# Business ideas



## trainspotter (2 September 2010)

Anyone got a great idea that just might work? Minimal capital outlay and makes around a $1000 per week? Don't need to be a rocket scientist to start it up and it is not hard work?

How about this one then? $5000 buys a second hand van, $500 to signwrite it up in your chosen company name ("Lights R us" springs to mind) $500 for business cards and a letter drop in a suburb. BUY $2000 of every kind of light globe imaginable (from 20 watt to 100 watt bayonet and edison, small, large ALL of them) Now keep in mind that MOST people have a 60 watt GE bayonet light globe in just about all of their homes. Finally a small step ladder for $150 and a nice pair of overalls for another $150. Total spend $8,300.00

You then start at one end of the street in any given suburb and knock on the door and TELL them this;-

* "I will change ALL of your light globes in your house for $10" *

The home owner says "YES". You then bring in a box FULL of every kind of light globe and it looks marvellous! You take out their light globe and replace it with the shiny new one from the store. You then place their old one in the packet the original store one came in and place it back in the box.

Collect $10.

Go next door and repeat the same action. Now what happens is that Mrs Kafoops at home number 1 light globe ends up in Mr Smythes house next door and so on and so forth. ALL FOR $10 a throw.

You are not breaking any laws. You are not telling them they are new light globes. Read what I have written. You are only offering to *change *them. Not *sell *them a new one.

Yes there will be some lights that are genuinely broken so you will eventually have to buy more stock. The game goes on.

Now I figure you should be able to do about 30 homes a day once you get good at it. A nice little earner of $1500 per week on a lousy $8,300 outlay.

Anyone else got any GREAT ideas on how to make money?

P.S. Still working on a system whereby 1000 people give me $20 per week. You do the math !


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## robusta (2 September 2010)

Ok Trainspotter I could see this one making money but could you sleep an night?
You can fool some of the people some of the time......


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## Garpal Gumnut (2 September 2010)

Many like me would tell you to bugger off, if it sounds too good to be true, it is etc etc.

It sounds somewhat like the Storm Financial model actually.

gg


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## Sean K (2 September 2010)

Please drop by my place spotter...

Pearling must be keeping that mind of yours very busy at the moment.


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## robusta (2 September 2010)

Happy to see you at my place. At the moment I have 4 blown globes + 1 for IXL tastic. $10 would be a bargain


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## trainspotter (2 September 2010)

robusta said:


> Ok Trainspotter I could see this one making money but could you sleep an night?
> You can fool some of the people some of the time......




Quite easily robusta. Think of buying 12 of these systems. 100k outlay and employ people to do the job. No risk. Would make a fantastic franchise model.


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## trainspotter (2 September 2010)

Garpal Gumnut said:


> Many like me would tell you to bugger off, if it sounds too good to be true, it is etc etc.
> 
> It sounds somewhat like the Storm Financial model actually.
> 
> gg




Thanks GG ..... it is too good to be true. It does work in real life. WHY has no one else thought of it? 

Nothing like Storm Fin group BTW. We are talking about $10 per customer. Not taking your life savings off you.


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## trainspotter (2 September 2010)

kennas said:


> Please drop by my place spotter...
> 
> Pearling must be keeping that mind of yours very busy at the moment.




Down time is a b1tch. Water is below 18 degrees so cannot go pearling ! Shop is going ORRFFFFFF .... Very happy my pieces are being worn by the sophisticated Hoi polloi.

Just looking at other business models for small seed capital start ups.


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## trainspotter (2 September 2010)

robusta said:


> Happy to see you at my place. At the moment I have 4 blown globes + 1 for IXL tastic. $10 would be a bargain




LIGHT GLOBES robusta. Not IXL tastic heater globes. More than happy to replace 4 globes at a buck a piece. $10 minus $4 = $6 dollar profit.

Sooooooooooo ...... anyone else got any ideas on how to make money?


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## overit (3 September 2010)

I think you are selling yourself short. There was an article in the paper a year or two ago with a guy doing exactly this. I think he was charging $44 an hour. Unfortunately I cant find the article anymore. I also wonder how the electrical board/ union would treat your proposition. Believe me they can be very anally retentive with anyone doing anything remotely infringing on their territory.

Most of these great little start up ideas are restricted to people with trades. The respective unions/ bodies tie up their trade pretty well so nobody can touch it. Example. I was in the process of doing a gas fitting traineeship and whilst I could touch the gas outlet on the hotwater system I needed a restricted plumbing license to touch the water. Go figure. 

I can think of two great little businesses for the trades. Both not that difficult to do but they are bogged down in bullsh#t. One is a test and tag business and the other is servicing gas appliances in commercial kitchens. The 2nd idea here sounds difficult but it is not. Almost anyone with a prior trade can get their gas ticket. When I was in cairns there appeared to be a huge calling for this. I would be doing this myself if I didnt get tied up in retarded government bullsh#t (long story). Not the most pleasant of a jobs sometimes but the basics are easy to grasp and plenty of opportunity about.


