The web has leveled the playing field in many ways for small businesses, but the biggest impact has been in the effect on niche marketing. Niche marketing has always been a smart idea for small businesses. Targeting a very specific market turns your clients' efforts from casting a net into the ocean to shooting fish in a barrel.

While it's true that several years ago, there was a certain element of distrust about making purchases on the web, we've well passed the tipping point for that particular concern. In 2007, the vast majority of potential customers are as comfortable handing over their credit card information to a legitimate, professional e-commerce site as they are handing it over to the teenaged clerk at the local mall. In point of fact, with Verisign and other SSL services, most consumers understand that their credit card and bank routing information is probably safer online than it is in a local retail store, where an unshredded receipt or a dishonest clerk could result in identity theft or credit card fraud.

So if your clients have products and services that can be sold online, there's no question that they should be selling online! Focusing on a niche market and doing a very specific thing well is great at narrowing the target from the ocean to a barrel. Going online with an e-commerce solution is like stocking the barrel like a trout pond.