Seth Godin's Blog

I read Seth Godin's blog regularly and saw this today. I'm just going to repost the entire thing because it is meaningful to me.


JK asks,

"It's like, how does anyone start their own business? How is it even possible? How do they deal with the crippling fear and harsh economic realities?"

Some people believe that if you have a good job, you shouldn't start your own gig, because it's foolish to give up a job you can't easily replace. And some people believe that if you don't have a great job, it's foolish to waste time (and the money you can ill afford to lose) starting something when you'd be a lot better off getting a great job or going to school until you do.

And both groups are missing the point.

The people who successfully start independent businesses (franchises, I think are a different thing) do it because we have no real choice in the matter. The voice in our heads won't shut up until we discover if we're right, if we can do it, if we can make something happen. This is an art, our art, and to leave it bottled up is a crime.

I guess the real question, JK, is, "How can you not do it?"

Small Grocery - Sticking it to Kroger and Wal-Mart

Grocery shopping is changing. All over the country you see small grocery stores making big profits. Case in point, Trader Joe's. They found a way to actually beat Kroger and Sam's prices, and still deliver better products.

But is Trader Joe's taking over the country? Not yet at least. Thousands of cities don't have this fine grocery store. Whole Foods is everywhere, but a small business can kill Whole Foods with better pricing if they want to. There is opportunity here.

The new business idea is actually an old business idea with a fresh look. This idea is a bit complex, and is no easy task, but I have a few things that I think are critical to stealing grocery market share.

1. Take notes from Natural Grocer stores. They package their own spices and save customers big with this technique. What else can be purchased in bulk and packaged in the store to save customers money? 
2. Take notes from Trader Joe's, they developed their own alcohol brands and deliver high quality wine, beer and liquor at insanely low prices.
3. Take notes from Savory Spice. They carry things that are difficult to find at big grocery stores, like dutch chocolate, but are desirable by people who love to cook. They also give out 3x5 recipe cards if you need help using a new spice.
4. Hire people who like to cook. Grocery stores are typically filled with people who are uneducated, and rarely appear to be a cooking connoisseur.
5. Teach employees and customers to cook better, and healthier. Steal the marketing space of customers who need some help with their cooking.

Can a smaller grocer store steal customers away from Super Targets, Wal-Marts, and Kroger stores? I believe it can.

Luxury Homes For The Masses

This is a design studio for houses, but instead of catering to the upper class, it caters to the middle class.

The barriers to a luxury home are getting lower and lower. Things that used to embody a wealthy lifestyle have dropped in price, and they have become available to the masses.

HD flat pannel TVs, stainless steal appliances, decent artwork, weekly house cleaning service, all of these things make you think of something on MTV cribs, but they aren't very expensive.

Here are some basic packages that make cheap fixes look like luxury upgrades.

• Flat screen TV in every bathroom in the house.
• ipad with a recipe app installed on a cabinet door in the kitchen.
• Weekly bathroom, floor, and lawn care for a monthly fee.
• Updated artwork throughout the house.
• Updated light fixtures throughout the house.

Important elements to success are: having a showroom, consistent supply chain, not cutting too many corners, limiting the number of packages to keep prices low. 

Soccer Specialty Store

So I just went to the website of the self proclaimed largest chain of soccer franchise stores in the nation, Soccer Post. Here is what they claim:

• Currently there are Soccer Post stores in ten states, from New Hampshire toCalifornia 
• Soccer Post is the largest chain of franchised soccer specialty retail stores
• Soccer Post has been in business since 1991

Anybody else think there is some room for growth? After watching the world cup this year, I'd be willing to bet that the US sports market is going to trend toward soccer for the next 10-20 years. This means more kids signed up for soccer leagues, more adults joining leagues, and more money being spent on the sport.

Yes, you can get soccer stuff at Dick's and Sports Authority and all of those stores, but expertise is valuable. Being a store that caters to a specific sport makes it easier to shop. 


I think there is room for new businesses in the soccer genre.

Make Your Own Tea Store

This is a specialty store (online or brick and mortar), that sells ingredients to make herbal teas. It would sell very basic teas, and every kind of spice that a person could need in making teas.

The key is emphasizing that you make your own tea. The customer can create any kind of flavors they can imagine. The shop provides basic recipes, but the customer knows what they like.

People everywhere blend their own tea already, but there isn't a place in every city that they can go to stock up on supplies or get ideas for new recipes.

