What type of new business should I start?

Do you have the itch to strike it out on your own and start a business, but aren’t sure what type of new business would be the best fit for you? A great way to get your entrepreneurial juices flowing is to think about what life experiences you have and how those might translate into a business idea. While passion is vital to have, so is the ability to succeed in this venture.

Questions to Ask Yourself About What Type of New Business You Should Start:

What Skills Do I Have?

What Industries Am I Familiar With?

What Are My Professional Strengths?

What Type of Business Matches My Ideal Lifestyle?

What Skills Do I Have?

Square one when figuring out what type of new business you should start is to think about all of the personal and professional skills you have. Make a list of assets you have that could translate to business ownership. These might include accounting, pricing strategy, customer relations, eCommerce SEO services, even being a barista.

Now, look at this list and consider what sort of businesses these skills could contribute too. Even something as seemingly minor as being amazing at customer relationships could evolve into a business that specializes in account management for busy B2B businesses.

The reason I recommend starting your new business by brainstorming ideas around the skills you possess is that in order to give your business the best fighting chance, you need to be well-prepared for its demands. Although passion is vital, starting a restaurant when you have only ever worked as a website developer is just not a great idea. It’s not impossible, but I highly recommend that you open a business in an area you are already familiar with.

What Industries Am I Familiar With?

A different route than simply listing out your skills could be to list out every industry you are familiar with. Perhaps you worked as a hairdresser for years, or back when you were an accountant you worked very closely with marketing agencies. Just starting with basic familiarity of how these industries work gives you a leg up to start a business in these areas.

Are any of these industries you are familiar with striking an interest? Cross reference this with your list of personal skills and see if there might be any easy fits here. Are you exceptionally organized and are familiar with internet marketing? A virtual assistant business might be in the cards for you.

What Are My Professional Strengths?

A little bit different from your personal skills, what strengths do you have? Are you a good leader? Are you good with business strategy? Maybe you can sell ice to an eskimo but aren’t great with numbers. These are important things to consider when you pick what new business to start.

A business founder does not have to be an expert in everything, but you do need to know what you are good at and what you aren’t. Play to your strengths with this new business venture and possibly find a partner or first employee that can help fill in the gaps of what skills you are missing. It’s okay to have help, but if you want to be the sole or majority owner, you should be great at what your core business does. If you want to run an eCommece SEO agency, you better be great at eCommerce SEO!

What Type of Business Matches My Ideal Lifestyle?

What is your end goal here with this business- do you want to work your ass off and become uber-rich, or would you rather make just enough money to live off of with a minimal time commitment? Identifying your target lifestyle can really help to narrow down your choices.

A 60 hour work week is no problem for some, but might be a deal breaker for others. Identifying your lifestyle goals early on can help you to figure out how small or large of a business you want to aim for. It can also help you pick an industry; some types of businesses like a dog groomer are pretty hands on, while starting an eCommerce business might be more hands-off. Make sure you don’t wind up living a schedule you hate by asking yourself these questions early.