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Viable Business Opportunities
and Start Up Ideas
You can invent a new product, that
revolutionizes the way people think, or write a software
program that changes the way computers work. But, it is
more likely, that you start a much more mundane
business. It is not that we do not believe, the
above can be done, it is being done almost daily. Though,
the basic problem, making that spectacular, or any other
business venture, work and survive as a start up, is
almost always the same. So don't dismiss our rather
ordinary attempts to enter the business world, you might
actually learn something from it!
Starting
a business is always a difficult and time consuming task.
Although, in these days of the dominance of the Internet,
people want to make us believe, that it is only a
question of you wanting "it" enough,
and then it will happen. Reality though, is somewhat
different!
Besides
a certain knowledge of a subject, you require tenacity,
hard work and a very minimum of other resources, usually
meaning some finance, combined with almost boundless
energy. You also need a lot of luck to succeed, as well
as the ability to absorb adverse decisions or rejection
by others, almost effortlessly. It looks, as if it were, an
almost impossible task!
Yet, in
this country like nowhere else, with the most recent
exception, maybe, of China, people have started new
ventures in large numbers. It is the combination
of the lure of independence, the gathering of wealth,
personal risk taking, some elements of creativity and the
will to want something of their own that makes
people take the most important step, to start their own
venture.
The
problem is the choice of the business. Some people have a
clear idea from the start. They sell something, they know
from an industry or business sector they have intimate
knowledge of, and have worked in, before contemplated to
venture out on their own. Others, don't have that
possibility, and start their venture completely from
scratch. Again, others maybe come out of retirement, or
an economic lay-off and just want to start something new,
something they have never tried. The motivations are as
varied as the people who try!
Even
though, economically challenging times bring their own
difficulties, one of their advantages is that companies
try to look for ways to lower costs and save money.
Consequently, many tasks and services that used to be
jealously guarded and performed inside the company,
suddenly become available to outsiders, as these areas
are no longer seen to be essential to the core of the
business. That gives new opportunities to start-up's.
Often, the people starting these support ventures, were
the very people the company laid-off. It is like a
periodical cleansing of existing business, as they
refocus on the "core of their business".
Common
areas of Business, which People Start
| Type of
Start-Up |
Usual
Reason for Start-Up |
Risks and
Opportunities |
| Consultant |
Unless
you are a group and start as a partnership, you
will be a single proprietor. Like the two
categories below, they are often the result of
lay-off's. Almost every fired CEO/CFO becomes a
consultant! |
Some of
the major risks are that you will be dependent on
your old employer and his whims. Finding new
clients is often difficult but has to be the key
for future success. Other problems are
being a sole consultant and hence a
"lone fighter". See our small
write-up on these risks. The entry costs
are usually low, since the only items
you need are a computer, a corner of your home as
an office, a phone and a fax. |
| Manufacturing
Agent |
This is
often attractive to regional salesmen who have
been laid-off. Companies usually need
manufacturing agents so that they are represented
close to the market place. |
Most
medium and small companies cannot cover this
country with their own sales force. Even
large companies resort to employing manufacturers
agents with local knowledge to be
represented, where the decisions are made.
Manufacturers agents have usually a fixed
guaranteed territory and are
paid a small percentage (anywhere
between 1 and 10% of the sales price) for all
sales in this territory. They are
responsible for their own infrastructure. Entry
costs are generally low since you need
an office (can be in-house), a phone, a fax and a
computer. |
| Technology
Repair and Maintenance Specialist |
Often
selected by former employees of companies after
economic downscaling of companies. Employing
these "consultants" as sub-contractors
is advantageous for companies since they save
themselves pension and healthcare costs. |
This is often
started as part of being a manufacturers
representative. But it can also be
started as a stand-alone. It is common in the oil
extraction and production industry but has taken
hold everywhere and in most technology fields.
Manufacturers are often not interested in repairs
on products where repair is not only feasible,
but ecologically desirable. If someone has the
technical know-how, it is a lucrative business
sector. The costs of entry can be
substantial, since there maybe some
special tools and testing instruments needed.
