Welcome to VRE Mastermind!

To kick off the fun, I thought we might start with online research tools and resources.

Before starting a business or online venture, I always do some research to validate my next "awesome" idea. ;-) before going further.

This does not typically involve asking my friends and family for their opinion unless they fit into my demographic or have some experience in the niche.

Instead, I cruise over to one of the best free toolsets for keyword research, SEOBOOK at http://www.seobook.com

SEOBOOK gives you all the best online search engines and trend sites consolidated into one simple search box. Perfect for getting the "hard numbers" to validate your ideas, build your keyword list (especially good for finding "longtail" keywords) and determine what the size of your potential market using search and online resources.

Did I mention it's free? Also check out the SEO for Firefox plugin, another cool free tool to add to your arsenal.

Of course, that's just one of the many tools I use, I'd really like to hear about your favorite research site or resource.