There are as many small business ideas and opportunities as there are people, but many people still fall back on traditional means of doing business when considering starting one of their own.
By traditional I mean opening up a store and selling goods in a fixed location.
Not that this is a bad thing--countless people have succeeded this way.
Few, however, give online business opportunities the same weight or respect.
Before making any decision on what kind of business to go into, here are some tips.
Having been in a traditional business myself I am fully aware of the challenges and rewards.
The challenges are first and foremost the sizable amounts of money needed to get things going, and the risks of losing it all if the business fails.
There are also employees, health care benefits, insurance, inventory and any number of other things to consider.
The rewards can be high if your business succeeds, of course, plus the satisfaction and feelings of achievement when all goes well.
Small business opportunities online have many advantages.
There are usually no employees to hire, little inventory to stock, no storefronts to rent--and in many cases no or little investment to outlay.
Both traditional and online businesses have to have customers.
The storefront has a built-in visibility advantage over online businesses, but if the small businessman or woman online is crafty he or she can learn social media marketing techniques to drive customers to their sites and achieve the same results.
So, when considering a small business research both traditional and online opportunities.
Some of the wealthiest individuals in business in the past few years have come from the online world--think the creators of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and MySpace.
Be open-minded, keep your feet planted firmly on the ground, and as the saying goes--reach for the stars! There's a niche out there for you.