It is always best if you can sell a product you know something about. For example, I know very little about women's hair products. It seems foolhardy for me to attempt starting a web business with them. On the other hand, I could sell computers since I know a lot about computers (Although there is no profit for me in selling computers thanks to Dell).
Ok, so you have a product in mind you know something about. The next step is to look on the web for others selling that product. If there are hundreds of others selling your exact same product, maybe it is not such a great idea. For example, take a look at how many people are selling Advocare products on the web. I would not want any part of that. That many people selling the product means there would be cut-rate pricing going on. This equates to little or no profit for me.
Expect to have a little competition out there. If there are no sites selling your product, this could be bad news too. Maybe there is problem with selling the product on the Internet you have not discovered yet. In fact, I would rather see a few other sites out there selling the product. That would tell me there is a market for it, and it is a viable product for starting a web business.
Also, it is best if you can find a niche product. For example, it would be better for the person just starting a web business to sell a unique style of women's straw hats than to sell "women's hats" in general. Starting a web business is inexpensive compared to a brick and mortar store, but it is usually wise to limit start-up inventory at first. Additionally, it is much easier to perform search engine optimization on niche products.
