For some entrepreneurs, the best way to choose the business type is right from the start. For others, it might take some soul-searching. It is important to determine the best type of business you should start. The question “What kind of business should I start?” deserves more attention.
Because choosing the right type of business is such an important decision, it’s best to examine all possibilities and consider multiple options. There is no single way to know what type of business you should start. Your experience and preferences will be the deciding factor in choosing which type of business to start.
We’ve created a guide with six steps based on the success of entrepreneurs who answered the question “What type of business should I start?”
These are some questions to consider when you’re deciding what kind of business you want.
What type of business should you start and what kind? These questions are key to answering the question:
Based on the success stories of entrepreneurs who successfully chose the type of business to open, we’ve created six essential questions that you can ask yourself to identify the best small business idea. These are the six key questions you need to answer to determine what type of business you should start. These six answers will enable you to identify the best business idea based on your goals and past experiences.
1. Which experiences do I have?
Ashley Hill, founder, and CEO of College Prep Ready says she started her company to fund her college dreams.
Through her own research and experience, she realized that there was an audience for the expertise she had. Hill understands the pain points parents and students experience when they navigate the college application and financial aid process.
2. What are you passionate about?
Another tip that entrepreneurs shared with us was to follow your passion. Varieties founder Nick Ehret has a passion for tea. He created Varieties by curating teas of special interest for his monthly subscription box.
He is a high-quality tea enthusiast who realized he could turn his passion into a business. When starting a business, his advice would be to say “[choose] something passionate about because that is what you will be doing all day, every day.”
3. What problem is it that I can solve?
All of us know that necessity can be the mother of invention. But applying that knowledge to the business environment hasn’t always been the best option. An entrepreneur who turns that need into a business strategy could be quickly a successful owner of a business. Every industry has its problems and it is easy to see why.
Big Barker is a dog bedding company. In 2016, this company was worth $4.75 million. Eric Shannon was the founder and CEO. He saw a serious problem in this market for dog beds. Big Barker was started because large dog owners needed to address a serious problem. They had no choice but to replace their dog beds every year.
4. What is my preferred lifestyle choice?
Your business goals might include millions in revenue and thousands of employees.
Antonella Pisani worked as the vice president of global eCommerce, Fossil. Her leadership roles also included JCPenney, Guitar Center, and ProFlowers. Her main interests were photography, travel, and eCommerce. Pisani knew that she preferred mobility to pursue her passions so she sought a flexible business model which didn’t require any inventory.
5. How much capital do I need to use?
The lean startup concept wasn’t a fad. The concept of a lean startup arose from an inexplicable truth about starting a business: people don’t want the risk of losing their life savings on ideas that aren’t proven to be profitable.
Robert Lomax was a prime example of this. He started RSL Educational as an educational service company based on his teaching job. His teaching experience helped him not only to identify the needs in the educational books market but also allowed him to retain his job as a teacher and to develop new products.
