A business opportunity , or bizopp , involves the sale or lease of any product, service, equipment, etc. that will enable the purchaser-licensee to begin a business. The licensor or seller of a business opportunity usually declares that it will secure or assist the buyer in finding a suitable location or provide the product to the purchaser-licensee. This is different from the sale of an independent business, in which there is no continued relationship required by the seller.

Examples of biz-opps classified advertisements are:

• $3500 Weekly! Work From Home!
• Real Results Now! $360k 1st Year! No Gimmicks!
• $$ Make $1000+ per week... EVERY WEEK! $$
• Hottest Opportunity Ever (Numbers don't lie)!!
• Get 96 sites for $7,795. Then Retire! Call 1-800-XXX-XXXX.
• Many People Earn $36,000/year in Income, But . . . Very Few Earn $30,000/year working only five-six hours per week.
• Access products at below wholesale pricing you can sell for HUGE profits!!

The use of a toll-free telephone number makes it difficult for customers to immediately identify the company's geographical location. Moreover, a company can own many 1-800 numbers, using a different one for each area in which it advertises. In the event of consumer complaints, this thwarts investigators from recognizing the connection between biz-ops listings in various newspapers.

A common type of business opportunity involves a company that sells bulk vending machines and promises to secure suitable locations for the machines. The purchaser is counting on the company to find locations where sales will be high enough to enable him to recoup his expenses and make a profit. Because of the many cases of fraudulent biz-ops in which companies have not followed through on their promises, or in which profits were much less than what the company led the investor to believe, governments closely regulate these operations.

Multi-level marketing is often presented as a business opportunity, such as the phrase, "Let me tell you about an incredible ground-level business opportunity."

In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission receives complaints and helps coordinate enforcement action against fraudulent business opportunities^[1].

A business opportunity consists of four integrated elements all of which are to be present within the same timeframe (window of opportunity) and most often within the same domain or geographical location, before it can be claimed as a business opportunity. These four elements are:

• A need
• The means to fullfill the need
• A method to apply the means to fullfill the need and;
• A method to benefit

With anyone of the elements missing, a business opportunity may be developed, by finding the missing element. The more unique the combination of the elements, the more unique the business opportunity. The more control an insititution (or individual) has over the elements, the better they are positioned to exploit the opportunity and become a niche market leader.

References

1. ↑ http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/bizopps/ FTC: Business Opportunities

External links

• Investor Bulletin: Business Opportunity Fraud, State of Connecticut Department of Banking, July 1995.
• Federal Business Opportunities Official federal government procurement opportunities allowing contractors to retrieve services posted by government buyers.
• Office of Women's Business Ownership The Office of Women's Business Ownership (OWBO)
• U.S. Small Business Administration
• RURAL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY GRANTS (RBOG)