A: ii) Deciding on the right business 

• Do you have a long held ambition to run a business?
  
• Is it based on an idea you have had experience of, either through work, as a hobby, or from personal experience? 
  
• Do you want to copy an idea that you have seen elsewhere, and think you have a market for it? 

You are far more likely to succeed if you have relevant previous experience or knowledge, rather than go in blindly. Another avenue can be that of developing part time interests/hobbies, into a full time business.    It can be very useful and informative to view other businesses in the same area that you want to trade with, and talk with them, if possible (Usually in a different geographical area from that which you intend to operate, and for which you pose no threat); it is possible to gain a substantial amount of helpful information in this way.

Planning and preparation is essential to the success of any business, and starting a new business has a higher risk of failure, than purchasing an existing one. 

It can be very helpful if you have a partner/spouse who can continue in paid employment until you are able to build the business to a level where you can take out an income.  It is also extremely helpful to have a partner/spouse who can take a detached view of the business, and give you their observations.  It is very easy to spend long hours on/in the business, and for you to be unable to make objective decisions when you are tired or busy.

You must also consider the hours that you will have to work, usually ‘far more than the opening hours of the business’, and the effect that this will have upon your family/personal/social life.  It is easy to underestimate the time that you will need to devote to your business, and weekends/holidays/evenings out often have to be sacrificed, especially in the early stages, for the success of the enterprise.

Another significant factor is the cost of starting a new business to that of purchasing one, the timescale for you to become profitable, and your ability to raise/borrow the money that you will need to start/purchase your business.

YES: Then you must decide on whether to start up a business or purchase one.

NO: Can you gain experience/training by working in the relevant sector of your choice?( If you want to run a freehouse pub, for example, it would assist you if you had experience of working in a pub and detailed knowledge of what is involved , or better still if you had been a relief manager where you would have been working in a wide variety of locations, gained experience of most of the aspects involved and been able to assess what works(or not) and why!

If you want to work with the public, and have no previous experience other than as a customer, take a part time retail position (shop/supermarket) to assess your suitability.