There are an incredible number of niches that constantly appear and still haven’t been addressed.
Technology has now become very cheap and is getting even cheaper; the rise of the home business, open source software, Moore’s law,free wi-fi etc
It costs nowadays very little money to make a splash…look at the example of the “million dollar page”. In a month, that student has generated almost $300,000 from an extremely simple idea

Big companies get caught up in a quagmire of red tape, inflexibility, and lose their creative edge. They lose the ability to react quickly to an ever changing marketplace. Small companies who are fast on their feet can be innovative and cut into their competitors market share.

Sometimes, however, it is necessary to get into the intricacies of what people need and or want.

Regarding what you said about “make something easier, faster, cheaper and you are almost guaranteed a successful product or service.” I believe that, but let’s hope it holds true for the small business/entrepreneur who is offering the service(s). Many small businesses and up-and-coming companies/entrepreneurs offer these types of services however people become skeptical because of a non-existant/small track record. However, it can become profitable because you, being the little guy, have certain advantages which the big guy – huge companies – don’t. By taking advantage of these advantages – pardon for the pun – it is very possible and probable to become a successful business person.

my motto is “Make your money work hard so you don’t have too!”.