There are so many people who have boxes upon boxes of pre-digital pictures. Many older ladies who used to have a certain joy in taking pictures, now get headaches at the thought of trying to organize them. With just a thought of all their pictures, there is a sinking feeling in their stomach, a sort of wasted space, wasted time, wasted money, wasted memories feeling.
My ideas for this business go in many directions, and I think they could all be profitable, but ONLY FOR A VERY SHORT TIME, as it is possible to finish this job and have to no more to do.
Someone could create a company to take people's boxes of pictures and 1) scan them into a computer, 2) find some way to organize them, whether by year or by person? I'm not sure. Picasa has a face recognition tool now, which could be of some help, but it's not always accurate. 3) Create photo albums--acid free and lignin free, to ensure long term preservation.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Earth Equity
I have always wanted to start a business that had alliteration. Call me a nerd but I just love how it rolls off the tongue.
Ok, down to business here. Alternative energy has been widely publicized as a focus by our new president. I am not an engineer but I do know the power or percentages.
My idea would be a company that leased solar panels to homeowners and small businesses. The current price of solar panels is affordable enough that the company could buy these panels for approx. $15,000 (To completely power a 2500 sq. ft. house) after government rebates and utility company incentives in Colorado. So lets say for instance your average utility bill was $120 to $150 a month for this house, which is about what mine is. The company would charge you a 6% fee (for example sake) of the cost to provide the energy to you (essentially a solar panel lease), which comes out to $107 over a 6% 20 year lease (It would be $96 if you did a 25 year lease). That would be your new energy bill. $107 dollars a month for the rest of the time you lived in the house/however long a contract you sign and lock in that rate. You could avoid the changing conditions of the electricity market.
In case you were wondering, these systems generally have a 20-25 year warranty and are estimated to last for approximately 40 years. So after the 20 years, however long the system lasted would be gravy on top of the 6% we made on the lease. It also takes about 3 days to install the system.
A few other factoids. Energy is estimated to increase in price by 3-5% a year for the forseeable future. If you are concerned about the changing technology... don't be. As long as it powers the home completely, a new owner to the house will want to keep the panels and continue the lease and pay a fixed electricity bill and pay less for the electricity. There have been solar panel companies in business for 10 to 20 years now. The price for the panels will stay around $15,000... at least I predict based on the fact that it actually costs $37,000 right now when you take the government and utility incentives out. However, as the production increases and prices decrease the government and utility incentives will decrease incrementally, hence the reason I think it will stay around that $15,000 price range.
This would be the driving idea behind building a bank that was focused solely on providing financing to help reduce our country's/world's carbon footprint. Who knows... maybe begin to provide financing to electric cars (once these become more affordable) and have a combination pack of the solar panels and a electric car into one payment per month. Maybe geothermal applications to new houses/buildings too.
Alright. I said my peace now shred it to pieces.
Ok, down to business here. Alternative energy has been widely publicized as a focus by our new president. I am not an engineer but I do know the power or percentages.
My idea would be a company that leased solar panels to homeowners and small businesses. The current price of solar panels is affordable enough that the company could buy these panels for approx. $15,000 (To completely power a 2500 sq. ft. house) after government rebates and utility company incentives in Colorado. So lets say for instance your average utility bill was $120 to $150 a month for this house, which is about what mine is. The company would charge you a 6% fee (for example sake) of the cost to provide the energy to you (essentially a solar panel lease), which comes out to $107 over a 6% 20 year lease (It would be $96 if you did a 25 year lease). That would be your new energy bill. $107 dollars a month for the rest of the time you lived in the house/however long a contract you sign and lock in that rate. You could avoid the changing conditions of the electricity market.
In case you were wondering, these systems generally have a 20-25 year warranty and are estimated to last for approximately 40 years. So after the 20 years, however long the system lasted would be gravy on top of the 6% we made on the lease. It also takes about 3 days to install the system.
A few other factoids. Energy is estimated to increase in price by 3-5% a year for the forseeable future. If you are concerned about the changing technology... don't be. As long as it powers the home completely, a new owner to the house will want to keep the panels and continue the lease and pay a fixed electricity bill and pay less for the electricity. There have been solar panel companies in business for 10 to 20 years now. The price for the panels will stay around $15,000... at least I predict based on the fact that it actually costs $37,000 right now when you take the government and utility incentives out. However, as the production increases and prices decrease the government and utility incentives will decrease incrementally, hence the reason I think it will stay around that $15,000 price range.
