The most important factor to consider when starting to build a business is the target audience. You have to think of who would you want to cater to. Who are the communities that you may profit off of. Like for example if there is a school near you, you should know that students would be your target audience. You should start a business where students can buy materials from or a place they can study or even hang out around. I believe that if you studied your target audience, the first step of your business is already successful enough.
Good point, this boils down to having a good business strategy. One major way to make money is by identifying a need around you and solving that need. The problem with a lot of t businesses today is that the supply is higher than the demand especially within a particular location. People are doing what others are doing. I think this has a lot to do with creativity. Most people are not good at coming up with something new