Dien Rice
January 4, 2012, 08:14 PM
This is a great and unusual business idea...
If you want to travel to certain countries, you have to get a visa.
However, dealing with the bureaucracies of other countries, believe it or not, can even be worse than dealing with US government bureaucracy! (Even the "local" version, at that country's local embassy or consulate.)
One man wanted to get a visa to travel to China. However, the hassles of the forms caused troubles! And the Chinese consulate didn't want to go out of their way to be helpful.
He realized others had the same trouble. So, he set up a van outside the Chinese consulate in New York, where he helps people fill out the right forms to get their visas!
He charges $20 per person - and it's turned into a successful business, where he can make up to almost $500 a day! ($500 would only mean 25 customers. Even to just make $200 a day - which is not a bad income - would take just 10 customers per day.)
Here's a picture of the inside of his van (not flashy, but it gets the job done)...
http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2012/01/03/lucky-dragon-van.jpg
Here's the article (with more details)...
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/01/04/144636898/a-man-a-van-a-surprising-business-plan
(This also proves that the existence of a problem, especially if many people have the same problem, often also means that there's a hidden opportunity!)
Best wishes,
Dien
If you want to travel to certain countries, you have to get a visa.
However, dealing with the bureaucracies of other countries, believe it or not, can even be worse than dealing with US government bureaucracy! (Even the "local" version, at that country's local embassy or consulate.)
One man wanted to get a visa to travel to China. However, the hassles of the forms caused troubles! And the Chinese consulate didn't want to go out of their way to be helpful.
He realized others had the same trouble. So, he set up a van outside the Chinese consulate in New York, where he helps people fill out the right forms to get their visas!
He charges $20 per person - and it's turned into a successful business, where he can make up to almost $500 a day! ($500 would only mean 25 customers. Even to just make $200 a day - which is not a bad income - would take just 10 customers per day.)
Here's a picture of the inside of his van (not flashy, but it gets the job done)...
http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2012/01/03/lucky-dragon-van.jpg
Here's the article (with more details)...
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/01/04/144636898/a-man-a-van-a-surprising-business-plan
(This also proves that the existence of a problem, especially if many people have the same problem, often also means that there's a hidden opportunity!)
Best wishes,
Dien
