It is the new year and once again time for New Year's resolutions. If starting a new business is one of your resolutions, it might be worthwhile to understand what you are getting into. There are sectors which are considered to be small to medium business friendly than the others.

It is the new year and once again time for New Year's resolutions. If starting a new business is one of your resolutions, it might be worthwhile to understand what you are getting into. There are sectors which are considered to be small to medium business friendly than the others.

South African business opportunities can be categorised into the three categories, namely: manufacturing, trading and service. There are many business opportunities for small entrepreneurs in each of these sectors. Following is the short description of what each sector entails.

Manufacturing involves the manufacture of semi-processed or final products using raw materials. The end products are then sold to other manufacturing businesses or wholesalers for further processing or direct sale to the public depending on what stage they are in. Recycling also forms part of manufacturing but goods are produced using used materials.

Trading involves selling manufactured products (both finished and semi-processed) to end users or processing businesses. Here one buys goods at a certain price and sells them at a higher price with the aim of making profit.

Service: This includes all businesses that provide different services to different customers. These services vary from industry to industry. For example, other services are based on personal special knowledge, such as consultation, while other services entail personally performing services for others - such as painting, cleaning and garden services.