Now that you're psyched about launching your own business, the next challenge is to select the type of business.

The litmus test for this decision should be based on what you do best and what gives you juice. You want to create a business that takes advantage of your best skills and talents. Business writers call this “core competence,” which they define as a grouping of skills that offer potential customers a particular, quantified benefit — what you have a mastery of that someone else is willing to pay for.

Your marketable skills and talents need to be valuable, expandable, and unique in its market. Bruce Judson, author of Go It Alone!, recommends focusing on “what you do brilliantly and from which you achieve extraordinary results.”

To begin your assessment, ask yourself the following questions:

• Given the option, what do I most enjoy doing?

• What gives me unlimited energy and doesn't feel like work?

• What would my five best friends say are my most marketable talents?

• Do I have leadership skills? Can I develop them?

• What are my core business strengths?

• What are my business weaknesses? Can I overcome them?

• What will be my primary challenge as an owner?

• Do I have the energy and chutzpah required?

• How much do I know about the business?

• How much do I know about running a business?

• Am I willing to make financial sacrifices?

• Am I strong enough to endure setbacks? Downturns?

• Am I a resourceful person?

Keep in mind that an entrepreneur has to play many roles in a start-up business. Some of the hats you will wear, at least temporarily, include these:

• Boss/operations manager/human resources

• Product developer

• Bookkeeper/accountant

• Sales/marketing/publicity

• Visionary planner

• Collections officer

• Receptionist/secretary

To launch and run your own business, you will need exceptional organizational skills, salesmanship, decision-making skills, creativity, adaptability, and fortitude.

What would you be doing even if you never earned a dime from it? How do you love spending your time? What matters most to you in the world? What contribution do you want to make to the world? How can you improve the world? What people do you admire most, and what are they doing that makes them so admirable?