Problem: Article: Target a specific need or want that is under-served or could be significantly improved. Talk to people in your community and try to understand what they want the most. Take some paper and a pen, and brainstorm all the things you would like to sell in your store.  The more good items you come up with and get for a low enough price, the bigger profit you will make. For example, if you wanted to own a wine cellar, you wouldn't just say you are going to sell wine. You would say you want to sell Sauvignon Blanc, etc. Avoid basing your entire business on a single product; this is what separates the stores of the world from the lemonade stands. Ask questions, keep your eyes peeled for opportunity, and consider making a survey about which products would sell well in a certain area. You can either adapt your business to what the market lacks, or find a specific area that suits your business. Make sure that there is a legitimate need for a given service. For instance, if you find out that there is no DVD or music shop in an area, this doesn't necessarily mean that the market needs such a place—it might just mean that people are getting everyone from the Internet. To run a market study, you can:  Hang around an area, visit shops, and ask questions about the local market. Record statistics: sit in a cafe and take notes. How many people pass by? How old are they? Are they mostly male or female? Do they work, live, and/or shop here? Which times and seasons seem to draw the most shoppers? Speak to customers and potential customers. If you ask the right questions, you might get the right answers. Trust your intuition. Your hunch is just as important as the results of market research. Find businesses with which your planned business would compete. Research them and learn as much as you can from them. Try to find out their revenue and expenses. This is easier than you think: buy from them one specific day of the week, then wait ten days and buy from them again. Count how many receipts they have issued in a given period of time, imagine a reasonable average price per receipt, and multiply the 10-days-worth of receipts by 3 to estimate the competitor's sales revenue for a 30-day period. Avoid provoking the large established leading player(s) in the area, which might react violently and cost you a lot of money. They are in a better position to bleed money than you are.  Think of what you would do to improve the product or service offered by your "competitors," and by how much it will increase revenue (and profit). Deduct, say, 15-25% as your margin of error. Review your calculations and try to imagine how your business could be more profitable. Do not expect a favorable prediction from your first analysis, or even from your third. Head to the next town, find similar businesses, and speak to the owners. Be frank about your intentions to set up shop in your targeted area. Some will be more than willing to tell you about their experience and their mistakes—some may even tell you about their profits. Consider asking to work for them for free for a few days to learn the ropes. It may help if you offer a confidentiality agreement with a clause promising that you will not set up shop in their area. Do not think that your time has no value. It has an "opportunity cost," which is how much you would earn by being employed. Include this in your cost calculations. Make sure that:  What you plan to sell is needed and wanted by the community in which you plan to sell it. Your plan is legal. All items and activities related to the store should be compliant with any relevant governmental regulations. Make sure that you have secured a business permit. You have planned out all of the financial and organizational details, and that it makes sense for you to own and operate this store. You have enough resources (financial capital, manpower, emotional support) to set up your store and make it last. The above have been handled—or are being handled—by the time the store opens.
Summary: Find a niche. Study the market. Feel out the competition. Do your research and make sure that your idea is viable.

Problem: Article: Ask yourself what data you require and how you will use it. This will help you come up with useful questions, as well as the order in which you will ask them. Begin with a broad span of questions, then narrow them down until each one relates to your goals in some way. Keep questions and answers simple, using as few words as possible. You may want to rely on open-ended questions, closed-ended questions, or a mix of the two. Closed-ended questions have a specific range of options respondents can choose from.  These questions may be yes-or-no questions, true-or-false questions, or questions that ask the respondent to agree or disagree with a statement. Closed-ended questions may look like open-ended questions, but will have only a few options respondents can use to answer. Closed-ended questions might look like these:  "Have you shopped here before?" "If so, how often do you shop here?" (This question would have a few explicit answers from which respondents could choose--"once a week" to "once a month," for instance) "How satisfied were you with your experience today?" (Likewise, this question would have limited responses--"very satisfied" to "very dissatisfied") "Would you recommend this store to a friend?" Open-ended questions solicit answers that you may not anticipate, and do not have a specific range of answers to choose from. Open-ended questions are a chance for respondents to communicate their specific experience or expectations. Such questions might look like these:  "How will you use your purchase?" "Where else do you normally shop?" "Who referred you to this store?" Open-ended questions are good for clarifying a previous answer--"Why do you feel this way?" Avoid leading questions especially; Leading questions indicate that the asker is looking for a certain answer and will limit what answers your responders are comfortable supplying. Either tailor possible answers or change the wording of your question so as to avoid leading your respondents to answer in a particular way.  Questions should be worded so as to maximize clarity. Confused respondents will skew your data, so questions should be as understandable as possible. Avoid double negatives, unnecessary clauses, or unclear subject-object relationships.
Summary: Decide what you want to learn from administering your questionnaire. Plan questions that will help you get the information you need. Use closed-ended questions to gather specific answers. Use open-ended questions to solicit feedback. Ask questions in such a way as to avoid confusion and bias.

Problem: Article: Scoop the rice into a sheet of plastic wrap and bundle it into a neat little package to safeguard against freezer burn. Then, stick the bundle in a quart or gallon-sized (1.8 l) freezer bag. A plastic storage container with a locking lid will also work just fine. Press as much air out of the storage container as possible before zipping or locking it to ensure that the rice stays fresh. If you’re freezing multiple bags, smooth them out and stack them on top of one another so that they lie flat. A thinner layer will make ice less likely to form and help the rice reheat more evenly. Find some room away from heavier items that might damage the container or mash the delicate rice inside. Unlike refrigerated rice, which typically needs to be used within 2–3 days, frozen rice often stays good for 30 days or longer. That means you can enjoy a hot meal at your leisure instead of being rushed to use up your leftover ingredients before they go bad.  Label each container with that day’s date so you’ll know how long it’s been in the freezer. Avoid removing the rice unless you’re about to heat it up. Continual thawing and refreezing isn’t good for it.
Summary:
Pack the rice into a freezer-safe container. Place the storage container in the freezer. Keep the rice in the freezer for up to a month.