Small Business Idea: How to Find the Right One for You

“Some people dream of success, while other people get up every morning and make it happen.”

- Wayne Huizenga, owner of the Miami Dolphins

Part 1: Assess Your Interests

Your interests are simply your likes and dislikes, your preference for one thing and your dislike of another. Begin by writing down what interests you. Start with broad categories.

• What are your hobbies currently? What were they when you were younger?
• What school courses did you enjoy when you were younger?
• Were there any jobs that you really liked or got a lot of satisfaction from?
• What kind of sports and recreational activities have you participated in and enjoyed?
• What do you do in your spare time? What would you like to do if you could?
• What do you consider to be a lot of fun?

Once you have created your list of interests, identify anything that you particularly dislike doing. List these activities below your interests along with the reasons for your dislike. Your interest inventory is not a rigid indicator of what you should do. It is only a starting point for helping you learn the range of your interests.

Note: It is important to not confuse interests with abilities and skills.

Once you have completed this list, review the activities and interests you have identified and look for patterns. Do any factors appear consistently? If so, circle them.

Part 2: Building Your Skills Inventory

The key to choosing a great business idea is having clarity - knowing and being able to articulate all the different skills you possess. The word "skills" is being used in the most general sense possible. You are not looking for skills which you and you alone possess in all the world. You are looking for any skill or talent you may have exhibited during your lifetime that has value. You will need to really open yourself up when making your list.

After you have developed your list of skills, circle the skills which represent your strongest abilities and which you take the greatest pleasure in performing.

Now see whether a pattern exists that can lead you to explore what your small business idea should be. Write down any patterns that appear.

Part 3: Recalling Your "Power Stories"

Everyone has memories of times in their life when they felt particularly "strong" and "on track". It may be the time you gave your first speech, or the day your child was born, or it may be the time you reached a goal you had previously thought impossible.

Whatever it is, these are the times when you felt the most proud of yourself, the most accomplished. We call these memories "power stories". Whether or not anyone else is aware of these times in your life is irrelevant. The important thing is that they matter to you.

Recall a list of seven personal power stories. Divide a sheet of paper in half. On the left side of the page, write down each of your power stories. On the right side, list the skills and talents you used in each story. What skills and talents reappear in each story? Circle those.

Part 4: Building Your Special Knowledge Inventory

List any special knowledge you have acquired according to the following sources:

• Learned in school, college
• Learned on the job or by actually doing at home or work
• Learned from seminars, workshops
• Learned by reading avidly
• Learned by talking to people

You should list as many special types of knowledge as you can think of. Circle the top 5 that you could use to roll out your next small business idea.

“So often people are working hard at the wrong thing. Working on the right thing is probably more important than working hard.”

- Caterina Fake, co-founder of Flickr

Part 5: Self-Estimates

On a scale of 1 (low) to 7 (high), rate yourself on each of the following traits. Be as objective as possible. Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. Try not to rate yourself the same in each ability.

Then list your top 4 traits with the rating for each.

Part 6: Dividing Up Your Time

You need to decide as a future business owner how you want to spend your time. Assign a percentage of time to each of the following categories making sure all three add up to 100%. 

• With People:
• With Information:
• With Things:

Part 7: Why Do You Want to Start Your Own Business?

Write down all of the reasons why you want to start your own business. Be as specific as you can. Take the time to think about what the business could mean to you and your loved ones. How would the business make a difference in your life and in the lives of the people you serve.

Don't rush on this exercise. Take all the time you need to make an exhaustive list. 

Part 8: Determining Your Priorities

As you begin combining your work and family responsibilities, make sure you know what your priorities are. Begin by listing any current time commitments and then estimate how much time you spend on these regular activities.

Think through your priorities. What activities must you continue? What can you let others do? What activities are expendable as you divert attention to your new small business idea?

Now that you have completed your personal assessment for helping to determine your small business path, pull the information together to see whether a clearer picture has emerged.

This is important so that you can gain a sense of what type of small business idea would best suit your skills, knowledge, business goals, and your reasons for wanting to start a business.

You should begin to see a pattern that leads to a specific small business idea or to a general category of business such as service, retail, or manufacturing.

Example: How Susan Found Her Business Idea

Susan was very interested in adventure travel. She had worked as a travel agent for several years and she was now thinking about starting an adventure travel company for women.

She decided to test the waters by putting an advertisement in Cosmopolitan magazine, a women’s magazine. When very few people responded to her ad, she became disillusioned and worried her idea might never be successful.

That's when a friend told her of a new magazine that she had just seen at the newsstand called Outside Woman. It sounded interesting so Susan purchased the magazine and began to research it.

After talking to the editor of the magazine, she learned that a large number of subscribers were women interested in travel as a way to open their world, experience new cultures, seek adventures and overcome their fears. Susan also learned that most of these women were in their 30's and 40's, not early 20's like she had previously assumed.

Armed with this knowledge, Susan created an adventure package that aimed to attract "women who wanted to experience the spiritual side of adventure travel". She placed an ad in the magazine that her friend had recommended.

The response from the Outside Woman magazine advertisement was tremendous!

Within several weeks she was able to book her first group outing and her business was born.

Susan's business story is one of success. However, without a little luck and a lot of personal fortitude, her unique business idea may never have been found - and her story could have been one of failure. Market research is often the difference between succeeding and failing miserably.

Susan never gave up on her dream of doing something she loved. She succeeded because she didn't quit after her initial failure. Instead, she continued to search for the right formula that would provide her with a successful business that allowed her to follow her passion for travel.

Moreover, now Susan gets to meet like minded women who are actively seeking new adventures to better themselves. Pretty cool gig!