Choosing the Best Business Idea

This article was written by Brad Sugars of Entrepreneur.com

I love talking about choosing a great business idea because it's one of the most exciting and fundamental parts of starting a business. But thinking up a great idea is just the first step -- it's critical that you take the time to thoroughly examine the idea that's to become your future livelihood.

As most business owners eventually learn, it's not the person running the business, the marketing or the employees that make or break a company's success -- it's the quality and profitability of the idea behind the company.

When you go into business, you have to look at the idea or opportunity driving it from a different angle than you might assume. Most people wrongly choose a business based on one of two personal biases:

• It's a business they already know. The hairdresser opens a salon, the lawyer his or her own practice and so on. Generally, a huge mistake. They're thinking about the job -- not the business. Just because you're a good chef doesn't mean you know how to run a restaurant. More important, it doesn't mean a restaurant would be successful in your market.

• It's a product or service they've fallen in love with. Again, just because you love something doesn't mean a profitable business will come of it. This is especially true for first-time entrepreneurs. Learning to run a business is hard enough; you don't need to make it any harder by doing something you love rather than something customers love paying you a good profit for.

How can you be sure your intriguing idea is also something from which you can truly make a profit? There are three essential considerations:

• Make sure the product or service has a repeat buy. This is by far the most important aspect of long-term business success. You have to have a product or service that people will keep buying. It's better and more profitable, in my opinion, to have a pool-cleaning company than a pool building company. Put another way, a business owner should focus on getting a customer once, but making a profit from that person for a very long time.