What kind of profits can I expect?

Not an easy question, and you need to consider income and expenses before you even start to think about profits. However, there are standards of comparison called “industry norms and ratios” which can help you estimate your profits. Return on investment (ROI), for example, estimates the amount of profit gained on a given number of dollars invested in the business. These ratios are broken down by standard industrial classification (SIC) code for assets and size, so you can look up your type of business to see what the industry averages are. These figures are published by several groups, and can be found at your local library. Help is also available through the SBA, through SBA’s business information centers and the trade associations that serve your industry.