I am well aware that the current economy is forcing people to consider starting a small business of their own. This makes sense because you can only take the rejection of applying for a new job and not getting any replies back for so long.

Plus we all need to make money to survive!

So if you are going to start a business of your own you need to consider if your business idea is any good. The worst thing you can do is go into business for yourself and fail very quickly.

Here are some questions to ask yourself. Hopefully you get the answer you are looking for.

1. Will your business help someone? I saw a former vice president of a major corporation on the Mike Huckabee show recently.

After being unemployed for almost a year he and his wife opened a "pooper scooper" business. This is not the most glamorous business, but there is certainly a need for it and it most certainly answers the question of whether the business would help someone in a positive way.

2. Can you make money at it? There is no sense going into business for yourself if you can not earn a living doing it. As long as you can make money and get paid you have a viable business idea.

3. Can you do it? There are plenty of businesses I would like to be in that I would never be able to do.

As the business owner you need to be good at what you do, or at the very least be able to hire somebody who is.

For example, I know heating contractors who are not especially good at installing furnaces, but they are very good at selling them. They hire employees to do the installations and they earn a very good living with their business.

4. Do you know how to market your business idea online? The Internet today is extremely important in promoting any small business.

If your business is in primarily a local market you will need to come up with effective advertising and marketing strategies to promote locally. The Internet can help you immensely in this regard.

5. Is there an opportunity for you to grow your business? This is a challenge that many small business owners face.

Depending on the size of your market you may be limited in your growth. The number of competitors in your market may limit your growth as well.

These are a few things to consider before you start a small business of your own. It all starts with analyzing your business idea and determining if it is any good to begin with.