I've been looking all over the web for a place to buy ingredients for herbal tea. I can find recipes, but where do you get chamomile flowers to throw in some tea? I found some on Amazon, but there isn't a site that sells a "make your own tea kit" as far as I can tell. I think there is a tribe of people out there who are looking for this store.

Thoughts?

Dog Matching Service (Idea #42)

What if your personality, living situation, primary transportation means, and personal preferences were considered when you wanted to buy a dog? What if you could find not only the perfect breed, but the perfect temperament within the breed that is right for you?

Fill out an online survey, and get a list of possible pets for you.

Cost is still debatable. I'm thinking $10, gives you all the information you need to find the dog yourself, but maybe there is an additional fee to actually find the perfect dog that is nearest to you. Shipping a dog would have to be a whole different level of service for high end clients.

Franchises & Their Drawbacks (General)

A few months ago I talked to a franchise broker. This is a person who represents a lot of franchise companies, and who tries to match entrepreneurs with the perfect franchise.

My thought process was something like this. "I have good business sense, and I'm creative. If I purchase a business that has all of the detail worked out for me (franchise), I could probably run it well enough to make a solid profit."

I think a lot of people probably feel the same way, and they are absolutely right. If they are good at hiring the right people, and have a keen business sense, they could easily run a business that has already been set up. This is the positive side of franchises.

However, franchises have some significant drawbacks.

1. There are franchise brokers. Any business that needs someone to sell it has to be questioned a bit. Plus brokers get commissions, and franchise owners get fees. So the business starts with an extra expense.
2. Capital requirement. They want you to have a high net worth ($100k minimum) to start most franchises. This rules out most young people.
3. Less control. Franchises do most of the work for you on finding a location and getting things set up, but that also means that the owner doesn't have much freedom on many things (pricing, hours, decoration, branding, etc.)
4. Capital requirement. They also want you to have at least $50-100k in cash or liquid assets. If I had that much money to start a business, do you think I would need your franchise?

For these reasons, I will leave franchises to Baby Boomers who have lots of cash and are in career crisis. That's who these franchise brokers seem to be targeting anyway.

The Happy Company

This business would make employees happy. It would be an outside consulting company, paid to evaluate employee satisfaction at a given company, and attempt to make them happy at work every day. Key words: every day.

What if someone at your company had no other responsibility than to check in with you about your work satisfaction each day? They may not do something specific for you every day, but they at least check in with you to find out what is making you happy or unhappy at work. Then their whole job is to make work more fulfilling for you and everyone else.

Productivity would go up, and people would stay at the company for a long time. That's my pitch and I'm sticking to it.

Like Minded Matching Service

There is actually a site called LikeMinded.com that seems to be on track to launch this business, but here is my idea for it.

It is a way to find business partners with a sophisticated matching process. So it is like eharmony, but for businesses. Currently, I can browse profiles and meet people face to face, but there are many questions I'd need to ask before I'd know if we could work together.

If I could fill out a 30 minute questionnaire to find 10 potential business partners that live in my area, I'd do that. Or if I met somebody that I thought would be a good business partner, I'd pay to have someone analyze our compatibility.

For an HR team, imagine that instead of searching through a stack of resumes, a computer analyzes work styles and personality styles to help them find employees.

What's the cost? Maybe $25 to have my information on file, and a $10 fee each time I request a comparison with someone else's profile.

Thoughts?

Wheeling and Dealing

This business buys discounted items from large companies like costco and SAMs, and sells them online. It could buy discounted clothes, electronics, gift cards, anything.

The key here is not having inventory. The business can list the product and pick it up after it sells.

The employees of this business spend all their time looking for things they can sell online.

Another key is to constantly change inventory, and try to make money whenever Internet stores have a higher price than a local superstore.


- Posted using my iPhone

Cereal Restaurant

This is a restaurant with every type of breakfast cereal on the market... And nothing else. That's right. Customers come for a bowl of cereal with milk, any time of the day. Open until 10:00pm for late night snacks.

Really this would exist for the cool factor more than practical reasons. Environment is WAY more important than the product.

- Posted using my iPhone

2009 Top New Business Ideas

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this blog in 2009! We came up with 36 business ideas in 2009. I consider that a huge success, and am really looking forward to some more breakthrough ideas in 2010.

In no particular order, here are the top 10 ideas for businesses in 2009.

1. Self Powered Gym
2. Nanny Day Care
3. Solar Panel Leasing
4. Photography Archiving
5. Concession Trailer
6. Twitter Consulting
7. American Single Malt Distillery
8. Lending Tree for Landscaping
9. Home Food Inventory
10. The Man Store

2010 here we come.