What Kind Of Business Should I Start?

This is a question I continually get asked and it is one of the hardest to answer. One of the biggest problems is that people who ask this question are those that have destined themselves to fail - mainly because they miss one important entrepreneurial skill - passion! They are invariably looking for a business that will make them a lot of money for very little effort. So what do I usually suggest?

Starting a business is hard work, maintaining a business, with all the stress of controlling your cash flow, seeking new customers, dealing with the existing customers as well as improving your product range is even harder! If you are going to start a new business, then you need to be passionate about your business otherwise you will join the millions of other businesses that fail each year. In these recessionary times you need to be even more careful and add easy profit making potential to your list of "must haves".

So what kind of business should you start? Well first of all you need to find a brilliant business idea that will be profitable. Easier said than done eh? Well think creatively and a little out of the box. List 5 - 7 ideas that you will really enjoy. If your hobby is sewing then think sewing and all the things around sewing, embroidery etc. If it is fishing, think how you can make the fisherman's life happier etc. Now do some research:

Think about what they do all day, what they eat, where they congregate etc. How can you position your company in these areas?Visit some Yahoo groups and see what they are talking about. Visit some forums and web sites dedicated to your chosen subject. Do a "news" search or try and spot some trends. See what problems people have and see if you can solve them. Have a look on eBay and see what is selling - you really won't make any money with anything that the Power Sellers are selling - so discard these straight away. Look on Amazon and see what the best selling books on your subject are talking about - this might give you a starting point.

Once you have your business ideas down, then try and get three products for each of these ideas - this gives you a starting point for your business.

Above all - remember you must be passionate about your business idea or it won't be going anywhere. Good luck.


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Lee Lister writes as The Biz Guru, for a number of web sites
where she provides advice to the business entrepreneur. She is a published
author Entrepreneur's Apprentice and How Much Does
It Cost To Start A Business? as well as detailed information on how
to start low cost businesses, can be found on http://www.StartMyNewBusiness.com