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Need a few small business ideas? You've come to the right place!

Working from home or starting a small business is a dream of millions. Many just need a few ideas to get them going in the right direction. In this section you'll not only find plenty of great small business ideas, you'll also find tips on how to run a company and how to grow from a startup to a successful venture in a very short period of time.

You can succeed in business, and there are no secrets.

Most small businessman succeed because of 1 primary reason. They work hard, and the work smart. You must have a solid plan from the get go. No pie in the sky day dreaming, but a concrete plan of action to get you from point A to point B. Point B is of course business success.

How to develop your ideas.

The natural born entrepreneur knows he wants to be in business. The drive is there, the ambition to succeed, and the knowledge of what it's going to take. In some cases the only thing that's missing is the idea. The process for vetting business ideas is not complicated. You should start with a list of things that interest you, and hopefully you have a real passion for. Is there anything in there you could turn in to a business? If so, start compiling the pros and cons. If not continue on your quest with ideas that mesh well with your business experience

After you've compiled your list, and this is very important, step away from it for a few days. Then start the process all over. This is very difficult because generally one or two ideas stick in your mind and you can't get beyond the block. This isn't bad, but you need to look at the top choices in a different light. Is there something your missing? Some aspect of the business that isn't being done. This is how you carve out a niche. When you have truly narrowed down your list you need to do a free-form SWOT analysis. SWOT is an acronym for Strenghts, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. This doesn't have to be anything fancy, but it works best if you get a partner to bounce ideas off of. It doesn't necessarily even have to be a business person. Your husband or wife will work quite well, and possibly even better, because you'll get honest input. You need to go through the exercise with each of your top three to five ideas. Just like your business itself the ideas should start small. Also keep in mind that the SWOT analysis must be yours. You have your own strenghts and weaknesses that you must factor in to the equation.

The page to the right lists ideas for starting a business by category. Home based business are defined as working from your home and out of your home. Most of the small business ideas can be operated from a home office but they require you to leave to do the work. (It's hard to run a home cleaning business entirely from your home!). These are just a few things we hope can help you with your brainstorming. For each of these you'll that you consider you should perform your own SWOT analysis.

Business ideas during a recession or tough economic times.
When the economy starts to slow, people of course change their spending habits. A business like a concierge service or other personal services, may not fly. The better idea may be a repair, or consignment shop. Pay special attention when starting your business to companies around your area. You may be able to find bargains not just on product inventory, but on location as well. The economy shouldn't be the driving force in narrowing down your list of ideas, but it is a factor. If your idea is to start a business that caters to middle class consumers and disposable income, you may need to weight until the economy is on solid footing. So it's not just the concierge business, which caters to the wealthy, that you have to watch. Even a high end coffee shop business could have real problems.

When you've got your small business idea decided you'll need help getting it off the ground. We don't just give you the idea, we help you get started. The best place to begin is our step by step guide to starting a business. From there you may want to explore your business financing options. All businesses started out as small businesses. Keep in mind that as you develop your plan, your short term goals should be realistic, but your long term goals, and you need to plan for this continuosly, should be to take your small company up to the mid level, and then to a large level. I have made this mistake in the past (planning small) and when you have early success beyond your expectations, it becomes very easy to relax. A business must expand, or die. The death may be slow, but if you don't grow, you ultimately shrink, and someone else takes your customers, and your business.

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