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## overit (3 September 2010)

The business I would like to start up is a hybrid photo gallery/ coffee shop/ print shop. Bit too high risk for me though. Reasonable start up cost but could burn a hole in your pocket if it didnt take off. Maybe one day when I have money to burn.


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## overit (3 September 2010)

Another idea which would cost bugger all except a bucket load of motivation and enthusiasm would be a personal trainer/ sports buddy. I had this idea once to start a personal training business that also included a sport buddy type concept. You would basically play sports with people. ie. Your a mad keen cricketer and wanted some batting practice so you call up overit to send down some thunderbolts. Same with footy, tennis or whatever. You would also provide a traditional personal training service.


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## basilio (3 September 2010)

> "I will change ALL of your light globes in your house for $10"
> 
> The home owner says "YES". You then bring in a box FULL of every kind of light globe and it looks marvellous! You take out their light globe and replace it with the shiny new one from the store. You then place their old one in the packet the original store one came in and place it back in the box.
> 
> ...




From my view a few problems with your idea.

1) I understand that incandescent lights are being phased out. So you need to replace incandescents with equivalent CFL

2) If you actually change all the light globes in a house it will take anything from 20 minutes to a veeeryy long time. And don't even think about what happens when you touch a very old old light fitting with a fused globe in it. _(I did replace  incandescents with CFLs for 8 months.)_

3) Telling  people you are changing their lights and then replacing them with used ones will quickly get you a star billing on A Current affair and Consumer protection. Cute but still a scam.

If you really wanted to do something along these lines consider a fix it service for older people. It is extremely hard to get small jobs done for older people without being ripped off. For example getting a heating system relit after a windy night will cost at least $70. But it's a  5 minute job.  Changing dead lights, small fixes ect.

Cheers.


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## againsthegrain (3 September 2010)

a normal 3 bedroom house has at minimum 3 globes per each bedroom, 1 kitchen, 1 bathroom thats 5 already. 

Then you have reading lamps etc ... so on average u got about 8 - 10 globes per house. 

You will spend at least 30 mins to 1 hour per house, so lets say $10 per hour. T

Then you are only getting the $10 ph if you get a client. Add expenses such as petrol etc you are working on far below minimum wage. 

mmmm and don't forget that not every person is that easy to fool with some watching exactly what you do, asking why the packet looks open and others asking for their old light globes back! I know I would since they are still working why would I want to throw them out!

On top of that not to mention the 2k you spent on the initial light globes, thats 200 scams you need to pull off  to break even.

Maybye running a letter drop business could be a good idea if you are going house to house



I think the whole idea of running a business is to have a bit higher margins and less risk


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## Happy (3 September 2010)

overit said:


> ... hybrid photo gallery/ coffee shop/ print shop. Bit too high risk for me though. ...




Suppose rent would kill it.

Possibly can survive if emphasis is put on coffee shop and add on services can be tailored to demand.

Office Works provide printing services and from what I heard you can have there coffee or tea for free.


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## Mofra (3 September 2010)

TS, nice idea but how many houses could you cover in an hour? 2-3? If you're maxing at $30 income in an hour I dare say it isn't really worth teh time.

The thought process behind it is brilliant though.


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## overit (3 September 2010)

Happy said:


> Suppose rent would kill it.
> 
> Possibly can survive if emphasis is put on coffee shop and add on services can be tailored to demand.
> 
> Office Works provide printing services and from what I heard you can have there coffee or tea for free.




If you have seen the old peter lik gallery in cairns you would see the sort of thing I have in mind. Just add lounge chairs and coffee. The printing would be only larger premium stuff. You would have the gear anyway so just a bonus. The idea would be that the coffee and printing pays the costs and the large limited edition prints would be the icing on the cake. Rents would be a killer as you would have to be in a premium position.


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## bellenuit (3 September 2010)

Why not go completely legit and offer to replace all incandescent light globes with equivalent CFLs at an attractive rate. You should be able to purchase the CFLs at a reasonable discount if buying in bulk. You can bring a laptop and calculate on the spot the amount they would save on electricity p.a. due to the change. 

Perhaps start with a leaflet drop in an area to assess interest, to cut down on travel expenses and wasted time etc. You offer for free to calculate the savings to be made and if they are interested then you provide the replacement service on the spot.

I am sure there are many people who would like to be a bit "greener" than they are, but are unable due to age or other factors to undertake the task themselves.


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## againsthegrain (3 September 2010)

bellenuit that actually sounds like a good idea and has some potential, I still am a bit skeptical about the margins tho.

For any similar service business, lets say lawn mowing you would easily be charging around $50 - $100 for a service which you would spend 1 - 2 hours on so I would be setting $40 - 50 as a minimum ph value if you want your business to go anywhere.

