Is an Opportunity what you make it?

I've been coming up with an interesting conundrum while looking for my next gig. As I look at all the various startups out there that I would like to get involved with, many of them are run by smart, focused people who are destined to succeed. At fist blush, it seems like a very high percentage of them will achieve their goals. Scratch the surface, and you elminate some of them, but you always wind up with more than one. Which leads me to the problem at hand, "What is the determining factor in successful deals."

As an entrepreneur, I always want to create businesses from the ground up. The most profitable business is one that is based in a unique and compelling value proposition to a large enough client base. This always means starting up from zero. However, the theme I am pursuing as an overarching goal is "streamlining". I've always thought that if I didn't find a compelling deal while looking at things with partners, that I would eventually try my idea of "Streamlining an existing, wrote, service business using technology and advanced people management processes.". This means I would need to buy an existing, wrote, service business. Which is altogether more difficult.

There are so many and so many variations on the same theme that they all seem to get lost in the din. Car Washes, Building Management Companies, Dry Cleaners, Auto Repair, et al all exist at voluminous levels. But once again we have to answer the question....."What is the determining factor in successful deals.' and now, how do you do that in a market full of service businesses that all seem to be the same?

More as I learn it........