Seeking advice from people who've started a web based business from scratch...

[cs6505]

Hi all! I am new to this forum but am really impressed with the quality and mindset of the people here. I am seeking advice, primarily from those who have started a web based business from the ground up, but I welcome input from anyone that has started a business from scratch too.

That being said this whole entrepreneur thing is new to me. I am reading “The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur” and got to the part on page 6 where he talks about finding your heart’s desire. What would you volunteer to do simply because of your love for it? What brings you happiness, energy and satisfaction? My answer to this was “travel, learning new cultures and places”. That being said, at present I lack the means to travel as much as I would like. Then I thought why not create a site where users share their travels with pics, blogs and advice, etc. Then I saw MyTripJournal and some other site I forgot – indeed there is nothing new under the sun. I haven’t flinched yet... I do not know if it is naivety or exuberance but I think I can provide a better service and value.

My questions are…
In your opinion is this market already saturated?
In your opinion is there one company that is the Wal-Mart of this space?
Do those of you that have started a web based business (or any business for that matter) from the ground up have any advice for a first time entrepreneur with a day job? (Please provide urls to you business if possible.)

Thanks for your time and input,
Chris

[mtnjkwe]

Theres this social network i know of (UK) it is basically a place where users get to share all travelling related stuffs (pics,tips,reviews, etc) http://www.wayn.com/

Is that what your looking to do? or something with a twist?

[cs6505]

Thanks for the link. Interesting - there goes one more idea I wish I had thought of. :-) I guess my idea is more of something with a twist, nothing gimmicky though.

[mtnjkwe]

Glad I helped. The great thing about ideas is that, you can still think up one

[mcfarldr1]

Any business is only as big as people know it to be. If nobody knows the name or what your business does, then it isn't perceived to be very large.

Look at ebay. They were small and by heavily marketing themselves every way they could they grew their user base and now look where they are. You gotta get the word out and let people know. If you've got any questions, feel free to PM me.