Looking to start my own business and need advice!?

I am currently unemployed in Houston and I am tired of working for other people. I want to start my own business and work for myself. I was trying to think of some ideas of what type of business I can start. I was thinking of opening a hot dog stand or something. Does anyone know of any good small business ideas you can think of that I can start. I really want to start my own business and work my way up. Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.Looking to start my own business and need advice!?
You need to learn how to wash windows with a squeegee, bucket and pole. You need to go to everyone you know and ask them for the chance to do their place monthly for 50 cents a pane outside and work on the shadowed side of the buildings. You can do restaurants in trade for food and independently owned gas stations for gas. I did this and drove from so cal to washington and back in the summer of '70 and came home with $350.00 I didn't spend along the way if there was no surf I found windows to wash when I was hungry I washed diners windows in trade for food. a double door all glass at the mall would take an expert 2 minutes to wash spotless that's $30.00 an hourLooking to start my own business and need advice!?
If you want to start your own business, you need to do something you are passionate about, and something that is in demand. The economy offers a lot of opportunities to see what can be done better for less. People are looking for value right now, so if you can provide it, go for it. I have a business that I'm involved in that is awesome, but I can't post anything about it cuz I'll get my answer deleted. You can go into my profile and check out my site or email me directly if you would like. Good luck in whichever venture you decide on!
if you started your own business your would not be working your way up.. because thats exaclty what your trying to avoid right now. i think you should reserach alot more and give this alot of thought. make sure todays economy is in mind when you do this. and think a little bigger then a hit dog stand please. your better then that.
do not ever seek biz start-up ideas from others.





look into yourself. see what you have always wanted to do


or loved to do; your PASSION in life. Convert that to a biz.


I can help
Actually, we ran a 'break truck' business for a long time and it paid very well. Got to be too much as we got older though.





On a hot dog stand they have carts for sale that roast or steam the dogs and keep the buns hot, too and they range in price from used $800 to new 3,000. The carts will hook up to your car or vehicle and can be moved around. They also have carts with deep fryers, ovens etc for varied prices. I would start out by looking the newspaper's want ads first.





Location is so important though. In Houston, do they have hot dog carts on downtown street corners? You need to pick a busy streetcorner. Roasted dogs are best because a) the fragrance and b) you can also steam corn on the cob while roasting dogs.





If they don't do that on the street corners then check out the malls. There is a fee for setting up in the inside mall areas though and sometimes it is just too pricey to make a go of it. There is a hot dog cart in Denver that has $1 dogs for sale and does a stand in line business every lunch. I'm sure he uses the very cheapest hot dogs he can buy and he does have 'better quality' dogs for sale at a bit more money.





If you can find some cart that you can steam several things in though that is best. Cinnamon rolls work good in a steamer as does corn on the cob and BBQ beef sandwiches and pizza works if well pkg'd in foil.





It is fairly easy to get into also with the lower investment fee. But be sure to check out if there are areas that ARE available and how much mall costs would be if needed..etc. You can also usually get permission to come to other gatherings on weekends like Little League games or other local events.





You may as well resign yourself though that you will need a couple thousand dollars to get it going and enough to live on until it really starts to make money.





If you go online to www.sba.gov it gives you a wealth of information on everything you need to know about new business startup, marketing, etc etc and there is also 'local sources' which are a group of retired business people in your area that are willing to advise and help you. They also have a small business chat room.





I found the 'search' their site option to help somewhat. As far as the 'info' you need though to start a business or plan a strategy I think you will find all the answers there and they are free.





Just an aside - you can get into the 'shirt' printing business pretty cheap too. But you have to market, and have someplace to sell them - there is a site on Yahoo Groups at this addy


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Heat_Trans鈥?/a>





Where you can find information on this business. I always think 'food' is going to be better than decorated garments during this kind of economy though. FYI you can buy frozen corn on the cob so it can be yr around.





We have a heat press and embroidery business but are not doing as well with the economy as it is.





Good luck!





Good luck!