Running a small business is most people's dream opportunity - being their own boss, working their own hours and importantly making seriously more money than might have been the case in their day jobs. So for the would-be small business entrepreneur, here are some of the most viable small business ideas for 2008 that you could consider starting.

Local Business Directory

Starting a local business directory is going to be one of the most profitable small business opportunities through 2008. When other markets are likely to be adversely affected by the predicted slowdown in the economy, local businesses are still going to need to find qualified local customers to keep their businesses alive. By providing a quality local directory service that offers good value for advertisers, you can capitalise on this small business opportunity, provided you have the ability to bring in traffic and to program a website of sufficient quality and technical capability. While this might be quite a heavy investment and take a great deal of time, there are franchise opportunities out there that may be more suitable to start with this small business.

EBay Business

Running a business on EBay is a low cost way to get started in the world of small business. An EBay business is a great way to learn and understand how to do business on the Internet, and it can be an easy business to enter with very few barriers to entry. As you go along, of course, you'll pick up some tips and tricks that might make your small business more profitable, but you should be able to make money from the off provided you do your sums correctly and work out a sufficient margin. Remember to include postage costs and EBay seller's fees when working out your selling price, and you'll quickly be off to a profitable start.

Web Design

This one requires a degree of skill, but if you can design websites you can make a serious business out of web design. Of course it's a pretty crowded market out there, but provided you can find the customers you can make a more than decent living working on your own terms with a web design firm, as a freelancer or with your own fully fledged small business. It might also be a route into online marketing and online media, which both in their own rights are massive, growing markets.

Recruitment Agency

A recruitment agency will be a great small business to start in 2008 because of the likelihood that unemployment will begin to rise. As the economy feels the pinch, businesses will be less willing to commit to full time staff. The solution? Recruitment agencies. All you have to do is find and supply the labour to the customer, and then invoice to cover the wages of your staff and your markup. Obviously, you do have to pay the wages on a recurring basis, however, so cash flow might be a problem initially.

Minicab Firm

A minicab firm is the type of business that looks set to remain strong in 2008 purely because it's always necessary. People from all walks of life rely on minicab firms for daily transport. What's more, it's also more than possible to negotiate contracts with other small business and large business clients in your area, to bring in some steady business and to expand the model.