Though often, some of these instruments can be
acquired at relatively low costs on the second
hand market. The key is again to diversify
away from your original employer and widen your
circle of clients. |
| Writer,
Public Relations, advertising personnel with
various skills |
Again,
these start ups are often the result of
lay-off's. Technical writers and PR departments
are often the early victims of company cost cuts,
the same as internal advertising groups |
Many
companies require technical or other
writers that create manuals, product
descriptions, instructions or spare parts
descriptions. Often this job is done
outside the company, since the creative element
is not well catered for within the strict
organization of some companies. |
| Training
Coach or Mentor |
Many "fired"
or retired human resources managers end up as training
coaches, mentors or even
motivational speakers. No other country
produces as many of the latter as we here in the
USA. |
If you have a skill which
you can turn into a genuine training format that
is wanted by the public or a niche market, then
you have a marketable commodity. The same is
true, if you want to act as a mentor,
transferring specific skills to your pupil. It is
important though that you have your
skills well defined with a program of how you are
going to transfer them. |
| Cleaning,
Facilities Maintenance and Facilities Management,
Lawn Care, Handyman |
Good
start-up with the ability to grow regionally.
Therefore the larger the urban area where you
start, the greater your growth prospects. Total
facilities maintenance will naturally be far more
complicated than the cleaning only
process. But it is an area to grow into.
|
Your
largest risk will be to grow too fast and thus
lose control over a people intensive activity.
The general quality of employees will be low and
they will require good supervision and training.
Building up an excellent middle management will
be the key, because they will be the people on
the spot (i.e. on the individual client sites).
A good drug detection and control program for
employees is a must have
in this activity. |
| Customer
Service and Call Centers |
Outsourcing
call centers and customer service has for many
large and medium sized corporations become a
necessary cost saving measure. It is also a good
starting place for new business ventures. |
If you
have already worked in customer service, starting
that side of the business should not be too
difficult. Especially if you can take over
clients from existing company accounts. Starting
a call center may be more challenging, unless
again, you are taking over existing accounts. But
like in all the situation, where you start with
the accounts of your former employer, you have to
expand and find new clients. because otherwise,
when the corporation reorganizes again and moves
the customer service back inside the company, you
will stay there "naked" without any
business!
|
| Nightly
restocking in Retail Facilities (food,
clothing, sports etc) |
You will
provide the manpower, your client will provide
the goods and facilities you have to restock. Trust
between your client and your crew is probably the
key, since you are dealing with valued
items. |
This is heavy
physical work and usually you and your crew
have to be bonded. It is not yet common,
but the demand for this service is increasing. |
| Security |
Security
Services are nowadays asked in many areas.
Whether it is a policeman outside a bar,
or the security control of an old peoples
home and their staff or a private home,
security issues are present everywhere. |
People
with some security background, such as
retired police, obviously offer immediate
credibility which an outsider,
establishing a start-up would have to establish
first. |
| Transport
and Courier Services |
Although,
the large courier services like FEDEX, DHL or UPS
dominate many market segments, there are
still niches, where the individual courier is
required. This maybe
local, nationwide or international. Blood,
organs, important papers, art, paintings, jewelry
and many other items are still being sent by
trusted individual courier. |
Unless,
you have previous contacts, as a start up, you
will probably go into the local market. The medical
field (lab analysis work, blood) is
often a good starting point. The same applies for
lawyers and real estate agents
(important papers). You need a car,
bicycle/motorcycle, a GPS and a mobile phone |
This list is by no means exhaustive. But
it shows ten areas which companies, nowadays, outsource,
in order to save costs. There are others and we are sure
there will be more to come.
Areas
with low Cost Business Entry
Cleaning,
Facilities Maintenance and to some extent Facilities
Management, were some of the first areas of
business outsourced in companies. Whether your client is
a whole office building, or just one single tenant in an
office complex, they all provide you with an opportunity
to enter this business area.
Cleaning
is not an "attractive business" and has
difficulties to overcome the "bag-lady" image.
This is actually quite unjustified, since it is
singularly lucrative. Its advantage is that entry to the
"profession" is easy. That is also its great
disadvantage. Because "everyone with a broom and
a vacuum cleaner" can enter the market and
theoretically set itself up as a cleaner. In practice
though, these "opportunists" do not
last long, since they, usually, lack the persistence and
hard work ethic that the job requires.
A more
specialist field is cleaning industrial plants
and large retail facilities. How
difficult that is, depends on the industry. This is also
reflected in the costs of entry. The most difficult to
enter are probably food and vegetable processing plants,
such as meat packers, vegetable sorters etc., because
they have high risks of contamination. Some restaurants
and most food and other retail stores also use outsiders
to clean. Other industrial plants can be engineering, car
and parts manufacturing and other plants that employ
shift workers, where often the third shift is the
cleaning shift.
The cleaning
business is by no means without competition. But
if you start well organized and well planned, you have
every chance to succeed in it. The products below will
help you. Select the one that you think fits your way of
organizing yourself best! They are not academic
instructions, but good down-to-earth outlines that
will initially guide you and should generate additional
ideas of how to do things.
