In times when economic turmoil dominates the headlines, it's easy to conclude that professional opportunities are drying up. For those on the lookout to create new niche businesses, however, nothing can be further from the truth.

For the entrepreneur, opportunities abound where there are certain conditions in play. Here are several things to look for that can provide an open door to a new business approach.

Market Fragmentation: Where there are many suppliers and a non-systematic approach to acquisition and decision-making, there is an opening for someone to step in (on the client side, supplier side or both) and find new ways to help people transact business. While Amazon.com did this on a massive scale, you may be able to perform a service at a niche level that is a win-win. Is there some way you can consolidate, aggregate and communicate so that options are more clear?

Market Inefficiency: Anytime there is a lack of sound process, there is potential to make money by bringing new efficiencies. Clients often don't realize how much time and effort is lost by stumbling around, or overpaying for something that is under-utilized. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies are doing quite well by offering turn-key, on-demand, pay-as-you-go solutions that remove a lot of the bulky inefficiencies of costly software implementations. Is there a grating inefficiency that you recognize in your niche market? What are your peers always complaining about? Can you do something about it that saves the client money while making you money?

Matchmaking: There is a bewildering array of potential solutions, people and information that companies need, and who has time to sort through all of it? Many bad decisions are made due to lack of time, lack of expertise and lack of connections. Headhunters and recruiters address this need using a very low overhead business model. Is there something similar that you can do? Can your expertise and network connections be the foundation of a business?

Specialized knowledge: It's very possible that you know far more than you think. Is your knowledge of technology or social media or graphic design or best practices or (fill-in-the-blank) something that can be valuable enough to build a business around? If you know only a little bit more than the next person, often that is enough, and once you start, your expertise grows rapidly.

My pharmaceutical consulting business is built to address all four of the above. (I help clients identify and select optimal vendor/suppliers for their needs.) And while there are unique aspects to the industry niche I work in, there are also common needs for efficiency, connections, knowledge and service that span most other industries. Step back and think about what you have seen and what others have complained about. That's where business opportunities hide. Is there an open door waiting for you?

Steve Woodruff is an entrepreneur and consultant, focusing on helping his pharmaceutical clients develop optimal training and communications programs. He maintains a well-regarded pharma industry blog (Impactiviti), while also posting on marketing and social media themes for his StickyFigure blog audience and for MarketingProfs Daily Fix. Steve can also be found on Twitter at twitter.com/swoodruff.