Sea Weeds
 

I have just joined this forum today after reading the forum topics for 2 days and i thought it was an excellent source for information for a person to start a business or just get motivated.

I have a question for you all. Does anyone know how you can make sea weeds washed on the beach into a useful product. May sound wierd but than again could sound interesting to the knowledable person!.

What you say? Any one can point me in the right direction?

Re: Sea Weeds
 

Welcome to SowPubs. :)

Try using some of the following Free Keyword tools...

Play around a little with SeaWeeds and related Keyword phrases...

All kinds of ideas will Pop out ready for Googling and Searching out the Possibilities...

And any other Niche or micro niche for that matter.... ;)

http://www.keywordworkshop.com/pages/Free-Tools-Listing
http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/

Definitely some interesting SeaWeed ideas & stuff if you have Free Access to SeaWeed like some of us Do!

Phil

Re: Sea Weeds
 

Wikipedia shows that seaweed has 3 uses:

1. Food
2. Medicine
3. Fertilizers

2 & 3 may be harder to get into. But 1 is not that hard to start on your own.

Go here:
http://www.macrobiotics.co.uk/seavegetables.htm
Order that book.
Try creating some recipes.
And sell the dish to restaurants and delis.

Re: Sea Weeds
 

There's a woman that started a small company on the west coast of Vancouver Island (Vancouver, BC, Canada) basically harvesting seaweed on her shoreline that has since grown into one of, if not the largest seaweed suppliers in the world for their niche.

Sorry, short on time, but you might want to search "Seaweed Vancouver Island"
"Seaweed Harvesters Vancouver Island" "Seaweed Exporters Vancouver Island", etc., and it should come up.

The story was also in the Vancouver media about some development that could effect the harvest.

Good luck,

Rod

Re: Sea Weeds
 

Here's the company Rod's referring to...

Almost my neighbor...

Just goes to Show you, that all you Need is a Niche and a little Creativity. ;)

http://www.outercoastseaweeds.com/
http://www.outercoastseaweeds.com/Ne...ne_Reviews.htm

Phil

Re: Sea Weeds
 

Thank you gentleman.

I thought this was a straightforward venture but it seems you need to be a marine biologist to make this into a commercial venture. I read through a lot of research paper last night.

i will keep at it ans see what comes out fo it/

Re: Sea Weeds
 

Thank's Phil,

Here's one more report on the "Seaweed Lady":

http://travelvideo.tv/news/more.php?id=A8833_0_1_0_M

What's interesting to note (actually pretty amazing) is she
makes $35 PER PERSON by giving SEAWEED TOURS!

I don't know how many people she can run through each 2
hour tour, or how many tours she does each day and each
week, from May to Sept., but it look's like a very nice gig in
addition to her other revenue streams.

(Being a NW coaster thats gotta be right up there with
the folks that figured out how to cash in on slug tours here
in the rainy NW)

So, maybe the question shoudn't be, "How can I make
money harvesting and selling this stuff on the beach?

But, "How can I make money showing people this stuff
on the beach?

PROMOTIONS could be your best angle.

Maybe something as simple as developing local seaweed tour
packages to sell on eBay to start.

Or, taking some time to study how the Seaweed Lady does it,
and/or your local Bird Watching Travel industry. And applying
some of those same techniques.

Basically twisting and shaping your own ideas like Phil is so good
at pointing out.

Good luck,

Rod

How about..
 

Seaweed tours BUT, promote the "select your own fresh, quality seaweed"?

Maybe the hook of being able to gather their own seaweed?

You might even supply them with bags to collect their seaweed that have your logo, etc., on them.

Pete

They've quit laughing, and started buying! Better late than never.
DST-Update

Re: Sea Weeds
 

Thanks Rod,

Diane Bernard, the Seaweed Lady's business has Grown...

In 2004, she already had a staff of 5 so using the multiple streams of income model within a Niche has worked well for her business and I'm sure unlimited tours & packages...

She has marketed her Niche Extremely well, so her business model is definitely worth studying.

Which brings up the another Great topic that Rod touched on that holds all kinds of business ideas and opportunities...

Ecotourism... depending on what your particular area has to offer and marketable interests of Consumers...

Walking Tours, Eagle & Bird watching, Mushroom Hunting (seasonal), Tree Identification etc. etc.

Think Social networking/People interests...

A few Quick links...
http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/ecotourism.htm
http://www.google.ca/search?q=Walkin...ient=firefox-a
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&cl...Search&meta =

By the way...

Talking about Slugs, some Collect tons of FREE shells on Beaches...

Hammer and then package them into Slug Killers, Slug Off. :)

The Sharp edges Hurt!

Yes! There are Bucks in Slug marketing. ;)

Gardner's Love putting them around Plants where Slugs eat their leaves...

Phil

Re: Sea Weeds
 

Thanks Phil,

Again, you raise some excellent points.

Travel and Tourism is the largest industry in the world.

And Ecotourism, by its very nature, offers fewer barriers to entry and less overhead then most other related ventures.

Let me kick another tire within it that offers endless opportunities.

Namely, working with local tour operators to conduct front-end PROSPECTING and back-end FOLLOW-UP marketing campaigns.

Prospecting, for example, by:
1.) Picking a specific geographic area to farm (say Texas)
2.) Compiling a list of likely prospects in Texas to contact (say subscribers to Outdoor magazine, with three or more credit cards, $75,000+ income, who travel 3+ times a year)
3.) Developing a shared ad campaign (Postcard, Brochure, Booklet, etc.) to mail three to six times to your list.
4.) Charging local tour operators to be a part of your mailing.

(Here in the NW a friend of mine with vacation rental homes does a lot of business each summer with folks escaping the heat in Texas)

Following-up, for example, by:
1.) Creating a series of thank you, referral, birthday, and holiday cards to the new customers that resulted from your mailings to reel them and their friends back in.

Taking this basic formula you could bore down into virtually endless local to international markets.

Right now, I’m actually working on a project like this to promote a region in the south of France here in the U.S. and, hopefully visa versa with Air France starting direct flights to Seattle.

Which brings up another related niche – simply TRANSLATING tourism packages.

Ok, that’s enough tire kicking for now.

But I think I might contact a local oyster farm to see what they are doing with their ‘slug’ shells - excellent idea!

Cheers,

Rod