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Market Trends - Frequently Asked Questions | |
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| | How do I know what business to start?
When deciding on the type of business to start, you should evaluate your own personal abilities and those of the other people who will be involved in the business. Identifying individual skills and differences of perception or opinion in the beginning can prevent conflicts later. Starting a business takes a lot of time and determination; therefore you need to have a passion for what it is you do. Focus your business idea on solving an existing consumer problem. By doing this, you will find it easier to market your product.
What type of businesses are people starting?
To give yourself a better chance of success, you should know your potential customer. You need to look at what customers are buying, what do they need and what problem do they need solved. You also need to look at demographics. We have an aging population. What do these people need? People’s needs change throughout their lifetime, so you need to constantly be evaluating what your customer needs. A couple of trends that have emerged are that people are looking for healthy food alternatives and also convenience. For the most part, we have very busy life styles and when given the chance, many consumers are choosing to slow things down by leaving the urban centres and spending some time in our rural communities.
Where can I get information on starting a business?
Lots of information can be found on the Alberta Agriculture and Forestry website or by calling Alberta Agriculture New Venture Specialist at 310-FARM (3276). There are lots of courses and workshops available and information can be found on our web site under coming events.
Identifying Alternatives – What are the Possibilities
Marketing – Will It Sell?
Prepared by Kathy Bosse, Ag-Info Centre, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry |
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For more information about the content of this document, contact Kathy Bosse.
This document is maintained by Marie Glover.
This information published to the web on January 16, 2004.
Last Reviewed/Revised on October 24, 2018.
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