Market Research for Online Businesses

When trying to make money online where do you start? First you need to find something you are interested in. I know that most will look for something they think is going to be profitable first, but if you have little interest in the idea, it is very difficult to keep motivated. Blogging, eCommerce, auction sites, affiliates, etc. are all good ways to make money online, but why would you want to blog if you didn't like to write? Does it matter that you can make money doing it if you really hate it? Whaatever direction you choose, you need to do some market research on your idea. Auctions need to be studied so that you can tell if you are competing against a ton of sellers who can outprice you. eCommerce stores need to have less competition, and you need to understand how to beat the competitiont here is there already. Even blogging is a place that requires you to find a bit of a niche market so that you don't have to compete with everyone on the internet. Everyone talks about technology products, sports, and celebrity gossip. What if you are a professional juggler? Why would you write about financial news if your expertise is juggling?