To succeed in the heavily populated world of Internet businesses, you need to know exactly what your business is, and what differentiates it from all other online businesses. You need to develop a Unique Selling Proposition, a USP.
There are an over abundance of "e-commerce solutions," A solution to what? If 20 other companies offer an "e-commerce solution," why should I do business with YOUR firm? Unless you have a ready answer to that question, your days in business are numbered. You've GOT to know what makes you different, better, or more capable than your competition.

As an example, consider developing a USP for a new dot.com start-up. Let's say you've looked deep into yourself for your areas of expertise. And that turns out to be amphibians. You know all there is to know about these animals.

1. Examine the Competition

   You scour the Web looking for amphibian sites. Look up the word "amphibian" in Copernic 2000 (http://www.copernic.com) to see what is around.

   • Kingsnake.com -- "the information portal for the reptile and amphibian hobbyist." http://www.kingsnake.com It has links to various nature magazines, discussion groups, etc.
   • Amphibians discussion list, dedicated to the distribution of knowledge, care, and breeding of all amphibians. This is where you'll find many of your potential customers. http://www.onelist.com/messages/amphibians
   • Big Apple Herpetological -- reptile and amphibian supplies. http://www.bigappleherp.com They claim to be "the world's largest online reptile and amphibian supply catalogue... over 600 reptile products, same day/next day shipping, full product consultation and the GUARANTEED lowest prices." (See their USP stated clearly in their brief ad?)
   • The Herp Mall. http://www.herp.com/ Provides Web services for various herp (reptiles, amphibians, arachnids, chelonians, etc..) dealers, supply dealers, and event coordinators. They claim 25,000 visitors per day. Here's where you can advertise.
   There are also numbers of local reptile and amphibian societies

2. Where's the Gap?

   One thing becomes pretty clear, while reptiles are well serviced on the, amphibians are left out, second best. Most sites tilt toward reptiles. Could you become THE commercial amphibian site on the Net? There's a gap online. The only question to consider really is whether the market is large enough to support an online business focusing primarily on amphibians?
   With this narrow a niche, It's unlikely many amphibian product advertisers clamouring will clamour for space in your advertising calendar, so you'll need to look for revenue streams primarily in product sales.

3. What's the Name?

   A name is required for the site. Go to Network Solutions' Whois Database and see what's available. http://www.networksolutions.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois
   A number of names are taken, but you'll still find some good ones left:

   • WartyToad.com
   • FrogLover.com
   • NewtBabe.com
   You could probably find others. FrogLover.com is good., AmphibianLover.com is available, but it doesn't have the ring of truth, the same kind of rhythm as FrogLover.com. FrogLover.com meets four criteria for a good domain name:
   1. short,
   2. memorable,
   3. related to your core business or business name, and
   4. hard to misspell.

Now let's formulate a USP that fills the gap we've observed in the online amphibian world:
"FrogLover.com is your one-stop shop for amphibians: supplies, books, information, research, and gossip -- the most comprehensive amphibian site on the Web." Your Unique Selling Proposition differentiates you from any of your competitors. Now armed with this USP you can develop a Web business that doesn't have ANY direct competitors. You're on your way.

Write the first draft of a USP for your business. Then study two of the chief competitors and write a USP describing them. Now review and rewrite your USP in light of what you've learned.