Are you having a hard time deciding what type of business to go into?

Here are some things to consider and look for when deciding what kind of business to go into.


First of all, what do you like to do? Look at what your favorite activities are and see if one of them will fit neatly into a business. For example if you enjoy web design then making websites may be the right business for you.

Also consider the type of person you are. If your like me and cannot stand to sit at a computer ALL day, then look for a business that is going to keep you moving. While I don't mind working on a computer for part of the day, I really enjoy being on the move. If you're the type of person who rather sit at a computer all day and not have to deal with people one on one, then a retail store is not the right business for you but doing something online will be.

Also take into consideration your lifestyle. If your single and care free did you don't have to worry about being home at certain times. However, if you're a family person then you want to be spending time with family so you need to find a business that will not keep you away from home for extended period of times.

Another thing to take into consideration is where you live if you're looking into a retail store, manufacturing, or online store. If you want to start a store catering to fly Fisherman, probably somewhere in the middle of the desert a hundred miles from the nearest body of water is not the best spot. Also if you want to do some small manufacturing, you want to consider the logistics of getting your materials, how easily the area will accept your business, and how you will get your product to market. Finally if you're doing an ecommerce site take into consideration shipping cost both to you and on to the customer. Many companies that do a lot of shipping from a single warehouse consider a central point to lower cost.

One more item to look at is your competition. If you're planning to open a fast food store, who are you competitors and how will you set yourself apart. If you are in a town with every chain fast food place you cannot serve the same quality and type of food as McDonalds. Take a look at the competition and see what is missing from the area in the form of a niche.

Hopefully this will spark some ideas for you to take the next step. The Small Business Administration and SCORE are excellent resources.

Also the Business Plans Blog is also a nice source of information.