The first step to any successful business is to find out about the quality of the business opportunity you are planning to start. You should know what you must look for. The following are a few qualities that you need to check before you start any business. There are more, of course, but these are the ones that you should absolutely not miss out on: The business should have enough targeted customer base. Now, what do we mean by that? Let's say you are planning to start a home-based business. You will need to look for a business that is more in demand. Where need is high and supply is less, you can have a better scope of success. Take the example of SEO opportunities for freelancers. You can do this from home without any high investment. In this niche, the requirement on your part is very high and you are bound to do well if you put in the right effort, because the professionals here are fewer. You need such an opportunity. The business should have a good breakeven point. If your business doesn't have that, then you need to have large amount of working capital. Making a project report that tells how much you will have to put in and how much you will get from the business, and when, is a great idea. Your interest in the business you start is highly important. There are many people who start a business looking at its potential, but don't reach the level they desire, primarily because they don't have much interest in the business itself. Before starting with the business opportunity, see to it that you get proper resources on time, like manpower, guidance, consulting, financial credit if needed, infrastructure, etc. Check before only if your business is over competitive or over in demand, if competitiveness is very high it will be difficult for you to get established in the business soon. So, in summary, you need to check out all the pluses and minuses of the business opportunity before you plan to start anything. Once you start, it can get very difficult to stop. Being forewarned is being better-armed.