CHOOSING A NEW BUSINESS 
By THE ALCHEMIST, AL THOMAS, 5-2-05

You want to have a business of your own. That’s great. Of course I agree since I have always had my own company in various fields and done very well. But how do you choose the right business that you can effectively finance, manage and make a good living doing it?  Today with the Internet there are many enterprises that you can start at home with a minimum of expense. When they take off and become profitable you may want to have an off premises location, but most Internet-type companies don’t need a store front. If you go into a manufacturing, distribution or business where there will be people traffic you will not be able to do it at home.

The most popular businesses are restaurants, lounges, beauty salons, lawn care, handy man, distribution and warehousing, staffing and manufacturing. Depending upon the size of the business will determine where its location must be.  One of the most important aspects is to try to determine the demographics of your location as to what will be needed. Is there a big enough demand for what you plan to sell or service? The Internet is unlimited, but if you need local customers you must determine if there are enough of them to provide the income you wish.

One of the most difficult bits of information to know is what will the economy in general be for the next 10 or 20 years and how will it affect your business. That is close to impossible, but we do know that everyone needs to eat, sleep and be healthy. Is there a growing market for the type of business you choose?  Looking ahead for those time periods one of the growing markets would be in health. Almost any type of health care, but especially that which appeals to the aging society. The baby boomers start retiring in 2007 and in general seem to be a more affluent group.

Those who want their own business might start a search in the health field from selling vitamins on the Internet to providing some kind of personal in-home service for retirees. Today the service of bringing hot meals to the home is provided at minimum cost by Meals On Wheels. They only bring lunch. Would a service that brings hot full course dinners to the affluent be viable?  That you will have to determine. This might require a full kitchen or a contract with local restaurants such as Denny’s, Olive Garden, Durango’s, a major Hilton hotel or other restaurant to prepare so many meals each day. Your customers would receive a menu a week in advance to choose what they want on each day of the week. And so forth. Lots of detail.

No one said it was going to be easy. You will need a business plan. There are many business plan outlines you can obtain at no charge on the Internet. Don’t go into any business without one.

                Whatever business you choose be sure it is something you like and really want to do or you will feel trapped and it will probably not be successful. Have fun. You can do it!