Most people running a small business in Australia will know that times are difficult.

For me, its been quieter than usual since around June 2011

However, there was a sudden boost in the number of new customers around May this year (2012), and for a few weeks, I thought: wow, this is great, maybe the small business environment is improving.

After about a month, I realised the real reason: A local computer repair and sales company had suddenly closed down.

The company (YCD – Your Computer Doctor in Burpengary) had a shop, and many local people would go there to buy computers and to have their computers fixed.

So now, I’m getting the benefit of extra customers that would have gone to a competitor.

This effect could last a year or two, but eventually, I will need to change the nature of my business.

As some of you already know, I am diversifying into many different areas, and I’ll see which one works out best.

Currently, the most promising areas for me are:

– Website design and SEO (but I don’t seem to be doing well in this area, as it seems to be a very crowded market, with many experts spending big dollars.

– Selling tech gadgets like computers, laptops, PC parts, tablets, smart phones, etc. This seems more promising, but with lower margins than a purely service only business, and with the need to constantly keep up with changes, but there is also the possibility of large volumes, and large profits.