Then you have all your licensed services such as plumbers electricians etc which will easily charge you a $60 just for a call out regardless if any work is done.

So going from those rates back to 10 - 20 even 30 ph you don't put much value on yourself.

Once I ran into a interesting business, a guy was coming around to houses offering to repaint house numbers, those numbers that are painted on curbs on driveways. for $8 he would repaint your house number, a 5 - 10 min job but guess what nearly everybody in my street got it done since its something that you really benefit from. so in 1 hour in theory he could hit nearly $100, in practice he prob averaged 50 - 60. The machinery would set him back a few K back at most which is alot less then the 8K in the initial setup scenario.


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## nunthewiser (3 September 2010)

A little something me and the cuzzybros knocked up a few years back when we were handsome lookin spunks..... worked until cottesloe council threatened us with some major fines for not having a permit 

1 Quad
1 large esky
1 good looking dude with personality plus
1 beach stretching from swanbourne to scarborough

Good looking dude rides up beach nicenslow with watermelon,rockmelon, pineapple and various other fruit slices and platters made up FRESH on the spot.
Sell by the slice or the plate .....

make an absolute killing as serving people what they need without them having to move whilst getting that tan 
Always carry a pen and sunscreen for additional services 

oh.... if doing it on a professional basis .......... get a permit


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## againsthegrain (3 September 2010)

lol sounds like the story from wolf of wallstreet


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## Tech-chic (3 September 2010)

Not sure about it.....


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## nunthewiser (3 September 2010)

Tech-chic said:


> Not sure about it.....




about what?


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## againsthegrain (3 September 2010)

hmmm if I didn't know any better I might think that is a good way to spam that website in the signature ...


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## nunthewiser (3 September 2010)

agree .. lol hows that for a bizzo idea  . type meaningless crap with a website signature .....


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## trainspotter (3 September 2010)

Excellent thought provoking responses ! The CFLs is the way of the future for sure. Although some people still don't want or like them?

Alright ... so we have the business model. Now we need the number crunching and time/motion experts to kick in.

Liking the idea of ready made house calls with a letter drop. Probabaly why I mentioned in my start up costs that this was included?

Remember I am talking GLOBES only. Not IXL tastic heater lamps or bedside lamps etc etc.

Also if there is a problem with the light fitting then we aint touching it.

Can also go up to $20 for the spiel. I will do a dummy run this weekend and let you know how long it takes to change ALL of the globes in my house.


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## moXJO (3 September 2010)

trainspotter said:


> Remember I am talking GLOBES only. Not IXL tastic heater lamps or bedside lamps etc etc.



Lots of houses have those down lights which are a pain to change considering the number of globes per room. Also finding 30 houses a day while door knocking might be a challenge and chew through a lot of what would be installation time. Even 20 mins per house is roughly 10 hour day over 30 houses already isn't it? And that’s not including travel time between houses assuming that they were relatively close together. People can also tend to chat and chew through some time. You either need to lead into another service after the globe change, or charge higher. System needs tweaking imo.

Hitting areas like retirement villages and lots of townhouses grouped together may cut down on travel time and increase chance of getting the job.


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## trainspotter (3 September 2010)

OK OK OK .... I will explain it again with more detail. We are all getting stuck on the GLOBE thing, think of the volume thing. 

The conditions would be that there would be no more than 10 GLOBES changed for the $10. Or in my last post I suggested the "spiel" could increase to $20. If you get bogged down in the semantics of it you are missing the thrust of my post.

The "idea" is about volume !!!!!!!!! or VELOCITY of small money through the masses.

The "light globe" idea is a non sequitur. (thanks WayneL) It is merely an idea of how to make money on a small scale that turns into a flood of income due to the amount of volume of participants. It is called a "wishing well" dynamic.

The business model is plausible. It does work. All of the "Current Affairs" scaremongering is a waste of time.

Try thinking of 1000 people giving you $20 per week. Simple math really. 

How about paying $20 per week to access this site? There must be more than 1000 people who would pay for this kind of information??

I WOULD.


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## Julia (3 September 2010)

trainspotter said:


> Quite easily robusta. Think of buying 12 of these systems. 100k outlay and employ people to do the job. No risk. Would make a fantastic franchise model.



I have a basic objection to the idea because you're frankly conning people, TS.
No, you may not have said that you will replace their old bulbs with NEW bulbs, but in offering such a service, there would be a tacit understanding that fergawdsake you wouldn't be decently suggesting you'd take out an old bulb and replace it with another old bulb!!  The people who would be genuinely grateful for a service like this would be mostly elderly pensioners, unable to climb up on a stepladder.  Just doesn't seem decent to take advantage of them in their vulnerability imo.  Sorry if that sounds moralistic.

I bought two new bulbs today, $7 each.  You can no longer buy the old style bulbs here.

