There’s a big difference between a trend and a fad. Though it is possible to start and then grow a wildly successful business that revolves around a fad—think products tend to burn hot and fast and therefore usually extinguish themselves before a year or two has passed. The upside is that you can make a lot of money in a short period of time, which you can then use to start another business, preferably one with more staying power. The downside is that it’s virtually impossible to predict which products will develop into the full-blown fads that will have every American kid and adult clamoring for them.
Though it’s nice to dream about striking it rich, developing a fad is akin to winning the lottery. Most aspiring entrepreneurs realize that they’re better off selecting a business that takes advantage of trends that may start off slowly, but will be around for the long haul, changing along the way and therefore creating even more markets in which to sell to a current and loyal customer base.
One important development to be aware of, and one that will be touched on a number of times, is that the American economy has switched from its long-standing roots as a manufacturing-based economy to one in which businesses that provide services prevail. This trend is only bound to continue to grow, and anybody who’s looking to start a new business had better take this into account since manufacturing jobs are becoming scarce, as large and small companies have found they can save significant amounts of money by sending some of their jobs overseas.
However, at least one aspect of the manufacturing economy is growing in the United States. Companies that manufacture products the way they used to be made—with painstaking attention to detail, an eye towards the craft of the item, and the hand of a skilled craftsman—are growing as their quality becomes glaringly apparent when placed next to the mass-marketed products that most Americans buy. In other words, entrepreneurs who wish to start a business producing handmade furniture, boats, or other finely crafted items will thrive . . . in part because the thriving service economy has brought great wealth to many Americans who are able to afford these hand-crafted, rare items. So as the number of service-oriented businesses grow, so will these specialized manufacturing companies, which often begin as a one-person home business.
