Finding small business ideas is a task you can approach systematically by relying on time-tested approaches that have worked for other entrepreneurs. No matter whether you're looking to start a low-investment business on the side or you'd prefer to go all-in on your idea, the best way to find a product to sell starts with asking questions:

Entrepreneurs are often too dismissive of small markets. Yes, the market size should match your ambitions from the business, but the opportunity size of a specific niche is determined by a few other dimensions. For example, if a product category has relatively few active customers, but the price of the product is relatively high and requires repurchase, that's an attractive opportunity that founders focused on market size might miss.

That said, the costs to acquire any customer isn't exactly cheap these days. The best opportunities will come from product areas where you can encourage repeat purchases, either in the form of a subscription or by (eventually) upselling and cross-selling customers complementary products. That can come later, but keep the potential in mind as you explore opportunities.

The trajectory of a market matters more than its current state. If you want your business to go the distance, remember it's not only critical to understand the demand for a category today but to know how it might trend in the future. Does your product or niche fall into a fad, trend, stable, or growing market?

Fad. A fad is something that grows in popularity for a brief period of time and fades out just as quickly. A fad can be lucrative if your entry into the market and exit are timed perfectly, but this can be difficult to predict and a recipe for disaster.

Trend. A trend is a longer-term direction that the market for a product appears to be taking. It doesn't grow as quickly as a fad, it lasts longer and, generally, it doesn't decline nearly as fast.

Stable. A stable market is one that is immune to shocks and bumps. It is neither declining nor growing but maintains itself over long periods of time.

Growing. A growing market is one that has seen consistent growth and shows signs of a long-term or permanent market shift.

What does the competitive landscape look like for your product? Are there many competitors, or very few? If there are a lot of competing businesses in your niche, it's often a sign that the market is well established; that good for ensuring demand exists, but it will also require you to differentiate what you offer (to some degree) in order to attract customer attention and build market share.

Before diving into a product category, make sure you understand the regulations or restrictions that will apply. Certain chemical products, food products, and cosmetics can carry restrictions by not only the country you are importing your goods into but also the countries you are shipping your product to.