So, leaving all moral considerations aside, you'd have to imo reassess your costings, especially if you're intending to pay subcontractors and still derive some income for yourself.



> The business I would like to start up is a hybrid photo gallery/ coffee shop/ print shop. Bit too high risk for me though. Reasonable start up cost but could burn a hole in your pocket if it didnt take off. Maybe one day when I have money to burn.



Lovely idea, maybe even sell cameras also?   Would need to be in either an affluent area or in affluent times.


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## againsthegrain (3 September 2010)

Trainspotter one thing i am most curious about is, what do you say when you are confronted by your customers and asked "are you replacing with new bulbs?" and "why and where are my old bulbs going?"

I think this will be the hardest part, the lie or turning tale and running lol


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## robusta (3 September 2010)

I am in sales and would have trouble selling this one. I find I can sell something if I can believe in it and I am offering value to my customers but I would personally have trouble with this one.


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## trainspotter (3 September 2010)

One more time to just really press the point home:

Forget the light bulb scenario. Forget the IXL Tastics, forget the morals, forget the sales procedures.

I am talking about VELOCITY of income. $10 is cheap as an IDEA. Multiply it by 1000 and it becomes worthwhile in a very short period of time.

I was using the light bulb symposium as an example as a small setup cost with a high return due to VOLUME and VELOCITY of income.

It does not need to be LIGHT BULBS !!!! The requirement is for a high volume of people to give you a small amount of money that they will not miss if you give them an irrelevant service. HENCE the theory.

TRY thinking about 1000 people giving you $20 per week.

($20 x 1000) = $20,000 per week  x 52 weeks = ONE MILLION DOLLARS ?? (and a bit left over for drinks)

_Trainspotter one thing i am most curious about is, what do you say when you are confronted by your customers and asked "are you replacing with new bulbs?" and "why and where are my old bulbs going?"_

"Yes Sir/Madam we are replacing your light globes with globes that are NEW to your home." and "Your globe is going back to be recycled to a new home"

Answer a question with a question !!! 

Please try and understand what I am writing here. The globe thing is only a possible "vehicle" to drive this kind of income. It is very doable and would not take much to setup. YES it is immoral and takes advantage of people who are not quite above the national IQ of 96. BUT IT IS NOT ILLEGAL !!!!!!!!!

OK .... how about this then ....... 1000 people give me $20 per week and I will give you a piece of pearl jewellery at the end of the year valued at over $1000.. I have generated 1 million dollars of turnover. My cost and overheads would be less than this of course. It is called PROFIT.

I am talking about creating a steady income. Not too hard to understand really???


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## moXJO (4 September 2010)

trainspotter said:


> I am talking about VELOCITY of income. $10 is cheap as an IDEA. Multiply it by 1000 and it becomes worthwhile in a very short period of time.
> 
> I was using the light bulb symposium as an example as a small setup cost with a high return due to VOLUME and VELOCITY of income.




Ahhhh Gotcha 
I think we should all put this into practice. Everyone on the site start sending me $20 a week and I'll test tspots theory.


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## robusta (4 September 2010)

Ok the pearl idea is more like it.
The other problem with the light bulb model is you have a limited supply of labour unless you can create the system and sell it to other people like a franchise. Read The Cash Flow Quadrant or Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.


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## noie (4 September 2010)

trainspotter said:


> One more time to just really press the point home:
> 
> Forget the light bulb scenario. Forget the IXL Tastics, forget the morals, forget the sales procedures.
> 
> ...




Hmm $20 a week is $1040, how much over $1000    

Re the light bulbs, i know of a company here in Japan that does a similar thing..
But for the greater good of man!!...

They come to your house, for about $30 and take pictures of your light fittings, they then price up replacing them all with led, globes and give you a little chart of the energy savings.. they then take the install fee and 1/2 of the energy savings (the real money).. and provide you with the option to purchase new fittings if bigger savings can be made.

They buy all there fittings and bulbs in Bulk.. and sell just less than retail

(even when renting here you need to by ALL your light-bulbs, but some people leave them behind)


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## trainspotter (4 September 2010)

Aaaaahhhhhhhhhh now the light globe comes on ! 

GOSH noie ...... go back and read this from the start please ! We can do with more free thinking people like you. I am more than happy for it to be $30 with flash diagrams etc etc.

We are talking about volume and velocity business here. Small numbers off many people makes light work. HAHAHAHAAAA

It is already working in Japan BTW. It works here as well. 

Anybody got any "bright" ideas of similar consequences? HUH???

I am serious about the pearl equation if anybody is interested. ???


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## trainspotter (4 September 2010)

robusta said:


> Ok the pearl idea is more like it.
> The other problem with the light bulb model is you have a limited supply of labour unless you can create the system and sell it to other people like a franchise. Read The Cash Flow Quadrant or Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.




Probably why I suggested it could be sold as a franchise arrangement earlier on in the piece.

