So in business as in life, it might be said that finding your niche is the key to success. And the things which you are truly passionate about are as good a place to start as any. I suggest you begin by brainstorming a list of ten such things. Start wi

They had their setbacks, no doubt, but dealt with these confidently and comfortably in the knowledge that they were securely embarked on their true course in life.

Most of us are not so lucky, and if we come eventually to the idea (the very sound idea) that our future lies in having our own business we face a bewildering range of possibilities, to say nothing of the untold hazards and pitfalls.

So the question is: just where do you start?

Richard Branson, multi-millionaire creator of the Virgin empire, is one stupendously successful entrepreneur who has no doubt. “Have fun and the money will come”, he likes to say. Easy enough for him you might think; for who needs to worry about their niche when their empire includes music, media and books; an airline; holiday and rail companies; personal finance and credit cards; cell phones and now, with Virgin Galactic, even space tourism!

But Branson’s first successful operation was a student newspaper, which quickly branched out into selling records by mail order, almost an archetypal niche operation. Why did he start there? Simply because it was what he knew about, and what he loved to do.

So in business as in life, it might be said that finding your niche is the key to success. And the things which you are truly passionate about are as good a place to start as any. I suggest you begin by brainstorming a list of ten such things. Start wit

Most of us are not so lucky, and if we come eventually to the idea (the very sound idea) that our future lies in having our own business we face a bewildering range of possibilities, to say nothing of the untold hazards and pitfalls.

So the question is: just where do you start?

Richard Branson, multi-millionaire creator of the Virgin empire, is one stupendously successful entrepreneur who has no doubt. “Have fun and the money will come”, he likes to say. Easy enough for him you might think; for who needs to worry about their niche when their empire includes music, media and books; an airline; holiday and rail companies; personal finance and credit cards; cell phones and now, with Virgin Galactic, even space tourism!

But Branson’s first successful operation was a student newspaper, which quickly branched out into selling records by mail order, almost an archetypal niche operation. Why did he start there? Simply because it was what he knew about, and what he loved to do.

So in business as in life, it might be said that finding your niche is the key to success. And the things which you are truly passionate about are as good a place to start as any. I suggest you begin by brainstorming a list of ten such things. Start wi

So the question is: just where do you start?

Richard Branson, multi-millionaire creator of the Virgin empire, is one stupendously successful entrepreneur who has no doubt. “Have fun and the money will come”, he likes to say. Easy enough for him you might think; for who needs to worry about their niche when their empire includes music, media and books; an airline; holiday and rail companies; personal finance and credit cards; cell phones and now, with Virgin Galactic, even space tourism!

But Branson’s first successful operation was a student newspaper, which quickly branched out into selling records by mail order, almost an archetypal niche operation. Why did he start there? Simply because it was what he knew about, and what he loved to do.

So in business as in life, it might be said that finding your niche is the key to success. And the things which you are truly passionate about are as good a place to start as any. I suggest you begin by brainstorming a list of ten such things. Start wi

But Branson’s first successful operation was a student newspaper, which quickly branched out into selling records by mail order, almost an archetypal niche operation. Why did he start there? Simply because it was what he knew about, and what he loved to do.

So in business as in life, it might be said that finding your niche is the key to success. And the things which you are truly passionate about are as good a place to start as any. I suggest you begin by brainstorming a list of ten such things. Start wi

So in business as in life, it might be said that finding your niche is the key to success. And the things which you are truly passionate about are as good a place to start as any. I suggest you begin by brainstorming a list of ten such things. Start with a blank piece of paper and be totally honest. But don’t restrict yourself to the things you do now or have done in the past. Include your dreams - the things you’re certain you’d love to do if you only had the chance (and getting this business going, by the way, is far the best way to give yourself that chance). The reality check comes later. For the moment, just let your imagination run riot.

Now that you’ve got your first list, put it to one side for the moment. And get ready to begin the next. What we want now is a list of the things you know most about, are good at doing, or would like to spend time researching (such as the things you dream of doing from your first list). One tip: don’t neglect your day job here. As much as you may long to escape from it, your work experience can be a rich source of skills, knowledge and expertise. And I use the word “rich” advisedly, here. Customers will often pay handsomely for this kind of “hands on” know-how.

Once again, shoot for a list of ten items. You’ll find that this list overlaps substantially, but will probably not be identical with, your first one. For as much as I love to play golf, I can’t kid myself my level of expertise will ever trouble Tiger Woods. You get the idea. But cross-matching your lists you should find a number of items that feature in the top five of both.

Now’s whe