What's your next step?

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day today. Now that you’ve built a “value proposition” for yourself – this means a way that you’ve decided you want to own a business so ….you can stay home with your kids and generate some extra money. Whatever this is normally has a number that falls out from it – what are you making at work now or how much does day care cost or what do the extra things I want cost? Having a financial goal tied to your why is very important – it enables you to measure your progress and understand how / what opportunity may be a better fit.

When you’re taking a look at opportunities look for 3 things – if anyone tries to tell you anything else – throw up a red flag. Some people say I’m an analytical guy or a technical guy or a detail guy and most of that may be true but most of all I’m a simple guy – I like things to flow and be connected and for me to see how the dots are connected and get a clear picture - not get lost in a maze.

The three things you want to feel comfortable with in order of importance are the market, your supplier and the support systems. Everything cascades from here.

Knowing the market is the MOST important thing in starting / maintaining a business. I’m not talking about a detailed understanding of everything but a clear general knowledge that the market your operating in is large, growing and has the momentum to sustain new players. You could have the best product in the world but if nobody wants to buy it – you don’t have a business. I’ve seen people advertising to get into the candle business for free and make money. Does this make sense in general – what’s the size of the market, is it exploding, can you sustain a viable income stream?

In general, look for a business that is supported by demographic trends and offers a consumable product. This way you are operating in a market that is expanding rapidly and as the pie grows you can grow a business with it. In addition, with consumable products customers come back to you and you can develop referrals – lowering your costs. There are lots of major trends or waves – we are all part of them normally. Wellness is one of those demographic shifts. It starts with two explosive trends – First - a growing and expanding population that is seeking to maintain or better their quality of life – second, an aging population that is expected to live and be active 15 to 20 years longer than previous generations. These trends together are creating a tidal wave of people are looking for products and services to maintain their health and active lifestyles.– large, expanding and aging population looking to maintain healthy, active lifestyles.

In this challenging economic time – you want to be working with the trends and not bucking them, so this is probably not the right time to start a real estate or a car business from scratch.