I have read both books as well.


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## overit (4 September 2010)

trainspotter said:


> We are talking about volume and velocity business here. Small numbers off many people makes light work.




Local pizza shop did this once. $4 pizzas. His margin must have been tiny but they were flying out of the shop. Profit by volume!

Got a bit lost in this thread. Everyone focusing on light bulbs but I didnt think thats was the main aim. I'll throw some alternate ideas out there for high volume business.

What about tap washers. Everyone is conscious about water savings these days. You could "service" every tap in the house. Not sure how the plumbing union would like you though. You could have the enviro package. Change your globes to energy efficient. Fix leaky taps, etc. Charge per item. Letter drop. Do whole suburbs at a time.

Test and tagging appliances would be good. Nearly anyone can get the test and tag course from my understanding but you have to be a licensed sparky to have it as a business. But talk about volume. Go to a hotel, they have back logs of this to do. A dollar or two an appliance. Watch the money roll in. 

I have worked in quite a few hotels as a maintenance man and can give you plenty of high volume ideas which would focus on large commercial business like hotels. But like I mentioned earlier the redtape requires you to be "ticketed" for even basic tasks which holts progress for the average man.


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## Julia (4 September 2010)

The basic concept of assistance with household stuff is not new.
I live in a regional centre of only about 55,000 pop and there are three different organisations offering to do any general maintenance.  One is called (yuk!)
"Hire a Hubby".
They do anything from changing light bulbs and smoke alarm batteries to window cleaning, sweeping paths, changing tap washers etc., all the small stuff that does not require a licence.

Something you may not have thought of which applies at least in Qld is government funded assistance for people over a certain age or with a disability where they will send a tradesman out to do whatever you like, plus someone who will clear out gutters, clean fans etc for a maximum cost of $10 per call.
The rest is paid by the government subsidy.  So I wonder (if this service applies across other states) how much actual demand there would be for the sort of service you envisage.


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## robusta (4 September 2010)

trainspotter said:


> Probably why I suggested it could be sold as a franchise arrangement earlier on in the piece.
> 
> I have read both books as well.




sorry didnt mean to sound like a smar@#$@ the fact is i would love to find a business that fits the parameters you are looking for.


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## overit (4 September 2010)

Julia said:


> The basic concept of assistance with household stuff is not new.
> I live in a regional centre of only about 55,000 pop and there are three different organisations offering to do any general maintenance.  One is called (yuk!)
> "Hire a Hubby".
> They do anything from changing light bulbs and smoke alarm batteries to window cleaning, sweeping paths, changing tap washers etc., all the small stuff that does not require a licence.




Good point that there are plenty of people doing this already. Thats why I would have a different focus. I think scheduled tasks are the go. Get yourself a clientele and you have routine work. Much like a lawn mower man who does your lawn every 3weeks or whatever. Thats why I would focus on doing a "service" not a repair. Repairs only happen when the thing breaks. A service happens at regular intervals meaning more work.

Good business for this is a window cleaner. When you build up your clientele base you get a cyclical schedule. Windows need periodical cleaning. Round and round the merry go round we go! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$


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## trainspotter (5 September 2010)

Thanks robusta. Was not trying to come across as a heavy. 

The idea behind the thread is to find a low cost seed capital business that is self perpetuating that does not require an Einstein moment to start up.

The "light bulb" idea was to show you how it can be done. With the light bulb business you do not have to be qualified at anything. No red tape, no government departments, no union involvement etc ad infinitum. The "light bulb" theseis demonstrates the perpetuity of the "product". Almost an inexhaustible supply if you will.

You need to look at something in a different way to make the most of it. Something that everyone already has, is cheap to buy, does not require governement or council approval or unionist or trade tickets to implement.


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## So_Cynical (5 September 2010)

Hard to believe a thread about selling used light globes has got to 3 pages. 

---------------------

My business idea would be to save up and get yourself 50K then use that to help borrow 100k then get yourself a PC and a good net connection, open a online broking account and start making money...oh and you'll need a plan of some kind and the discipline to follow it.

This has the advantage of being home based, doesn't require any qualifications or licensing and is reasonably (physicaly) easy for anyone to do.  start up capital and mental suitability being the only real barriers to success.


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## robusta (5 September 2010)

I know there are plenty of service businesses around ; Hire a Hubby, Jim's Mowing, .... Just need to find a niche and or competitive advantage. (if I knew the answer I would be allready doing it and offering you the exclusive rights to run a franchise in your area).

There must be something we can work out for retired and semi retired people to earn money from time poor double income hoeseholds.


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## noie (5 September 2010)

trainspotter said:


> Aaaaahhhhhhhhhh now the light globe comes on !
> 
> GOSH noie ...... go back and read this from the start please ! We can do with more free thinking people like you. I am more than happy for it to be $30 with flash diagrams etc etc.
> 
> ...




