A business opportunity — what is it really? It can be a number of things. Even something as mundane as vending machines is being marketed as the best business opportunity under the sun. Yes, build an empire of these and get rich!

According to Wikipedia, a business opportunity exists if there is a need, and you have the means to fulfill that need while making money doing it. Take an example: skin problems — such as acne, which many people have problems with. OK, you sell them some information on how to deal with acne, or a product that gets rid of acne. There you have it — a fine business opportunity.

Another simple example: dog training. Dogs are very popular pets — and there are always some of those dogs that have behaviour problems. Then you can sell these folks a book on how to train your dog. Put briefly; you make dollars if you reach out and help real people solve real problems. It is a real win-win situation.

Another big niche is the self-help area. People want to improve not only their dogs but also themselves, in various ways. There are many examples — from weight loss to finding your soul mate. If you can provide people with some type of solution to things like these, then you’re in business.

It isn’t tangible things you sell to people — rather, it is dreams you provide them with. What I mean by that is that oftentimes the important part is not what a product really does, but rather how it makes people feel.

People buy things to feel better. Some products really have no other function. Why do women use perfumes? The reason is of course that they feel better about themselves by using perfumes and such cosmetics.

Enormous amounts of money are made by companies which have understood how to capitalize on the basic human need to feel good. There is the trivial example of product packaging. Companies spend a great deal of money just to find out stuff like what color a box of laundry detergent should have to be most appealing to customers.

So, when thinking about business opportunities, think in terms of how you can make people feel better. You could for example create an ebook on how to lose weight while eating your favorite foods. Do you think you could make it so your readers get a warm fuzzy feeling about themselves — if so you are right on track.