Go On Prowl For Business Possibilities
Opinion Research reports that almost 40 percent of all adults find the idea of owning a business extremely interesting. A whopping 96 percent of the population between 25 and 44 feels this way.
The first question facing a wanna-be entrepreneur is: “What kind of business should I start?”
Q. I’ve made up my mind that my calling is entrepreneurship, and I am psychologically and financially ready to take the plunge. Now I’m trying to determine the kind of business to start. Any suggestions about what’ll be “hot” in the near term future?
A. I can give you some tips but, in the final analysis, you are better off expending a little effort to find your own opportunity. Since previous experience counts for a lot in the successful operation of a business keep a keen eye on the developments in industries and markets with which you’ve had some dealings.
That’s probably why my ol’ uncle Ollie is focusing on micro-breweries and on-line betting services as his avenues to entrepreneurial success.
In the case of consumer markets, a few trips to the mall can open your eyes. Watch for new openings to decipher trends. See which stores attract the most traffic to get an idea of market potential. Remember to look for people who are buying, not just shopping, and try to get an idea of the dollar amount of their purchases.
Don’t limit your visits to the stores that are doing well, but also look for operations that seem to be missing the mark. Often new trends get faulty starts and the eventual winners are those entrepreneurs who see an opportunity to do it better … and then do it that way.
A few grueling weeks of watching the soaps, sitcoms, and MTV can also give you some insight into where the world is going.
Once you have a few leads, use the Yellow Pages to track the growth in business listings of the type you are considering. Use a directory that’s a few years old and compare it with the count in a current edition. This will provide some insight into where growth is really happening. Yellow Pages for the entire country are now available on CD-ROM.
In the case of service businesses, you can follow a similar approach, although it is more difficult to “shop” these kinds of firms. Here, you and your fiends and family are good sources of ideas.
Just think about the kinds of services you use and why the firms who are currently providing them aren’t doing the job they should be. Then take a hard look at your potential for doing it the “right” way.
Other, less visible industries are harder to get a fix on. Trade journals, business newspapers and some visits to the Internet can help.
Unlike looking for love, it’s best to search in all the “wrong” places. If you want to come up with the same ideas that are being pursued by everyone else, look where they’re looking. But, if you want to get a real jump on the market, make a special effort to talk to the geek nobody else bothers with, or look for the magazines and trade papers that are dusty in the library.
Eli Whitney got the idea for the cotton gin by watching a fox trying to raid his chicken coop. While the fox didn’t get inside for dinner, he did manage to snag a fair amount of feathers through the wire mesh.
Foxy Eli then began experimenting with a way of pulling cotton fibers through a grid and leaving the seeds behind. Keep in mind, however, that your business does not have to be completely new and different to find a ready market.
If all this sounds like a lot of work, you might want to retrieve a copy of the December 1995 edition of Entrepreneur magazine. It offers a look at what it calls “the 15 hottest businesses” for the future.
Included are Internet consulting, bakery-cafes, home health care services, soft pretzels and bagels, computer training centers and computer consulting, environmental management services, day spas, educational toy stores, and specialized employee staffing services.
Coming up with the right idea is the most important step in the entire entrepreneurial process.
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The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Paul Willax The Spokesman-Review