Well, one of the reasons why this model works so well here:
120 million people in Japan  over 30 million in Tokyo, 
They love having the latest of everything, and saving every Yen possible
large families live in small houses, there is a high % for door knock answers

and no for the pearls thanks, if there was something i really wanted worth over 1000, i would put it on credit card and sort it within the month.


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## easylikesunday (5 September 2010)

Mine is a little more expensive but its something I want to do after I sell my house.

Buy 3 white GTS Monaros (HK, HT & HG) = $150,000

Get yourself a hire vehicle licence and insurance. $5,000 a year?

Charge the 3 cars out at $1200 for 4 hours. Do weddings, formals etc etc.

Do 5 jobs a month @ $6,000 ($72,000 year)

Less fuel and expenses and you would pay the business off in 3 years and your 3 Monaros would be an ever growing asset.

Would be handy if you had a brother and dad to drive with you or trustworthy mates to save on paying a driver.

Hell I wouldn't mind driving a 68 coupe around on a Saturday morning with a backseat full of tipsy bridesmaids!


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## So_Cynical (5 September 2010)

easylikesunday said:


> Get yourself a hire vehicle licence and insurance. $5,000 a year?




I looked into this in NSW a few years ago...from memory it was quiet expensive and rather complex

---------------

Looks like QLD has a 2000 dollar annual fee for there 'Special Purpose Limousines' permit plus the usual list of bullsh1t requirements...police check, etc and the vehicle with need a special certificate of inspection every 6 months, special insurance etc etc..Limousines are often treated like Taxi's by Government departments.

http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/~/media/b...usines/pdf_special_purpose_limousines_faq.pdf


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## trainspotter (5 September 2010)

robusta said:


> I know there are plenty of service businesses around ; Hire a Hubby, Jim's Mowing, .... Just need to find a niche and or competitive advantage. (if I knew the answer I would be allready doing it and offering you the exclusive rights to run a franchise in your area).
> 
> There must be something we can work out for retired and semi retired people to earn money from time poor double income hoeseholds.




Exactly the way I am thinking robusta. Home security systems were very profitable awhile back but had to be licenced, police clearance yadda yadda yadda. Electricans had to be involved to power up and quite a headbang.

Not looking at replicating what is already out there in the way of Handyman services blah. Something that is clean, does not take a lot of skill (this way you can employ meat with hands to do the job) and is very cheap to setup.

Lightbulbs are cheap, clean, convenient, cheap to setup, no licence required and every house has the need and the requirements to take advantage of the service on offer.

noie is onto it but the conditons of the market in Japan is different to what we have here. The Japs are techno savvy and the density of population for doorknocks is a sure fire winner. Not sure if Aussies are quite ready for this kind of business just yet. 

Maybe the business could be tweaked to be a Compact Fluorescent Light globes replacement for the old incandescent type? Charge say $50 a throw perhaps? 

Sort of defeats the purpose because the beauty of the system was to use the existing light bulbs into the next victim .... AHEM I meant customer.

A mate of mine already has a GTHO stretch limo business in Perth. Runs 5 cars. Makes good coin BTW. But not for me thanks. Large capital outlay and really bad hours. Not unusual to be home at 2am then clean the cars. PASS.

Day trading is the other obvious answer to suit the equation but it would be posssible to nibble away at the input capital too easily IMO. Greed is good kind of thing.


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## gav (5 September 2010)

trainspotter said:


> Maybe the business could be tweaked to be a Compact Fluorescent Light globes replacement for the old incandescent type?




The Victorian government already has door-knockers doing this.  They replace your old globes with new energy-saving fluorescent ones.  And it's free.

http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/premier/speeches.html?task=text&media_id=214

I got the door knock late last year.  However the life span of the globes they give out is pathetic.  I've had to replace 8 of them already (only 2 of the originals are still in use).


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## todster (5 September 2010)

trainspotter said:


> Thanks robusta. Was not trying to come across as a heavy.
> 
> The idea behind the thread is to find a low cost seed capital business that is self perpetuating that does not require an Einstein moment to start up.
> 
> ...




I would not have thought putting insulation in roof spaces needed to much in the way of qualifications and look where that ended up.


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## trainspotter (6 September 2010)

todster said:


> I would not have thought putting insulation in roof spaces needed to much in the way of qualifications and look where that ended up.




Completely agree todster on this matter. But with insulation in the roof scheme you are open to alot more elements and risk factors. Electrical wires and tin foil don't mix for starters. Downlights have to have heat covers over them etc. Possible to fall off or through roof as well.

I am talking more about a "pet rock" business .... remember them? Glue a pair of eyes onto a rock and sell them for like $4.00 each? It was a fad before it's time. Inexhaustible supply of rock. Fad was over too soon. Still some service stations in FNQ have them with a cute little name tag of the town you have just filled the petrol tank up in. 

