Everyone that starts a business has to begin somewhere. There are several items on this page that I believe will be useful to you as you begin your quest for a successful business. I have included questions for you to think about when considering opening a business. As you begin, you will want to travel to the various merchandise shows in Chicago, Las Vegas, Atlanta, and New York. I have been to many of these shows and found most of my sources at them. One of the biggest problems faced by people that want to open a business is not knowing where to start. In this article, I give you several questions to answer. Some of them are easy to answer, but some of them need lots of research. No one that I know likes to make other people rich. But where do you begin when you want to open your own business. I will attempt to have you thinking about what will be the best idea that you can start that will have long term benefits. There are thousands of businesses that open one year and are closed by the next. What will make yours different? Before you begin, ask yourself the following questions: 1. What do I want to sell? This is a straight forward question, but one that takes a lot of thought. What interests you? Sometimes, what interests you is not the best business to be in due to competition. However, it is a good place to start. 2. Where do I want to open the store? Location, Location, Location! 3. Who will be my customers? Am I taking them from my competition, or am I creating a new market? 4. Do I have enough money to get me through the slow times? There will be slow times. Can I still pay my bills? 5. Is there lots of competition? If there is, can I be better than them? 6. What can I do better than the competition? What points are they missing? 7. Do I want to have a website? Is my business suitable for online business? 8. Where can I get fixtures for a good price? New ones are very expensive. 9. Are there any restrictions at the location? Make sure I can open my business where I want to. 10. How do I buy items wholesale? Last but not least, where do I get my items? I hope this article gets you to thinking about questions that you may have before you begin your business. You will have hundreds more before you get started. So sit back, relax, and begin your journey. One of the best ways that I know of to find out information on just about any business is through Entrepreneur Magazine. I have been a subscriber to this magazine I guess for 15 years. Check it out. It's well worth it
