Which type of business is the best one to own? The short answer is one that makes money, but the long answer is that it should have all or some of the following characteristics:
Simple product or service: The more complex the product or service you are offering, the harder it is to operate your business. For example, it is much more difficult to train someone to be a management consultant than a server at a restaurant, although some restaurateurs might think otherwise.
Recurring and/or predictable revenue: Subscription-based services receive recurring payments on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis, which tend to be highly predictable. A project-based business performs a service, gets paid, and has to find another customer, whereas, a subscription-based business may have no known end date or automatic renewals. A perfect example is a software company, but another example is a landscaper. A landscaper may not be thought of as a subscription-based business, but it actually is.
Cash in before cash out: Selling a product or service and then waiting to get paid can drain your cash resources, especially if you are growing. Ideally, you want to operate a business that receives cash up front and then pays expenses.
Low capital investment: If you need to invest large amounts of cash upfront for improvements and equipment then it creates a hurdle to overcome. This is especially true if you do not have a lot of cash and are using debt because the debt payments act as a handicap to your success. On the other hand, if you just need to rent a small office to start your therapy practice, then the risk is much lower.
Economic profits: Did you know that many small businesses do not produce much of an economic profit? For example, if you start your own medical practice and then make as much as you did as an employee then there is no economic profit. Although, you do have to give it a few years to determine this.
Easily scalable: This means that you can easily duplicate your success by either opening more locations or growing your operations easily without relying on the owner exclusively. A perfect example is a franchise, which has a blueprint to run the business smoothly. A bad example is a niche-consultant who works one on one with clients.
The interesting fact to note is that almost any business can modify its strategy to have the desirable traits above. The complex can simplify their offerings, services or products can be made recurring, and profits can be grown to more desirable levels.
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