Unfortunately, not all business opportunities were created equal. Some business opportunities are better than others and you may be better suited for one, more than the rest.
How do you decide which business opportunity is right for you? Ask yourself these questions about each business you review:
1. Does the seller give you enough information about the business? How many business opportunities have been sold, and how many are in operation? Can you contact some of them? Does a Google search for the business return anything other than webpages selling the bizop, like negative reviews, or other people running the business? Do you have enough information to fully evaluate the business opportunity before you purchase it? Does it sound too good to be true?
2. Are you passionate about the business? If not, your focus may drift as you continue to look for something that does truly interest you, and you’ll never be successful with this business opportunity. Don’t settle for a bizop just because of the profit potential.
3. Is the business viable? Will someone actually give you money in exchange for the business opportunity’s product or service? Remember, until you sell something, it’s not a business, it’s only a hobby that costs you money. If there are other people operating the business opportunity, can you visit with them and help them sell for a few days to see how real customers react to the product?
4. If you started the business opportunity, what kind of competition would you have? Don’t be fooled into thinking that the business has no competitors. Every viable business has competition. If you can’t find any, look harder. If you still can’t find any, worry. No competition is a very bad thing.
5. Is it worth it to purchase the business opportunity? Will your return on investment be worth the risks involved? Will you make more money than investing in something less risky, or a different business?
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About the Author: Dane Carlson is the founder of the Business Opportunities Weblog, a moderated list of legitimate business opportunities for entrepreneurs. Also in Dane’s blog network is the Work at Home Business Opportunities Weblog. Dane is always on the lookout for new business opportunities.
Martin Lindeskog
Great check list. Dane Carlson: Have you seen an increased volume of people starting their own home based business?
One – albeit simplistic – way to answer question number 5 is to go through the good old capital budgeting process. Basically, compare the present value of the cash flow stream generated by this project against those of other projects.
Here is a summary:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_budgeting
–Marco
Joyce Jacobsen
Any business opportunity needs to have great products. I have a lot of preferred customers using the products but not interested in owning a business. Also have some who just want the tax write off with the business opportunity.
Cheers.
Joyce Jacobsen
Martin: Thanks for the question. There’s definitely been an increase, but its not always a good sign in the short term. In these shaky financial times, more people are looking into business opportunities and work at home jobs because they’re scared that their employment may be in danger and they don’t expect the government to bail them out.
In the long run, though, it’s a good thing, because many new businesses are created and the economy emerges, without government help (and sometimes in spite of it), from a recession stronger and more productive than before.
Businesses for sale
I like it, especially the part about being passionate. You’ll always, even at a sub-conscious level, gravitate to what you’re passionate about. Made this mistake myself years back.
Thumbs up…
Martin Lindeskog
Dane,
Thanks for the response. Have you seen any industry or category that has been more popular when you pick a home based business?
Thanks Dane, for this checklist!
This is a good list of things to consider. Passion to me is an important aspect. Some people start businesses just thinking of the large sums of money they can make but they really don’t like the product or service. Having passion for the business gives you the excitement and energy you need to grow it to the highest level. Not to mention you will love what you do and be content with your success.
I seem not to find a good website to effectively post a shipping consultant business opportunity to sell Fedex, UPS and DHL International shipping services to businesses at discounted rates.
The vast majority of candidates are people looking for a fixed salary. Here, this is an independent contractor position with the ability to do business anywhere in the U.S., with no investment.
Any suggestions?
Tess Ledesma
You’re right to choose the business you are passionate with and to give it a try first if the product really sales. Informative.
This is a very good checklist to start off with, I run a home business and I must say that the #1 thing you truly need to think about is how hard are you willing to work. If you are willing to put in 100 hour weeks at the start and will not give up until you succeed a hbb could be for your