The "light globe" thesis was one example how to start up a low seed capital business that can perpetuate as you are using the same product from one house to another. The cost is only $10 so therefore it is highly unlikely that the client is going to call the cops or chase you with an axe. Hey man if it gets that heavy just give them the $10 back ????

The idea is for VOLUME and VELOCITY business to create income on a small dollar transaction basis that increases due to sheer number of punters. Sort of like the residual income that people get from alarm monitoring systems. 

Now there is a good business with a passive income. Install alarm system for $2500 into home. Then take $50 per month for monitoring fees that only cost $10 per month to monitor. Therefore you have made about $1000 on the install to cover overheads then $40 per month on the monitor. Get 500 clients and I am sure you can do the math. BUT you have to have a police clearance, extensive training, licenced and HIGH setup costs.


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## moXJO (6 September 2010)

trainspotter said:


> The "light globe" thesis was one example how to start up a low seed capital business that can perpetuate as you are using the same product from one house to another. The cost is only $10 so therefore it is highly unlikely that the client is going to call the cops or chase you with an axe. Hey man if it gets that heavy just give them the $10 back ????
> 
> .




Just a side note on these low cap startups is that you need public liability ($750ish depending) and workers comp for employees if any. Also you need to pay GST?

I had a mate who cleaned and deodorized people’s bins after they were emptied and charged $5 per bin. I think he even made a trailer that had some special design to improve productivity.  The problem with these ideas is anyone can do it and just rip off your idea.


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## ck13488 (6 September 2010)

how about a water pressure cleaning business. all you would need is a van,  pressure cleaner, signage, maybe some sort of chemicals?

offer to pressure clean peoples driveway, path, house etc. Use their water, possibly electricity? if you dont get a diesel hot water pressure cleaner. able to do a few houses a day with low overheads. quite a high potential for repeat and referred business. 

i pressure cleaned the gutter out the front and it looked like fresh laid concrete compared to the neighbours mouldy black gutter...not long till they asked if i could do theirs too!


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## Julia (6 September 2010)

ck13488 said:


> how about a water pressure cleaning business. all you would need is a van,  pressure cleaner, signage, maybe some sort of chemicals?
> 
> offer to pressure clean peoples driveway, path, house etc. Use their water, possibly electricity? if you dont get a diesel hot water pressure cleaner. able to do a few houses a day with low overheads. quite a high potential for repeat and referred business.
> 
> i pressure cleaned the gutter out the front and it looked like fresh laid concrete compared to the neighbours mouldy black gutter...not long till they asked if i could do theirs too!



To do large driveways etc successfully you need a large commercial cleaner, not just the piddly little household ones which take forever and even then give a less than perfect result.

I get mine done every year, but it's hard to see that the bloke makes much out of it.  Sure, it's my electricity (minimal) and my water, but he spends about three hours to get a top job and charges about $130.  Hardly going to get rich on that when he deducts cost of his machine, vehicle rego, insurance etc.

There are also substantial volunteer organisations these days doing little household jobs for people, including shopping, escorting to appointments etc where elderly folk are unable to do this independently.  So I wouldn't think there's an untapped market in that area.


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## ROE (8 September 2010)

trainspotter said:


> Thanks GG ..... it is too good to be true. It does work in real life. WHY has no one else thought of it?
> 
> Nothing like Storm Fin group BTW. We are talking about $10 per customer. Not taking your life savings off you.




if you steal a dollar or $100 dollar it still make you a thief

I cant believe people with money to invest justified themselves ripping off someone for a few bucks is an ok act  

in my eye you are still a crook whether it's $10 or 10 cents..

In fact most scam and thief start out with a small scam like these
over time they keep telling themselves oh it's only another $10 more
or another $100 more doesn't hurt any body...

This isn't a business idea, it's a scam ideas


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## trainspotter (8 September 2010)

ROE said:


> if you steal a dollar or $100 dollar it still make you a thief
> 
> I cant believe people with money to invest justified themselves ripping off someone for a few bucks is an ok act
> 
> ...




Thanks ROE ..... I will take your advice on board. TA !


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## ROE (8 September 2010)

trainspotter said:


> Thanks ROE ..... I will take your advice on board. TA !




I got a better business ideas for you it required a bit of technical skills 
see if you can work it out..

you do it once maybe 6 months of hard yacka (10K outlay) but it generates maybe several years worth of income after you done it ... and it could amount to hundred of thousands of dollars while you do nothing at all ...just drink nice coffee
money keep rolling in each month...use that money to buy stock to generate more income  life is beautiful with technology....

once that income sort of slow down and you want more money, spend another few months of hard yacka and repeat the process but it get easier each time you do it as it's object oriented and it can be reuse a lot of the stuff you did some months ago.