The
Cleaning and Maintenance Business
Click here to Purchase 
Product ID1095-1
US$ 37.97
|
This is a complete home-based
Starter-Kit designed to help you succeed in the
office cleaning business. It contains the
documents and information you need in a
downloadable format. It takes the mystery out of how
to get the account and how to price it right.
No one spells it out for you easier than this or
gives you the specific information you must have
to succeed. This Instant Office Cleaning Kit
gives you an amazing head start.
HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
 |
How to get
started fast and easy |
|
How to get
business the smart way without expensive
advertising. |
|
How to organize
each job to finish faster, and create
more profit. |
|
How to project a
professional image and get top dollar for
your service. |
|
How much to
charge. A simple formula that's right on
the money. |
|
What kind of
people to hire to do the work. |
|
A risk-free
proven method of getting customers in
your area. |
|
How to get
started with little or no money. |
The U.S. Department
of Labor recently reported that
the office cleaning service industry will provide
more jobs than any other area of employment in
the coming years.
Would
you like to get your share of this billion dollar
a year market?
Click
Here to Download the Kit
|
Click here to Purchase
Product ID16334-23
US$ 34.95
|
Quickly becoming the first choice
for home, business and janitorial cleaning
service companies,
Maid
Manager Pro was developed for the busy
maid service and home/office cleaning business.
Now it's used world wide by cleaning
services of all sizes. It's hard to stay
organized in a small business, where everybody
has a lot of hats to wear, and where customers
expect your immediate reaction to their needs. If
you don't do it, they are off to your
competition.
Managing
any service business, you'll need to
track your customers, schedule services, watch
the payments, and much more. Cleaning
services are very personal, building a
professional business relationship with your
clients will be an important part of
your business.
We
believe that you should focus on growing your
business rather than spending a great deal of
time and energy sorting through paperwork and
having to learn complicated software.
We
have listened closely to maid service and
janitorial companies and created a
product to address their common needs. Download
the free evaluation copy and take it for a test
drive.
This
is a great low budget solution that works.
Click
here to Purchase
|
House
cleaning, as opposed to office cleaning
business is a bit more tricky to get into. There
are possibilities that are in between the two. For
instance, cleaning rental units in
large rental complexes after they have been
vacated. Because they are empty and do not longer contain
any personal items, the problems that exist in cleaning
private houses do not arise in these jobs.
Having
someone else enter your house and rummaging through your
things, even with the well intentioned task of cleaning
up, is intensely private. Because, you, the contractor,
could accidentally see things that only you, as the owner
of the property should see and know. This is one of the
reasons why many people cannot live, or feel
uncomfortable, in a house with servants (or, if the word "servants"
bothers you and, you are hypocritical, you could call
them "house- beautification-associates").
Because
of privacy and security issues, many house owners will
insist that you are bonded (meaning "insured"),
if you want to clean their house. That gives them a
certain element of trust into your group.
They have the assurance that you do not walk off with
their belongings. If the maids are your employees, you
better get bonded, because, they could accidentally break
something for which you will be responsible.
You can
also be accused that they broke something, even if they
did not. Which is more common then you might think! In
any event, you will be held liable and a bond should
cover any such loss.
An
amazing number of former high level business
executives end up doing lawn care.
We do not know, whether this is because entry into the
market is relatively easy, or whether it has to to with
the lack of people skills of so many former executives.
It is
clearly a business that is low cost to enter. You need a
decent grass cutter, some rakes, some clippers, a weed
eater, maybe a trimmer, protective gloves and a pick up
truck and you are in business. Then, you have to make
yourself known in your church group or on a notice board
of your local supermarket.
There
are probably more limits to growth, then, say, in the
cleaning business. But it is possible to manage several
outgoing crews, as you grow your business.
In order
to know the status of your clients, you need some simple
good management software. Not anything complicated. The
product below fits that description. Additionally, a good
accounting system will help, such as those provided for
by QuickBooks .
Click here to Purchase
Internet Download
Product ID 16334-6
US$ 34.95
|
Lawn Manager Pro is
used by Lawn Service companies both large
and small. It provides the means to keep
current with schedules, customers, billing, etc.
As
with all our programs developed here at Lazy
Bayou, it's easy to use and provides the
necessary information to the user that keeps up
with service schedules and getting your invoices
out on time.
Reports
show all your accounts. invoices, service
type, next service date, past due accounts,
equipment maintenance schedules, etc.
Unlimited
records can be added so you can keep records for
your company in the years to come. This is a
great program for lawn service operators of all
sizes wanting to present a professional image
with their billing practices.
New
billing procedures including credit card
processing in the latest version make it
easy to keep up with your client accounts.
Generate and print your invoices with a click of
the mouse.
