Finding New Business Opportunities

You don't have to invent a business to get started. You can buy one instead

By Greg Brown

Business magazines are full of gung-ho stories of college students who leap to overnight paper billionaires. Or, those who suffered for years to launch a game-changing concept. Fact is, most new businesses are much more pedestrian, and they are more successful sooner if you choose right.

Turn-key businesses comes in several flavors, including:

Business opportunities
Franchises
Existing businesses for sale

Getting the right fit for you is a matter of personality, but also of cash and your own patience. Here's how to pick the right path:

Consider becoming a rep, dealer or agent for a well-known brand

Big companies sell in many formats, including inside large-store chains, from stand-alone kiosks in malls, through vending machines and via independent dealers. Becoming an official representative or distributing goods can be a successful relationship with turnkey ease and little investment.
Try: BeTheBoss has an extensive list of business opportunities, like being a tax-preparer, stamped concrete installer and listing by-owner real estate.

Multi-level marketing: Okay, if you play it right

Also called network marketing, multi-level marketing programs have gotten a bad rap because of ponzi-scheme structures and the cult-like attitudes of some who join them. But getting in is cheap (a few hundred bucks) and selling to family and friends is as old as civilization itself.
Try: Stick with well-known brands and you'll turn connections into profits in no time. Avon and Mary Kay Cosmetics tend to dominate, but among the hotter network marketing opportunities of the moment are PS Parties (adult toys), Shure Pets (pet supplies), and WineShopAtHome. Financial houses like Edward Jones and Ameriprise, too, rely on individuals who can network and build a personal client base.

Franchising is not out of reach

Franchises can seem pricey, but only if your short list begins and ends with McDonald's. A decent, growing franchise can be had for $50,000 if you can demonstrate positive net worth and some business experience. A breakthrough brand – imagine if you had bought one of the first Starbucks coffee shops! – can be big bucks, especially if you double down and buy into several.
Try: Entrepreneur magazine's annual Franchise 500 breaks down the opportunities by cost, as do FranchiseGator and FranchiseSolutions.

Buy an existing store

If you have a good chunk of money to invest, it can be much easier to buy an existing, successful business than to grow one from the ground up. Why would anyone sell a good business? Their personal lives could demand it, and some are serial entrepreneurs, only happy if they are starting from scratch.
Try: BusinessDistrict and BizBuySell offer online classifieds of business for sale all over the country.

Part of succeeding in being a rep for a national brand is territory. Make sure you have in writing where you will sell and who can compete with you.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission watches over business opportunities carefully, but the chances of your being scammed are always high. If that envelope-stuffing job seems too good to be true, well, guess what, it is.
Entrepreneurship is truly not for everyone. Startups fail, and fail again. Getting back on the horse is what makes the difference between successful business owners and the rest of us, the employees.
Getting money for a franchise is not impossible: Your local banker often has a portion of capital reserved for just such lending.