What Kind of Business Should I Start? How to Decide

Starting a business is risky. When you’re pondering a decision of this magnitude, it can be helpful to have a checklist, a strategy for how to decide what is a good business to start. And you’re in luck…I’ve created just such a strategy.

1. Identify your aptitudes.

Take a little time to think about your strengths. What are you good at? What skills do you have that differentiate you from everyone else?

Make a list of your aptitudes regardless of whether you actually enjoy doing that work. Skills that seem tedious when you’re working for someone else may actually become a pleasure once you’ve started your own business. For example, I was always an effective sales person, but I didn’t really enjoy it until I started my own company. Then sales became both natural and enjoyable.

So make a physical list of your strengths and be thorough. Don’t leave strengths off your list because you think there’s no way to make money with those skills. You never know what might become a useful and vital ability when you start your own business.

2. Identify your passions.

This step is the most fun!

Again, without regard for whether you think you can make money or not, list the things that really ring your bell. Hobbies, causes, industries, people… think big.

Reflect on what activities bring you joy or help you feel relaxed and compile a list that’s as complete as you can make it.

By combining your aptitudes with your passion and looking for opportunities in a growing industry, you can develop a personalized list of potential businesses you might want to start.

3. Identify growth industries.

One solid strategy for choosing what kind of business to start is to pick an industry that’s growing and doesn’t show signs of stopping any time soon. You’re in charge, and you can pick any kind of small business you like. Why not pick one with the most growth potential?

Just like with the previous steps, don’t limit your research or your list of growth industries to areas in which you have expertise or think you’re a natural fit. By casting a wide net when you’re deciding what kind of business to start, you’ll end up with more options—and certainly some options you might not have thought of if you’d started with a narrower scope.

Think about it: You don’t have to personally be able to build a house to cash in on the boom in the construction industry. Each category of small business has niches within them, niches that might just suit you and set you on the road to success.

4. Identify your opportunities.

Sit down with your three lists, that is your aptitudes, your passions and the growth industries you’ve identified.

Start with one of your passions. Let’s use golf as an example. You love to play golf. It’s your favorite hobby. You enjoy the strategy, the exercise and developing your skills. But you’re never going to make it as a golf pro. That doesn’t mean you can’t find a way to make money somehow, somewhere in the world of golf.

Look at your aptitudes. Let’s say you work as an accountant in a small firm, and you’re good at it, but you don’t feel particularly challenged or fulfilled. You’ve done your homework and discovered that golf as an industry is growing, so it could be worth your while to find a way to break into the industry.

How is it possible for an accountant to make money in the golf business? You start your own business as an accounting firm that caters to golf pros! You find out what pros need from their accountants. You become an expert on their challenges, and you find ways to help them run their businesses more profitably. You get referrals from satisfied clients, and your business grows organically. Instead of earning money for someone else, you’re building your own business, spending time at golf clubs and doing what you love and are uniquely suited to do.

By combining your aptitudes with your passion and looking for opportunities in a growing industry, you can develop a personalized list of potential businesses you might want to start.

You may be thinking that it takes a lot of effort just to decide what kind of business to start, and you’re right. But these steps aren’t designed to help you start just any old business. They’re intended to help you start your successful small business, one in which you’ll achieve profitability and satisfaction.

Read more articles on getting customers.

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