SOC for micro niche site .

I'd keep working on the site.
But start a new one as well.

Right now MNF has had to scramble, along with other research tools that use Google, to update their programs. I downloaded the latest version of NMF last night, but I am still a bit skeptical on its accuracy. Instead I have been working on some sites that I already have, rather than getting into too many new ones.

My advice to you is to download Traffic Travis (free version) and check that keyword there. You may get a different answer. I have seen a keyword with a SOC on MNF of over 5,000, but when you look at the backlinks AND the top positions, it is more likely that TT is right in saying that it would be "Relatively Easy" to rank for that keyword. For example, if all the top positions are 'pages' of a site, rather than the top level domain, and there are several sites with low backlink amounts, and there are no exact match domains, (or allintitle domains with stop words), you will probably be ok.

Keep working on this site, but also take the advice from JoshuaG as gosple. You will most likely not get one site up and be able to retire in 2 months. In many cases this is a numbers game. Bust a$$ on the domain you just bought, and find 5 more niches with keywords to enter while you are working on site #1.

Also, Try to use several tools (free or paid) to 'confirm' the results you get. If you use 4 tools and one gives you a strange answer where the other 3 are the same, chances are that the 3 are more accurate. (All, please don't flame me for that one - the 3 could be wrong if they are using the same source data, and the strange one could be correct). The point is do your 'due dilligence' and make an informed decision - that is the best you can do since there are no guarantees.

I've been burned a few times by SOC. I now look at the first SERP page and the backlinks and PR for the term, and don't rely on SOC any more. As others have suggested - confirm with other tools before jumping on a term... Measure twice, cut once. :-)