Do What You Love

As anyone who has followed small businesses over the years knows, there are favorable niches and there are not-so-favorable niches. The favorable niches offer ample opportunity for growth. For instance, as of this writing, a wide variety of technology and Internet-related sectors provide extremely achievable chances to succeed in a big way. Similarly, consumer electronics, bio-engineering, and, of course, software development currently offer excellent opportunities for growth. Meanwhile, a host of other niches, such as the airline, steel, and retail industries, provide more difficult and, thus, less favorable opportunities to succeed.

Neither of your humble authors has any idea what niches are going to be hot 10 or 20 years from now. But we do know that the best niche for you, whether you’re a current or wannabe small-business owner, should involve a product or service that you already know something about. And more importantly, your niche should involve a product or service that you can become passionate about. Jim ended up in sports-related niches because that’s where he was comfortable and because athletics were what he liked to do. Eric, meanwhile, matriculated into finance-related businesses because he had learned from the classes he took in college that that was where he belonged and that’s what made him happy.