One of the quickest routes to a business failure is to pick a niche that doesn’t have the potential to bring in the profits you’re looking for. The way to discover which niche has the ability to make money is easy. You have to do your research.

First, you’re going to want to select a niche that you’re personally interested in – even if it’s one that you don’t know a lot about. You can always learn what you need to know, but if the niche is too technical or you consider it boring, you’re going to be as happy working on it as you would be getting a tooth pulled.

Choose a niche that not only interests you, but one that you feel excited about working on. That way, you’ll stay pumped up and eagerly look forward to growing your business. To find a niche that’ll bring in the kind of money you’re after, seek what the big companies look for.

What are the hot selling items? You don’t have to know this off the top of your head. Look for these top selling items on sites such as Amazon or eBay or other market websites.

The bestsellers (just check to see what ranking the items have) will tell you what the pulse of the people buying is. So for example, if you see that on Amazon, a product sells well enough to be in the top ten, you know you’re onto something. Let’s say one of those products was a brand new fitness gadget and they were selling like hotcakes. You’d find plenty of potential by tapping into that market.

You’ll want to check out the self-help books to see what’s selling there. Books on depression, weight loss, and relationships always sell well and that’s a clue to let you know that the market is and always will be wide open for self help niches and the products that you can buy dealing with that subject.

If you become an affiliate, you’ll want to pay attention to the dollar amount you’ll earn by becoming an affiliate rather than the percent of commission. You’ll earn more money that way. Look for tangible products for your niche as well.

Make sure you don’t make the mistake of setting up a niche based on what’s considered a here today, gone tomorrow item. Remember the Beanie Babies? They were all the rage and people just couldn’t get enough of them. But where are they now? They fell off the scene because they were just a fad. You want to seek out a niche that has long term potential so that your business will thrive now and for many years to come.