Researching your micro-business potential

Following on from yesterday’s post, here’s the next step to starting up a clutch of micro-businesses. Before deciding which business ideas are worth pursuing further, do your research.

Here’s what to look at:

how many other people in your area are offering the same service? Is there room for one more?
is your target market well represented in your area? You need to reach people who are are likely to buy your services. If you’re offering shopping to the elderly but your area is stuffed full of students, it mightn’t be worth pursuing
do you need to get qualifications first?
do you need insurance? If so, how much will it cost?
will you need premises?
what should you charge, per hour or per job or whatever?

And here’s an example, again using my list for argument’s sake:

make a few quid writing for local businesses – there’s no other copywriters in our suburb so it’s worth trying, taking a niche local angle
make extra cash creating and selling art – applying common sense, I know being an artist won’t pay the bills. I’ve tried it!
earn money decorating for friends, relatives and people in your local area – as a lady decorator, I have a ready made unique selling proposition. There are a lot of old people living round our way and they might appreciate and trust a female decorator. So worth a go
generate income clearing gardens, creating beauty from chaos – ditto decorating
make money helping individuals and small businesses maintain their websites – although millions of us are already online, millions more don’t know a computer from a hole in the ground. So this one could be a goodie
get paid to help people and businesses set up and run their blogs – ditto website maintenance
get paid to help local businesses create workable, profitable marketing plans – there’s literally hundreds of online and offline marketing agencies and experts in the Brighton area. It’s a new media hotspot. So there’s probably too much competition
arrange paid guided Downland walks for locals and visitors – a great money-spinning idea for the summer holidays
earn extra money teaching other people how to use computers – with so many elderly folk here, it might just work. Worth testing!
get paid to advise people and organisations about their interior decor – in a recession, interior decor consultation is probably a ‘nice to have’ rather than an essential. Probably a no-go
make dosh helping local businesses get and keep their admin act in order – there’s loads of Virtual Assistants in the area already but I reckon I could compete because of my direct marketing and web skills
charge to teach people the recorder – perhaps something for a weekday evening. There’s plenty of kids near us, and two schools, so it’s an opportunity that’s worth more thought

Tomorrow we’ll cover the next steps – starting up and testing a micro-business.

Published December 29, 2011 & Filed in Discount Coder Chat

Tags: micro-business, research the best microbusiness

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