online store I’ve just visited is Wholesale Janitorial Supplies (WJS) online store offering cleaning and janitorial supplies. Let’s explore a bit on this niche online store.

Niche online store case study: Janitorial and cleaning supplies online store.

Janitorial and cleaning supplies online store, such as WJS, sells products and supplies, such as bags, waste bins, personal care products and cleaning agents. This niche is very lucrative, as everybody needs them to maintain the livability of their homes, offices and other buildings.

Of course, you could just buy those supplies in supermarkets or convenience stores, but nothing can beat the convenience of online shipping, especially today.

Convenience

The number one benefit of shopping in an online store is convenience.

By convenience, I mean hassle-free shopping and punctual, as well as accurate, products and supplies delivery, straight to your door step.

Refering to the WJS online store, purchasing a product is a breeze, due to well-arranged categorisation of janitorial and
cleaning supplies. Regarding delivery, they promise to deliver right to customers’ doorstep within 1-3 business days.

Another big issue in hassle-free shopping is checking out. Filling a long registration form and/or completing many steps before purchasing would turn down your potential customers. In WJS case, they have implemented this best practice: 1 page checkout form, with optional registration.

Secure shopping

As in everything in life, every good thing has a bad thing attach to it - The number one concern of shopping in an online store is security.

Stolen customer information and security breach can damage your business faster than you can imagine. To tackle this, you can join widely available business and website trust certifications, with one word of advice: Join the well known certification companies.

As an entrepreneur, you most likely conduct your meetings over the phone instead of spending the money on airfare and accommodations. And until recently, very few business owners thought about how much a phone system cost. With the market the way it is, business owners have to be smart and cut costs on office equipment and services.

Over 68% of business owners that switched phone systems last year cited “cost savings” as the reason. VoIP and hosted services are the most popular choices today because it is cheaper and still offers the same amount of services as a traditional system.

If you are just starting out, or thinking about switching providers for your business phone system, here are a few things you should know:

• If you are currently in a contract with a provider, ask if you can extend your contract or expand with more services. Sometimes companies will give you discounted upgrades or more services for a lower fee.
• If your current provider does not meet your needs, switch. Just make sure you work out any details beforehand and factor in the time it takes to switch. Switching to a hosted PBX phone system from a traditional landline can take up to a week so have a cell phone handy.
• If you are just starting out, typically VoIP and hosted services will discount set up costs to gain your business. You can also negotiate equipment costs by leasing or purchasing in volume. If you decide to lease (which I recommend starting out), ask about buyback provisions.
• If you don’t know what system you need, learn the terminology before speaking with a company. Traditional systems, or landline-based options require a cabinet to house routing software. These systems, like a KSU or PBX system, or a bit more expensive than hosted and VoIP systems.
• If you know how much you want to spend for the service, that’s a start. However, you have to factor in maintenance costs and training of the system (if needed). If you are switching providers, factor in those costs and see if you can ‘port’ your current number to the new company for free.
• If you start negotiating, keep in mind that service charges tend to be fixed and non-negotiable. A package with more comprehensive offerings and added features is what you can negotiate on.