Finding the Opportunities

Business ideas are all around you. They are lurking in your garage, in your basement, in your kitchen, and in your children’s room. You’ll find them in magazine ads, at your neighbor’s house, and at work. Whether you’re starting up a business on the side as still employed elsewhere, a student or housewife searching additional income, or out of work and trying to find out what to do, there are a good deal of opportunities for you to start a side business cheaply.

To realize your small business dreams and make a good income, isn’t really that difficult. The difficulties lies in the matter of getting started, to take the very important first step.

What you will find here are the small business ideas as well as the inspiration and motivation to start your own small successful business. To have a small successful business is not reserved for a certain group of people. To be able to realize your small business ideas has nothing to do with luck, coincidence or destiny. It has to do with a successful evaluation.

Choose a business idea

Once you have decided that you have the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur and that you definitely want to go in business, then you must identify, decide and assess which business is best for you.
Download: List of business ideas

Business Guides by startups.co.uk

Perhaps the most difficult decision when looking to start up is finding the right industry. With so many new start ups already angling to make a name for themselves, the fear of picking the wrong industry at the wrong time, or even a lack of confidence in your grand idea, can make the whole process seem daunting and potentially persuade you not to start up. But do not fear.

To help you find your niche, we’ve listed a host of time-tested, expert-approved start up ideas. Want to join the legions of successful eBay start ups? Why not read the our guide on how to start a successful business on the online auction site. Maybe property development or estate agency are the start ups for you.

Maybe that recipe that makes you famous at dinner parties could make you famously wealthy on the high streets. Maybe you just want to get rid of those antiques in your attic. This channel provides information on potential business start ups that will get you on the right track.
View Business Guides

VISA Conducting a Market Analysis

Just as a mission statement guides the operation of your company, a customer profile will guide your sales effort. Develop an overview of your target customers so that you are clear about whom you are selling to.
Conducting a Market Analysis

Evaluating Your Business Idea

The University of Missouri has developed a Business Tool to Examine your business idea and determine your potential for success before you spend time and money developing a business plan. Honest answers to this feasibility study will identify areas of strength and concern and provide insight into your market, competitors, start-up costs, sales and financing to help you make an educated decision about moving forward.
Download: Business Tool to Examine your Idea
Provides tables to determine the financial requirements for both the start-up stage and the operating stage for three years. Also a basic guide to develop a business plan

Protecting Your Ideas

Intellectual property plays an important role in an increasingly broad range of areas, ranging from the Internet to health care to nearly all aspects of science and technology and literature and the arts.

Understanding the role of intellectual property in these areas - many of them still emerging - often requires significant new research and study. In an effort to promote informed discussion of the intellectual property issues involved in these fields, WIPO regularly produces various explanatory publications on current issues of interest.

A selection of the texts of these publications is available at WIPO web site. For issues related to Jamaica, visit JIPO website.
Download: JIPO's Guidelines

Estimate your Start Up Costs

The University of Missouri has developed worksheets for estimating start-up costs and annual sales and earnings. Forms can be filled out online using the free version of Adobe Reader 4.0 or above. Before your business can earn money, you will need to invest money in start-up costs. These costs are paid just one time and do not include your normal monthly expenses.

This worksheet will help you estimate your start-up costs. List the costs of items you have already purchased in the “purchased” column and those you still need in the “needed” column.
Download: Estimate your Start Up Costs

NOTE: You'll need Adobe's free Acrobat Reader, to read the PDF documents.