I get several e-mails a week in my inbox with franchise opportunities and home business ideas. I’m not sure how I got on lists to receive these—perhaps from visiting web sites that were dedicated to providing information to the entrepreneur and persons interested in home businesses. Many of us get an inkling that we’d like to start and operate a home business long before we ever know exactly what sort of business we’d like to run—while others stumble into running a home business by pursuing a passion or interest in a particular field.
Entrepreneurial magazines and business publications offer pretty reliable resources for good business ideas. I’ve been able to glean more from these magazines at my local bookstore than I ever imagined. Business start-up ideas, reports on what is and isn’t working, as well as information about businesses with predicted bright and profitable futures. There are great web sites too. The forums here on Families.com are one good place to chat with other home business owners and find out what is and isn’t working for folks.
I’m also a big advocate of the library. My library has a big “business” section and keeps books and resources on current small and home-based businesses. Between the library and our local chamber of commerce, I feel pretty informed about what the trends are in small and home-based businesses. The chamber of commerce gives me the opportunity to actually connect with other small, home-based business operators in my area to find out what other people are up to in their businesses.
I’d be interested in hearing from some of the other home business folks that visit our site—where did you get the ideas for your home-based business and where do you go in order to keep up on entrepreneurial issues or to look for more ideas for possible businesses (or business operation tips)?
See Also: Changing Your Home Business and So, You Have an Idea for a Business–Now What?