As 2007 closes in on us, e-business owners should be doing two things. First off, we should be keeping a weather eye out of market trends so we can better predict what we're going to be doing for the next year. Alongside this, we should also be trying to come up with value-added services and products we can provide our customers.

Trends throughout 2006 showed that home businesses, especially electronic commerce, is the wave of the future. Providing customers with a more personal approach and giving them what they want has been the key to the success of small electronic entrepreneurships. For this reason, more and more people have left the conventional 9-to-5ers that used to be the bread and butter of most families, and have struck out into the world of e-commerce.

With this increase in competition, the need to stand out becomes more important for any e-tailer. The best method is to come up with your own personalized added value systems for your business. It's a rule that consumers will always do what they want to do, and are always right. Therefore, if you don't give them a reason to come to you, they probably won't. There are, admittedly, lots of other e-businesses out there that can cater to their needs. So, you need to give them a reason to come to you.

Added value services also help you retain your existing customer base. With the increase in competition we can all expect to see in 2007, we cannot afford to take our customer loyalty for granted. Little things like giveaway products, e-magazines and articles, even something as simple as a personal calendar that lets you send out electronic postcards for happy birthdays and thank-yous to your customers will increase the odds that they will stay with you through 2007 and beyond.