In order to determine what kind of business you should start, you need to make an assessment of the opportunities and resources that are available to you. Some things to consider are your personal skills, talents, experiences, as well as your likes and dislikes. Ideally, the venture you choose should be something that you enjoy doing, that is in line with your available knowledge, expertise and physical resources, and that has long-term economic potential.

Many sites offer a series of focused questions or points of consideration to help you evaluate your options so you can choose the most practical and potentially successful business idea. Here are a few sites to start with:

• The SBA’s Small business Primer. The course features a short, interactive assessment form.

• http://www.liraz.com/feasible.htm. A guided series of questions to consider before starting your business

• http://www.breitlinks.com/careers/. A list of entrepreneur self assessment tests