For a short period of time in 2010-2011 I was getting restless. Our Redlands CPA firm business was going very well but I was craving the opportunity to try something different. That is when I started actively suggesting new business ideas to my wife. I’m past that phase but here’s the short list of business ideas I came up with.
Brains N Brawn – We would hire a manager and group of young people to pickup items for donation from customer’s homes and take them to their charity of choice. As part of that work, we would provide a valuation report that the customer could use to better document their donation for tax purposes. This business we started in 2010 and closed in 2012. Great idea, great people, great cause. Just hard to get folks to pay the rates we needed for the service to be successful.
Merge – Anyone for pad thai with meatballs? Merge was a restaurant that would feature menu items that would “merge” more than one culture or type of food in one dish. Other examples would be “bombay burritos” (we actually created and make this recipe at home) and chcken tortilla matzo ball soup. Truth is a restaurant businesses is probably more work with the least chance of success of any type of business. Thankfully this idea never got past the discussion (or family laughter) phase.
Legacy – Couples and families have personal traditions. My wife and I have a tradition of a single red rose with us on the day of our anniversary whether we are home or away. The idea of Legacy was to create a managed fund that would continue those traditions after a loved one has passed. For my example, upfront funding would provide that the single red rose would continue to be delivered to our home after the time that either my wife or I were gone. This idea I believe can work but requires alot of upfront legwork to develop…more than I have the time to devote now.
I have been asked about good ideas for business in meetings with CPA firm clients or discussions at Redlands and Inland Empire community events. I want to pass on a very simple concept. If you want to create a new business, create a service or product delivery method that is high on the list of things people do not want to do. Here are a couple ideas:
Car purchase concierge. Few people like the process of purchasing a new or used car. Who likes to deal with people like this?
Why not create a service for qualified customers who know what car they want, find the car, make arrangements to pickup and deliver the car to someone’s home. You can get paid on some form of commission basis or develop a contract with car dealerships for providing that service. No overhead, happy customers…not a bad idea.
Bill paying service. Everyone has to pay their bills. Even with online banking, few people enjoy this task.
If you can create the level of trust needed with customers and have the proper level of expertise, why not take the bill paying routine off their hands. You can provide a easy mechanism for authorizing transactions and reporting so your customer knows that their bills are covered. Your customer can now use that freed up time in a more enjoyable way.
These are just a couple ideas. For further reading, here’s a link of 25 well paying jobs that people may not like to do:
http://www.businesspundit.com/25-well-paying-jobs-that-most-people-overlook-and-why/
If you are looking for a great business idea I created a spark for you to help you make your Life Less Taxing.
