Today . . . I am thinking about this question from one of our readers. I thought it was particularly interesting because of both how general it is and how searching. It got me thinking: How do you figure out what business to start when all you know is that you want to start one up? Here's one suggestion.
If you have a small business question that you'd like for me to answer, let me know.
Q: "How do I figure out what business to start in 2009 when all I know is that I want to start one up?"
A: Because I focus on helping women turn their passion into profit by building a business from the inside out, my first response to your question is don't even think about starting up a business that you're not passionate about.
The reason for this is because everyone, no matter who they are, at one time or another during the start-up process will feel like throwing in the towel and giving up. When that happens, often all you have to keep you going is your passion and absolute conviction that what you are doing is right for you and that the vision you hold for your business will make a difference in the world.
However, maybe what you’re passionate about is starting up a business this year, period, even though you aren't exactly sure what kind of business you want to create. If that’s the case, here is one idea to help you start exploring possibilities.
Go to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and do some research. Scan the home page for the latest from the BLS. Then, click on the "Economic Releases" tab and read the 2008-09 edition of the Occupational Outlook Handbook for employment projections. Next read the information in the “Major Economic Indicators” link. Finally, click on the "Databases and Tables" tab and spend some time researching which occupations are hiring and which are not.
When starting up a business, it's important to have your finger on the pulse of the economy, and the BLS is the perfect place to start. Hopefully, between your enthusiasm to start up a business and what you are reading over at the BLS, you’ll come up with an idea for the specific type of business you can feel passionate about creating this year.
That was my clever suggestion. What's yours? If you have a small business question that you'd like for me to answer, let me know.
Susan L. Reid
The original Accidental Pren-her™
Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success
Susan, I agree 100% that you need to be passionate about whatever business you decide to start. I recommend checking out Success at Home magazine as part of your research. Each month, this publication gives an insider's view of one network marketing company, aka Multi-Level Marketing company. MLMs have been around since the mid-50s. Today, these companies offer hundreds of products and services ranging from eco-friendly household cleaners to nutritional supplements to cell phone and web shopping services. I like the fact that for a nominal investment, you can have a business up and running - and begin to enjoy the many tax savings associated with business ownership - not to mention unlimited earning potential. I also like the fact that you can start it as a part-time business. Personally, I've always been a big card sender and about 2 1/2 years ago, joined SendOutCards, a company that lets you send real paper greeting cards (and gifts) from your computer. Now I get paid to make someone's day!
Posted by: Donna Smallin Kuper | February 08, 2009 at 11:57 AM