Keep
up with current and overdue payments while
maintaining your scheduled services, equipment
maintenance and keeping your customers happy.
Download
the free evaluation copy and take it for a test
drive
Click here to Purchase
|
Offering
your services as a handyman requires that you
have certain skills in solving common household
maintenance problems. There are areas where you require
additional certifications which vary from state to state.
Heating and Air Conditioning, electrical work, pest
control and plumbing are often affected by that. But when
you come to that, you can always subcontract to someone
who has these certifications.
Naturally,
there is a limit to how large you can grow and to the
income you make, if you work on your own. If you start to
subcontract, people, job and project control management
will become paramount, since this business area is
riddled with people who "pretend to know". Close
supervision is a must. If
you are not good at that, then you either do everything
yourself, or don't touch that business at all!
Below is
a product that will help you, to keep at least the
administrative part of your business in order.
You still need a good accounting system such as those
from QuickBooks.
Click here to Purchase
Internet Download
Product ID 16334-24
US$ 34.95
|
Handy
Man Pro is setting the mark for Handy
Man business management. We've listened
to our customers and have included many of their
ideas and suggestions in this release.
Developed for individuals who work
out of their truck, van or home garage and take
on any job where they can make a buck. It's not
just limited to construction type jobs, there's
options for about any job a "handy
person" can do. A slick new billing
system that's simple and easy to use generates
work orders, invoices and payment receipts that
give your business a professional appearance and
keep your finances in order.
We've also added Password
Protection as an option at no extra cost. This
will allow you to control access to Handy Man Pro
and prevent unauthorized access to your client's
financial records as they pertain to your
business. New reports provide up-to-the-minute
knowledge of your job schedules, tool and
equipment maintenance schedules, open
and closed work orders and other informative
information that will allow you to get out from
behind the desk and out on the job without
worrying about a lot of paperwork. We have
listened closely to our customers and have
implemented many of their suggestions and ideas
into this release.
Handy Man Pro will help to
give your business a professional appearance
with customized invoices, payment records and
reports. Handy Man Pro is designed to relieve
everyday management pains faced when performing
these type services.
We believe that you should focus
on growing your business, rather than spending a
great deal of energy sorting through paperwork
and having to learn complicated software.
Click here to Purchase
|
The
Organizing Business
The
Professional Organizer is a business that suits
anyone who is systematic in his/her thinking, has
superb organizational skills and therefore an ordered
mind set, is persuasive with clients and also knows where
to physically start "interfering into someone else's
personal life"! This skills required for
this last idea should not be underestimated!
There is
a wide area of business activity: You can
|
Organize
someone life |
|
organize
someone's house or office, or a house moving |
|
organize
someone's business affairs or travel plans, |
|
organize
weddings, anniversaries, births, retirements,
funerals and other personal social events |
|
organize
company product launches, business and private
parties |
In fact, the need is almost without limit!
But it is a business that is not without its
difficulties. Think of it: The lifelong, wealthy,
successful, perpetual, egocentrical slob calls
you in and asks you to organize his affairs. If
you organize his life, you are changing his life.
Something, he or she might have vaguely thought of when
they called you in. But now comes the crunch:
"Finish with 'slobism', start to live an organized
life, which has restrictions and certain
disciplines" and you are going to teach that to
someone who only knows and likes his disorganized self!
The conflict is pre programmed and, how to solve this
conflict, obviously, requires your skill!
You
probably think we are exaggerating, but we are not.
Nevertheless, it is an interesting business and
one which needs strong nerves, your calm, determination,
a stoic acceptance that you might fail, in the
long run, not in your business, but in individual
assignments. On the other hand, you might have many
success stories and people will thank you for that!
The
product below will tell you more about how to start such
a business and build it up.
Click here to Purchase
Product ID 1090-1
US$ 29.95
Internet Download
|
Modern life means super busy
people just don't have enough time to get
everything done. They need help and they
will pay you to come to their rescue. Yes,
at both home and office folks are paying
"organizers" to get their lives in
order.
The
Becoming a Professional Organizer Start-Up
Guide Kit™ is a step-by-step guide
which provides a collection of valuable sound
advice and practical guidance for starting your
own professional organizing business!
You
will benefit from this kit if you are:
|
considering
becoming a professional organizer |
|
already worked
for a residential or office organizing
business and now are ready to start your
own professional organizing business |
|
ready to take
your organizational skills and and apply
them to your own business |
|
thinking of
making an income while working from home
and being your own boss |
The
kit will show you how to attract clients, what
records to keep, what and how to charge, how to
account for your services and all the other
important aspects of a business.
Click
Here to Download
*
|
|
