How To Pick A Niche For Your Business Startup

Completely dumbfounded in choosing a business niche for your new startup venture? With an entire beach of possible options, it can be difficult to find that one grain of sand that could represent your perfect niche business. Help is at hand, as we look at some strategies to help you pick the right business niche for your startup.

Consider the following questions and pointers as you go about whittling down your potential options:

1. Which Type Of Business Category Are You Suited For? The first step in identifying a niche is to understand the major types of business you can set-up. These fall under four main umbrellas – Retailing, wholesale, manufacturing and service. You’ll almost certainly be setting up a startup that will be doing one of these. Now’s a good time to ask if you have any experience or preference toward any one of the above categories.

2. What Do You Like? While not everyone can be fortunate enough to start a business in a pet field that they love, it’s certainly good work if you can get it. Make a list of niches and topics that truly interest you, and ask what possible business can you start from it? What other types of businesses already exist in that field – there’s no need to re-invent the wheel, if it has been done before it can be done again, only with a nice little USP attached.

3. What Existing Skills & Experience Do You Have. This can be very different to what you actually love. I love football for example, but I know there’s more chance of me sprouting wings and flying to the moon than ever playing for Manchester United! By jotting down an inventory of your existing key skills and experiences, you can leverage them within any new business you start up. For instance, if you are a qualified accountant and you also have experience programming apps, you could create a business that specializes in finance & accounting apps for business. It’s simply a matter of merging your skills, experience and perhaps even contacts into a new business.

4. What’s HOT Right Now?  Take a few moments to tap into research that you can access for free. For example, Google Trends is a free research tool that can tell you the hottest new trends as they form. Additionally, the Google Adwords tool can tell you how many searches are being performed for keywords that you may wish to explore further. Trends change over time of course, but it’s important to start a business that has some level of appeal, and some paying customers too.

5. What Type Of Industry Would Suit Your Personality Type. Ultimately, you’ll want to run a business that, hard work as it might be, will be enjoyable. Some personality types are just more suited to specific types of business. If you’re a bubbly extrovert, your outgoing style may be perfectly suited to a setting up a retail establishment where you’re constantly in contact with people. It’s broadly the same with the service sector, where creating customer relationships are highly important. For the more anti social startup owner, a web based business might be a good starting point to explore.

6. What Type Of Business Can You Afford. Finally, there’s that little question of money. I’d like enough money to buy and run Manchester United, unfortunately it’s unlikely to ever happen. Similarly, you have to cut your cloth according to size – how much funding will your ideal business require to startup? If you simply cannot afford it, what business startups are available within your available league of equity?