One of the hardest parts of starting your first online business is picking the right product(s) to sell. The idea of starting your own business is exciting and then all of your forward momentum comes to a screeching halt because you realize...I don't know what I should sell! Well rest assured it is very possible for a new online seller to compete in today's internet market but you have to be careful, you can't just pick any ole product you want and expect to make sales. Here's 3 quick tips to help get you started on the right track... 1. Avoid Mainstream Products: If you see a commercial for it on TV or in magazines there's a very good chance that product will be difficult for you to sell in your first online business. Remember those very expensive ads were bought by big retailers and if they have the budget to spend on mass advertising you can guarantee their plan is to outsell anyone else who tries to compete with them. Bigger retail stores buy those mainstream products in very large volume...more volume = cheaper wholesale prices = really low retail prices. As a newcomer you probably don't have the type of budget required to compete in mainstream markets. Stick to smaller niche markets, there's millions of them and *perfect* for new sellers operating on a shoestring budget. 2. Determine Your Budget: Often overlooked but critical to your success is determining just how much you can afford to spend to start your online retail business. Even if your plan is to use a dropshipper so you don't have to buy inventory you still have to be able to advertise within that market to get traffic. Some products are actually cheaper to advertise for than others. So do a tally of how much you plan to spend on hosting or listing fees, merchant account service and any other monthly fee associated with your business...and then determine how much you can afford to spend on advertising. That ad budget can really play a part in picking a product that you can get instant traffic for when your business first launches. 3. Research FIRST: Never, ever launch a new retail business without thoroughly researching the product you plan to sell and the market you plan to sell in. For an online business this involves gathering the best keywords for that product (so you know where the traffic will come from and how much you can tap into), estimating advertising costs for those keywords, profit margin analysis and competition research. These are all research steps you can take before you spend any money building your eStore and will save you a ton of money. Just imagine spending all of your time and money starting a store selling a product you later realize is going to cost you 5 times more than you can afford just to break into that market space. An ounce of research is worth a pound of profits! This is all research you can do for free on any product to ensure it will get your first online business started on the right track. ***These quick tips have been brought to you by Simple Market Research. For full step by step training training and tutorials on picking your 1st products to sell online visit: SimpleMarketResearch.com***