Business Opportunities – Finding The Best Match
Part 4 of Acey Gaspard’s Guide to Starting a Small Business – Made Simple
Being in business is one thing. Getting into the right business is another. As Donald Rumsfeld said, “It is easier to get into something than to get out of it.”
In most cases, setting up a business is a process that requires a lot of time and money. On top of that, you have no guarantees. So why go through the struggle and end up in a business that’s not for you?
When you start a business that you’re passionate about, you have a better chance of succeeding in that business than choosing one you don’t care much for.
Life is short, and you can only live it once. When I see someone working in a field that they are not passionate about, I feel bad for them. It’s because hours turned into days, days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months, months turn into years, and years fly by. In a few years, you wake up and say, where did the time go? Most of it was stuck in a dead-end job.
If you have the opportunity to start a business, then look for one you’re passionate about. It’s a blessing to have a company doing something you are passionate about.
If you start a business just for the money, you may improve your financial situation. Still, you may not be happy it’s like getting a promotion in a job you don’t care for. Sure, you’re making more money, but you’re not doing what you like.
Your chances of success diminish when you start a business you’re not passionate about. When problems show up and trust me, they will; instead of looking for solutions to those problems, you’ll look for a way out, and that’s because you’re not passionate about your business.
Some people disagree with starting a business you are passionate about. They look at business opportunities and set their main focus on the financial aspect.
I have had many opportunities come my way in my lifetime. I passed up many of them because I wasn’t interested in the business itself. I’m glad I did because I know what it takes to run a business. If you have no interest in the products and services you’re providing, you won’t give it everything you have to succeed.
Five Questions to Get You on the Right Track
To help you get a better idea of what business is right for you, take some time to answer the following questions:
1. What are you good at?
2. What do you know a lot about?
3. What have you heard others say you’re good at?
4. What particular interest do you have?
5. If you were debt-free, you own your dream home. You have four vehicles. You have helped out friends, and family and given to charity. You have traveled around the world and have taken two years off as an extended vacation to relax. Now you have five million dollars left in the bank.
With all you have done and everything you own, what will you do with the rest of your life?
What to Do After Finding a Key Interest
You’ve identified a few issues from answering the above questions. Now let’s go through an example.
I’ll use watching NASCAR as your favorite activity. Let’s say you watch NASCAR, you talk about it all the time, you live it, and you ask, “How can I make a living from NASCAR?” This is a large business with huge investments, not to mention the skill you need to manage, promote, drive, or repair race cars. So you think, “Even though I love it, there’s no way I can get into this business.”
Well, those are legitimate concerns, but you need to shift your focus. You could create an online club, a website, a blog, or a newsletter related to NASCAR. All of these are good candidates for creating an advertising revenue model.
You could also sign up for affiliate programs and sell memorabilia through affiliation. You don’t even need to handle the products; you make the sales and earn a commission. You could open a store in a mall and sell games, memorabilia, and models or create your own information products. You could locate hard-to-find videos, sell tickets, create tour packages for the races, etc.
Now it’s time to search for opportunities related to your passion. You can start by doing a simple Google search; for example, if I am passionate about computers, I can simply type in computer-based business opportunities. That will get me started on ideas.
Another tip is you may want to try looking for an established business for sale or a franchise opportunity. Taking this route takes away a lot of the grunt work involved in starting your business from scratch.
A lot of the work is already done, and you can start your business quickly and have a stream of revenue start to come in from the day you take over. For more on this idea, see An Inside Look Into The Business You’re Considering.
I once heard a saying that made a lot of sense to me: You can live your life any way you want, but you can only live it once. So why waste time in a business that’s not something you want? Find what you want, and find a way to make money from that.
The key, my friend, to finding the right business for you is finding one you’re passionate about.
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