qprev_HBB Manual 2.qxd - Small Business BC

Know What to Look forSources of business ideas are surprisinglyplentiful, but they may not be immediatelyobvious. We’ve all had the experience ofwondering Why didn’t I think of that! afternoticing a new item for sale.Any search is easier if you know what you arelooking for. Not all business ideas are suitable forstart-up at home. They may be too expensive todevelop, require heavy equipment, need specialpermits and so on. Other ideas may have poorprofit potential or face severe competition.Generalizing about good business ideas isdifficult. Some ideas are simply unique andfly in the face of sensible advice. But, in general,look first at business ideas which have thesefeatures:• Simple to start – The business doesn’t requireso much up-front that you spend long hourslearning new procedures, building tradeconnections, or finding speciality buyers.• Low overhead – Unless you have access tohuge wealth, find ideas which don’t requirehefty capital outlay to buy machinery,customer lists, or distribution rights.• Cheap to operate – Don’t ruin the lowoperating costs of being home-based bychoosing an idea that involves hiring lots ofextra staff, frequent injections of cash, or longperiods of inactivity.• Not overdependent – Be cautious of businessideas that rely on orders froma single big customer or supplies from asingle source. If they go out of business,so might you.• Internet linkable – Home-based businesseswhich harness the power of e-commerce – mayride the wave of the future. Look for ideaswhich are web-ready or have potential forelectronic communication with customers andsuppliers.• Project potential – In the new economy, ideasfor virtual companies that come together for asingle project – as do movie companies – areincreasing. These exploit an opportunity andthen dissolve. Look for ideas with suchpotential to be project-based.• Easy to manage – As you become successful,sales will grow. How will you handle increaseddemand? Can you fill large orders quickly?Can you afford to expand? Avoid ideas thatcould quickly grow out of your control.Watch Out for ScamsYou’ll see advertisements for work-at-homeschemes on television, at Web sites, in businesspublications, and even on matchbook covers. Theads claim you can “Earn $1,000 a week” andoffer “Great Start-Up Potential” with “NoExperience Necessary”. The ads often providefake testimonials that you cannot verify and usefly-by-night post office boxes as reply addresses.If you answer the ads, you receive demands formoney before materials are sent and no analysisof the actual operating costs.Each year too many people fall prey to scamartists who offer fantastic opportunities formaking money. Taken in by innocence, greed ordesperation, people can lose their life savings orfall deep into debt. Scams tend to target certaintypes of people: seniors, people forced into earlyretirement, and people wanting to earn extracash.12solutions for small business home-based business