The end of the journey

These rules now bring us to the climactic end of the book, the point at which the whole trilogy of books has been working towards: the choice of a business opportunity to pursue.

It's taken two years of contemplation and investigation; through the period of the dotcom bubble, where all kinds of mistakes have been made and lessons learned. The progress of hundreds of companies have been followed; thousands of Web articles and hundreds of newsletter have been read. It has involved listening in and taking part in many different Internet discussion forums; meeting all kinds of people in real life; attending seminars and exhibitions. This past two years have been very busy.

Of most value has been the book writing and the virtual cafe. It gave me the opportunity to express ideas, thoughts and observations and have intelligent and informed comments and opinions criticise and modify them. Over two hundred people have contributed to the conclusions reached. Not all agreed with them, but those opposing views and opinions have been taken into serious consideration.

Although I've tried to keep the content as generic as possible, it is unavoidably biased towards my own particular situation: a life long entrepreneur who is as much concerned with interest, life style and personal freedom as with pursuing a profitable goal. This has meant the content and conclusions are not universally applicable. However, there should be enough useful sections to offer some value to everyone, even though they may have no intention of creating their own business.

The final choice of business I finish up with is of course highly personal. It has to be because, as will be obvious from the rules, it must take account of my personal situation and assets. It must involve the particular knowledge and experience I've acquired during my life. It reflects the personal contacts I've made and the opportunities that have come my way. It also takes into account my shortcomings, the limitations of my knowledge and expertise, my physical location and state of finances. Everyone will have a unique and different set of factors that influence their choice of business opportunity. For what it is worth, here is the choice I made.