"Online auction giant eBay took a 25 percent stake in Craigslist in August. eBay also announced recently that it would buy online apartment rental service Rent.com for $415 million."

As I report on my www.carsite-marketing.com, ClickZ Stats on September 24, 2004, said:

"Consumer Reports found that 77 percent of pre-owned vehicle shoppers research prices, and 77 percent go online to do so."

People are using the Internet to find just about everything which means there is an opportunity for local entrepreneurs. Although they might not have the money to compete with the the BIG players, they can do a much more better job at representing the local market, and find businesses that will pay them for helping them advertise.

My used car website faced competition from major car classified websites and print publications, but I found that local businesses like to do business with people they know and trust — which all comes down to how you build professional relationships. They are quite happy to give you some of their advertising budget if you can produce results.

We typically think of the Internet as offering a place to reach a worldwide audience, but there is good money to be made in your backyard without taking on the whole www.

Watch for more websites like these in 2005.