This would be the driving idea behind building a bank that was focused solely on providing financing to help reduce our country's/world's carbon footprint. Who knows... maybe begin to provide financing to electric cars (once these become more affordable) and have a combination pack of the solar panels and a electric car into one payment per month. Maybe geothermal applications to new houses/buildings too.
Alright. I said my peace now shred it to pieces.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Nanny Day Care
One of my ideas for school this semester was to open a daycare that specifically connects nannies to nanny needing families.
The families can take their kids to the day care as a trial to find out which day care workers work well with their kids.
It would be beneficial for people looking for work because they could be connected with many families at one time, while earning a paycheck until the perfect family comes along.
It would also be beneficial for families because they would have a place to send their children while looking for just the perfect fit for a full-time nanny. Someone who fits with their schedule and as I said, gets along with their kids.
The families can take their kids to the day care as a trial to find out which day care workers work well with their kids.
It would be beneficial for people looking for work because they could be connected with many families at one time, while earning a paycheck until the perfect family comes along.
It would also be beneficial for families because they would have a place to send their children while looking for just the perfect fit for a full-time nanny. Someone who fits with their schedule and as I said, gets along with their kids.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Video Studio for Online Businesses
It's like a video or audio studio, but with tons of rooms, modern decor, and lower priced video equipment. It's like an internet cafe for making video blogs.
You could charge for consulting, but more importantly the charge would be for the experience. It would be the easiest place to make a video, and it would make you look good on camera every time. It would be a huge step up from a personal camera or the camera on your mac.
Thoughts?
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
You Brew Shop
Yes, yes, I know that every town has a home brew shop or two, but not a good one.
It would have a classy environment.
It would have a bar with beer and wine.
It would have regular wine and cheese tasting events, as well as beer drinking contests.
It would have the ability for people to come on a Saturday to take a class on beer or wine making. Even better, people could actually start to make their beverage at the class and come back when it is done, or the next time something needs to be done in the brewing process.
It would also sell all the equipment people would need to make their own at home.
I think people would pay for all of these services, don't you? Do you think it could turn a profit?
Monday, February 16, 2009
Center for Entrepreneurs
It's basically like like an upscale space designed for meetings and discussions. High quality, innovative art would be present throughout the building, and events would be held for local business owners to share thoughts, and upcoming entrepreneurs gather ideas. Those would be the core elements that I think it would have to have, besides this statue made out of money obviously.
How could it make money? Umm... we could charge for events. We can't charge for internet usage, people don't like that. We can charge for coffee, but that can't be the main source of income or it wouldn't be a new idea. Maybe there is a membership fee with certain benefits. Maybe the building is much larger than a coffee shop and we could have tons of rooms that people can use to meet, and that could be part of the membership.
What do you think? Is it a profitable idea?
Friday, February 13, 2009
Self-Powered Public Gym
What if workout machines could power the building they are in? Better yet, what if they could power the neighborhood around them?
Would you be motivated to work out more if you knew that running on a treadmill or using a lat-pull maching was producing real energy that could be used?
That's it. That's the whole pitch. Thoughts?
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Online Video Marketing
This is basically a consulting company that will help companies expand their online video content. The market is heading that way already, so being the Online Video Guru could make someone millions.
I think the key here is hiring people who are marketing minded, but have kind of a movie director inside them. They need to be able to draw out the personality of the business owners, which will ultimately give the business a personality. I think that through this type of activity, the company will build a loyal following of customers.
Other ideas that could make this work?
Saturday, February 7, 2009
The Man Store
This is an idea I've been pitching for a long time, and it is the most appropriate first post for this blog. Here's the idea.
Simple Choices, Painless Shopping.
I believe that there are certain items that people would rather not have choices on. Especially guys. Have you ever gone into Wal-Mart wanting to buy shampoo, some t-shirts, and some paper towels? Have you ever shopped for 20 minutes just to get a couple very simple things? That's why the man store would exist.
It's like a convenience store. It only has a couple of choices for anything in the store, but they are the best choices. They are like the consumer reports best value recommendations. You never have to question what you are buying when you shop here. You know it's the best because it's the Man Store.
Thoughts?
Friday, February 6, 2009
Types of Businesses (General)
Ways to make money:
Charge for your time (consulting, skilled labor)
Charge for your employees time (skilled labor shop, consulting agency)
Charge for intellectual property (write a book, record music, make and online TV show)
Buy something and sell it for more (retail, investing)
Bar none, the most amount of money will be made by the bottom two. More importantly though, do what you love.
I've got about 10 business ideas to get this blog started. Expect a new blog post every couple of days with a new one.
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