Opening a business...

[AmazingGracePlayer]

My mom wants to open a small to medium sized business, but can't decide what to open... any suggestions? What's popular now days?

[fenderhutz]

Specialty food and beverage stores.

French, German, etc.

[tplyons]

Why does she want to open a business? Does she have expertise in anything? Probably cater to that.

[Chunk-O-Funk]

Pants.

[AmazingGracePlayer]

Originally Posted by fenderhutz

Specialty food and beverage stores.

French, German, etc.

I think she might want to stay away from food industry...

Originally Posted by tplyons

Why does she want to open a business? Does she have expertise in anything? Probably cater to that.

Well, she wants to open a business because she wants to earn more money. She's got lots of experience in marketing, market research, and pharmaceutical stuff.

I think she might prefer to open something along a chain store (not starting a chain store, but starting a new store in a chain of stores)

[fenderhutz]

Herbal Supplements. Low cost, high return.

[FL Knifemaker]

What are her interests or what is she good at doing?? Getting into something she's familiar with would be a good start. Is there a hobby she could turn into a business??

Knifemaking started as a hobby for me and has since allowed me to make a small fortune...........from a large one

[AmazingGracePlayer]

Originally Posted by FL Knifemaker

What are her interests or what is she good at doing?? Getting into something she's familiar with would be a good start. Is there a hobby she could turn into a business??

Knifemaking started as a hobby for me and has since allowed me to make a small fortune...........from a large one

She's interested in education-related businesses.

How is your knife making business?

[machine gewehr]

Education related? Hmm perhaps a book store?

[TheDarkReaver]

Do you have legal prostiution where you are?







(I jest, I jest...please don't hurt me)

[AmazingGracePlayer]

Originally Posted by machine gewehr

Education related? Hmm perhaps a book store?

That's a good choice... How about a used clothing store? How are those things? I also heard that tanning salons make lots of money too.

[jive1]

In my most respectful opinion, I think you are approaching this the wrong way. By focusing on what's hot right now, you are overlooking way too many factors, such as your market, risk, etc. Small video rental stores and computer stores were hot at one time, but depending on when you got into it you could have made a fortune or lost a bundle. Businesses don't just happen overnight, but a fad can dwindle that quickly. The key is not what's hot today, it's what's hot tomorrow.

My advice would be for her to use her market research skills to discover a market and then provide a product or service to meet the demand.

There's many questions to be answered, and I suggest talking to someone from the SBA (Small Business Administration) for advice. They have a pool of retired execs and entrepreneurs that will offer advice for free, and will be much more helpful than what you'll get on an internet message board.
Here's 4 to start with:

Are you going to participate in the day-to-day operations of a business? If so, she should concentrate on something she likes to do and knows alot about. I can't imagine taking great financial risk, dealing with legal issues, stressing your marriage and family, sacrificing vacations, working long hours, dealing with customers, etc. for something you don't like to do. Also, a business can and probably will fail if the owner doesn't know what they are doing, so going into something that you know alot about definitely helps. If you're not going to be involved, then be prepared for the additional costs to hire expertise and reliability.

Is it going to be a local and/or internet business? It sounds like you are talking about a local business. If that's the case, take a look at your locale to research the factors that can make for a successful business. Zoning regulations, local business laws, demographics, income, economy, tastes, real estate costs, employment pool, and many more local factors come into play. Look around locally to see what may or may not work before you go on the internet or hear the marketing spiels of the various chain stores. If you're going the internet route, the issues are how well you understand the technology, the costs and risks of it, and the fact that the internet is a Wild West when it comes to commerce.

How much risk are you willing to take? I'm talking financial, legal, personal, etc. Higher risk tends to have higher profit. But it's important to assess your risks since more than half of businesses fail within their first 5 years.

How much capital do you have access to? No use talking about a high overhead, high entry cost business if you don't have the capital to do it. No need to start on a shoestring if you don't have to.

Once you get an idea of the business you want to partake in, develop a business plan. A business plan is not only helpful for obtaining capital and outlining your business, it will help determine feasability of your endeavor. You may find that you have a winner, or it's time to toss it into the scrap heap and start again.

[FL Knifemaker]

Originally Posted by AmazingGracePlayer

She's interested in education-related businesses.

How is your knife making business?

Business is very good. I'm blessed with a strong customer base and more work than I can handle.

We have a "Teachers Store" in our town that sells school supplies. The place is always busy. I don't know what they carry that Staples and Office Max doesn't but they must be doing something right

[Fontaine]

porn

[hbarcat]

Consider that a business that provides a service (such as caterer, photogragher, musician, consultant, etc..) is typically "safer" for an inexperienced individual to start up than a product or retail type of business that needs to maintain costly stocks of inventory as well as a cerain amount of store space. A good compromise between these two types is a craftsperson who creates and sells only their own home made items such as rugs, wooden figurines or candles.

My personal opinion is to keep away from business models that don't produce goods or services but rely on making money as a middle man (ie short term investment or network marketing). Aside from the ethical concerns of being a parsite on the economy, these are typically mony losers for the inexperienced.

[MakiSupaStar]

I'm not suggesting anything for you and your mom but sex sells.

[Bass Mule]

Fetish shop and adult toys.

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by TheDarkReaver

Do you have legal prostiution where you are?

Originally Posted by Fontaine

porn

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

I'm not suggesting anything for you and your mom but sex sells.

Originally Posted by Bass Mule

Fetish shop and adult toys.

Who would have guessed that half the responses from TBers would be along these lines? Oh yeah, I would. Then again, if I had clicked on this thread earlier I probably would have suggested a brothel, but that joke is all out of funny now.

jive is on the mark with his advice though. I use to tell seniors in my classes the same thing. Picking a major based on where hot jobs are now is a bad bet for the same reason - things change and you need to do something you enjoy and find a way to make a living, not just what seems like a money maker in the here and now.

Honestly, there was a guy in my old neighborhood who quit his job and dumped his savings into a pog store. A freaking pog store. Does anyone other than me even remember that dumb little fad now? Personally, I think if you don't have a clear idea of the kind of business you want that you really shouldn't even be considering opening one. Just my 2 cents.

[WickedPissah]

Originally Posted by FL Knifemaker

What are her interests or what is she good at doing?? Getting into something she's familiar with would be a good start. Is there a hobby she could turn into a business??

Knifemaking started as a hobby for me and has since allowed me to make a small fortune...........from a large one

so you could say you've whittled it down

(rimshot)

[Relic]

Not very glamorous, but my brother is doing pretty well running a house cleaning service on the side. It was extremely easy to start up.