On "offline business opportunities"

On Wednesday, Joe asked "Does anybody know of any good legitimate off-line business opportunities." in this post:
http://www.sowpub.com/cgi-bin/forum/webbbs_config.pl?read=7851

That got me to a think'n.

Apart from the existing, advertised opportunities, there are plenty of others. But because they aren't advertised, you may not realise they exist.

How 'bout being a manufacturer's rep/agent?

How 'bout thinking of any 'job' performed in an office - each 'job' could be its own work-from-home business provided to those who don't have a large office, and those with large offices who want to outsource.

You could ASK "How could I improve this" about everything in your home/office/hobby and sell the improved item - after you make it.

And while these are all viable ways people make money, I wondered IF there was a way to add some predictability to it. Was it possible to figure out something from scratch, using freely available information? Was there a way to let other people figure out if a market existed BEFORE you entered that market with your business? And was there a way that your business could be FIRST, or one of a very small few?

And then it hit me:

Lawnmowers are available in K-Mart and hardware stores for the public to buy. Lawnmowing businesses exist.

Car wash solution is available almost everywhere. Car washing businesses exist.

Vacuum cleaners, mop buckets, cleaning chemicals, etc., are readily available. Cleaning businesses exist.

Dog shampoo is available. Dog washing businesses exist.

Based on this pattern, IF you find something readily available to the public - cleaning chemicals, some kind of machine or tool, etc., - then it PROVES people buy those items to get the results the items provide.

A percentage of people would rather pay someone else to use those chemicals, machines, tools, etc., to do what they could do themselves.

Using that logic here is a very-small sample of the long list of possible businesses I came up with within a few short minutes....

Mobile hair dying/coloring service. - Hair dye is available at the supermarket for those who want to do it themselves. Why not use the same products and provide a service for those who would rather have you do it for them.

Mobile shoe polishing service. - Shoe polish is available at the supermarket for those who want to do it themselves. Why not visit exec-offices to shine the shoes of the big-wigs.

Shower Screen Cleaning Service. - Shower screen cleaning 'stuff' is sold in the supermarket. Why not provide a shower screen cleaning service for those who don't want to do it themselves.

Dish washing service. - Dish washing liquid is available at the supermarket. Why not provide a service where you go to someone's house and wash their dishes. People don't like this so much, some buy expensive machines to do it!

Oven cleaning service. - Oven cleaning chemicals are available at the supermarket. Why not provide an oven cleaning service for those who don't want to do it themselves.

Brass/Silver polishing service. - Brass/Silver polishing 'stuff' is available at the supermarket. Why not provide a brass/silverware polishing service.

In each case, the availability of something at the supermarket indicates a large market is there - if it wasn't, the supermarket would not stock the items because space is valuable and they are not going to take up space with items that do not sell.

You will notice these businesses are very specialised. Call it, niche, specialised, split-market, whatever. It all comes down to the same thing. Providing a very specific service.

What items available at the supermarket or hardware store can you think of that could be turned into a specialised business?

Michael Ross.


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