| A business opportunity is your own special idea for a | | | | Age: |
| product or service you can sell successfully. In order | | | | The baby boomers are aging. In the 80s, the baby |
| to find your own niche as an entrepreneur, there are | | | | boomers created a bulge in the population in the age |
| a few important things to consider. First, you should | | | | category of 35 to 44. In the 90s, the baby boomers |
| analyze the population changes and shifts in your local | | | | will be 45 to 54 years old. What impact will this have |
| community that create market opportunities. In | | | | on the market? Most baby boomers have already |
| addition, you should carefully consider your own | | | | purchased the basics for their home. In the 90s, if |
| interests, activities, and abilities. This last part is | | | | they buy anything for their home, they are looking |
| especially important. Development of a product or | | | | for quality. In addition, the aging baby boomers will |
| service that will sell requires creativity and knowledge, | | | | probably increase the demand for health care service. |
| so it's best to draw your ideas from that which you | | | | The baby boomers produced a shadow baby boom, |
| know best. | | | | which includes current middle school students. In the |
| The people a business serves are its market. Your | | | | 90s, the children of the baby boomers ranged in age |
| market, for example, might be your friends, | | | | from toddlers to college students. Although these |
| neighbors, classmates at school, or colleagues at your | | | | children represent a smaller hump in the population |
| current job. What might these people want to buy? | | | | than the baby boomers, many of them have more |
| No one knows the answer better than you do. | | | | material possessions than their parents did at the |
| You might not realize it yet, but you have unique | | | | same age. For example, children of baby boomers |
| knowledge that will help you to develop a business | | | | have more technological equipment than their parents |
| idea. Your everyday life is constantly providing | | | | did. |
| information about market opportunities: What do | | | | There are more elderly in the population than ever |
| your friends like? What do your parents do on | | | | before. They need products and services that help |
| weekends? What are some problems in your | | | | them to live full lives. It is no wonder that the home |
| community? Answers to these questions might lead | | | | health care industry and retirement housing is |
| you to a business opportunity. | | | | booming. |
| The great thing about entrepreneurship is that your | | | | Lifestyles: |
| success is not limited by your abilities or education. | | | | With the increase in dual career families, time is very |
| You should never feel that you are not good enough, | | | | important. Dual career families are buying many |
| or creative enough, or smart enough to succeed. | | | | products and services to help them save time running |
| The goal of an entrepreneur is to figure out what he | | | | the household. House cleaning services, day care |
| or she can sell that consumers need to buy. The | | | | centers, and lawn care services are all becoming |
| most important thing an entrepreneur needs for | | | | more popular. So are fast-food restaurants, |
| success is a vision of what consumers need. | | | | particularly those that prepare entire "home-style" |
| Sometimes entrepreneurs can imagine, or envision a | | | | meals for take-out. Think about the young |
| need that other people don't see immediately. Think | | | | entrepreneur we mentioned above, who knows a lot |
| about some of the things we take for granted | | | | about cooking and wants to start a catering business. |
| today, like televisions. The companies that invented | | | | She might decide to target her service to working |
| and marketed the first televisions imagined an | | | | families, providing nutritional meals for them to share. |
| unprecedented home entertainment system. Before | | | | Americans are becoming increasingly concerned about |
| then, most families were happy with their radios, and | | | | the environment and the importance of recycling. |
| didn't feel a specific need for a new form of | | | | Many products come with labels that indicate if they |
| entertainment. But as you know, today most families | | | | or their packaging was produced in an |
| have televisions - to the point where we almost feel | | | | environmentally-friendly manner. Other trends we |
| like we "need" them. Another example: computer | | | | might observe include interest in health and fitness, |
| entrepreneurs saw a future with computers in every | | | | and an interest in the Internet and |
| family's home well before people could imagine using | | | | telecommunications. |
| a computer regularly. | | | | You can turn into an entrepreneur by turning |
| Changes in the business environment create | | | | everyday experiences into business opportunities. |
| opportunities for entrepreneurs. Successful new | | | | Learn to look at life differently: If something is |
| businesses are usually created to meet a specific | | | | inconvenient or troublesome, imagine a solution... and |
| need in the society. So, what does society, or the | | | | there's a business opportunity. If you use a product |
| market, need? Let's start by looking at shifts in the | | | | in a new way, you could redesign it ... and there's a |
| general population's age and lifestyle. | | | | business opportunity. |