Currently gardening is a hobby for most, with little income potential or even grocery savings. A few daring people try to sell their stuff at a farmers market, but even they aren't going to make a lot of money.
But what if space could be used more wisely, and people could be paid for their artistic ability as well as their green thumb? What if art and gardening collide?
Imagine going to a wedding and picking your salad fresh from a growing spiral of art. Imagine an affluent person paying for an artistic garden to cook from, but that they don't have to take care of daily.
This idea started when I saw a product. It is called whirligrow, and you can find out more about it here.
Basically it is a spiraling tube that grows garden plants from it. It can be used in urban areas for gardening in small spaces, but it presents interesting options of landscapers, event coordinators, and wedding planners as well. It is just one idea that could make gardening more artistic.
There are a few directions this business could go. Sell event set ups. Sell ongoing gardening maintenance. Sell one-time landscaping projects. All are good I think.
Showing posts with label Green. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Green. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Tiny Houses (Idea #50)
This is like an apartment complex, but much trendier than that. I was inspired on this idea by my friend Bryan's video share about people who live in 100 square foot houses. It was originally a Gizmodo post, if you want to check it out.
The thing is, single people can live in tiny houses. On top of that, it can be a bit of a novelty to live in a really small place. My thought is to build these in college towns very close to each other, and then put a common area in the middle where people can barbecue, sit by a swimming pool, have parties, etc.
It's not dorms. It's not an apartment complex. It is your own house. I think it offers something new. I think it appeals to an off-the-grid type of person as well.
So let's say it costs $30,000 per tiny house. You buy 2 acres of land, build 20 of these houses, and common areas. You've spent $600,000 on houses and whatever the land costs. So you're paying $6,000 per month on your debt maybe, but you're renting 20 houses. So you charge $400 per house, and clear $2,000 per month.
The key is making it look amazing. You have to make it look completely unique so that people just drive to see it because it is a novelty.
Below are some photos from google to give you an idea of the vision.
The thing is, single people can live in tiny houses. On top of that, it can be a bit of a novelty to live in a really small place. My thought is to build these in college towns very close to each other, and then put a common area in the middle where people can barbecue, sit by a swimming pool, have parties, etc.
It's not dorms. It's not an apartment complex. It is your own house. I think it offers something new. I think it appeals to an off-the-grid type of person as well.
So let's say it costs $30,000 per tiny house. You buy 2 acres of land, build 20 of these houses, and common areas. You've spent $600,000 on houses and whatever the land costs. So you're paying $6,000 per month on your debt maybe, but you're renting 20 houses. So you charge $400 per house, and clear $2,000 per month.
The key is making it look amazing. You have to make it look completely unique so that people just drive to see it because it is a novelty.
Below are some photos from google to give you an idea of the vision.
Monday, January 11, 2010
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.
- Self Powered Gym
- Nanny Day Care
- Solar Panel Leasing
- Photography Archiving
- Concession Trailer
- Twitter Consulting
- American Single Malt Distillery
- Lending Tree for Landscaping
- Home Food Inventory
- The Man Store
2010 here we come.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Home Energy Consulting
Test homes for energy efficiency and sell them on improvements. Reseal windows instead of replacing them, suggest solar panels, replace heating filters, fill attics and crawl spaces with more insulation, etc.
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.
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?
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