There are kids with a bit of a brain that are already making miliions not one but dozen of them  and you have million of customers every day , 24/7 and more growing each day..

and if you lucky and that company start with A email you or call you up and say hey we like to feature your stuff as XXX of the week

watch that bank account, 10 times more money just keep rolling in more than you can handle 

you ripped no one off, everyone of your customer is a willing participant and they know how much they pay for and what they get in return....all your hard work is paid for in 6 digit figures and you just enjoy life every day and get to buy really nice toys too


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## trainspotter (8 September 2010)

NOPE ....... enlighten me ROE .... I give up. ???


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## Whiskers (8 September 2010)

The first 'Ãdea' people should get when thinking of going into business is, do I have the right temperament (_the combination of mental, physical, and emotional traits of a person; natural predisposition _) to be a business owner as opposed to an employee. 

But for most of us at some time or another, it's a case of ego/ambition presiding over better judgement... not knowing what we don't know.

I've seen a few people try and fail admitting they don't have what it takes... but many more blame the economy, competition etc for their business failure.

If you have the right 'temperament' you can make money from everything/anything you do, but you will not do everything/anything trying to make money.

...end of seriousness...


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## trainspotter (8 September 2010)

Whiskers said:


> The first 'Ãdea' people should get when thinking of going into business is, do I have the right temperament (_the combination of mental, physical, and emotional traits of a person; natural predisposition _) to be a business owner as opposed to an employee.
> 
> But for most of us at some time or another, it's a case of ego/ambition presiding over better judgement... not knowing what we don't know.
> 
> ...




Nice post Whiskers ....... seriously !


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## So_Cynical (9 September 2010)

Today i remembered what the good idea i had a few years ago was....and now ive forgotten again. 

Ah that's right.:dimbulb:

When i was doing Foxtel back at the turn of the decade i used to go into a lot of very nice homes in swanky Sydney suburbs and noticed a trend in new and renovated houses to decorate with custom tiles...a couple of times i saw what i would describe as feature mosaics, situated usually just after entry thru the main door/s or between entry area and open plan kitchen.

So got me to thinking that if you were a little artistic, you could have a nice little business making largish tile mosaics..you could do a selection of stock designs and also do custom jobs...charge heaps cos only rich people want em anyway, its easy to do at home, requires little set-up cost, no Govt crap or significant barriers to entry, no sweat required and lends its self to online sales.

Best one i ever saw was of like an Aztec sun design about 2 meters square, very intricate and colourful and probably sold for over a couple of grand, nice return considering the materials cost is very low....i remember now i actually talked to some tile sellers about sourcing broken and whole tiles and what type to use etc...he he .


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## trainspotter (9 September 2010)

Agreed So_cynical ........ but tiling entry ways takes a certain skill. Magnitude of thought is awesome by the way. Cheers and beers for the foethought and malice. 

Ticks all the boxes  !!! Except the skill factor, I LIKE IT !


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## noie (9 September 2010)

DO you know how much people are willing to pay to digitize their memories 
I had a plan to do this back when negative scanner were expensive.. back then the plan was sound i just happened to move countries a few time.

now there are VCR-DVD machines
picture scanner that are amazing and cheap.

as people get older , what they have they want to make sure they keep and can pass on.


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## trainspotter (9 September 2010)

noie said:


> DO you know how much people are willing to pay to digitize their memories
> I had a plan to do this back when negative scanner were expensive.. back then the plan was sound i just happened to move countries a few time.
> 
> now there are VCR-DVD machines
> ...




Technology has caught up with you noie. Very sound idea by the way. Admittedly it *was* a very realistic proposition back about 4 years ago before picture scanners were sold by Demtel !


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## nioka (9 September 2010)

noie said:


> DO you know how much people are willing to pay to digitize their memories
> I had a plan to do this back when negative scanner were expensive.. back then the plan was sound i just happened to move countries a few time.
> 
> now there are VCR-DVD machines
> ...




I have recently purchased a Kaiser Bass photo maker that scans any 35mm negatives, including slides and puts them on file or on a disc. Works great, cost $89. My family appreciated getting copies of photos and slides some of which date back almost 100 years.


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## noie (9 September 2010)

yeah i missed the boat on that one.. 

now all can do it, and with better results..   hind-site moving saved me on that one..

I was also saved by Transport for London also when trying to get DVD rental vending machines onto the tube platforms.. 

4 weeks later a friend of the family started dvdsontap which turned into the UK Netflicks  its easy to get trumped by better tech.


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## So_Cynical (9 September 2010)

trainspotter said:


> Agreed So_cynical ........ but tiling entry ways takes a certain skill. Magnitude of thought is awesome by the way. Cheers and beers for the foethought and malice.
> 
> Ticks all the boxes  !!! Except the skill factor, I LIKE IT !




Tranny...not tiling (that's hard yakka) just making and selling the mosaics...sticking the pieces onto the backing to form the picture/pattern.


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## trainspotter (9 September 2010)

So_Cynical said:


> Tranny...not tiling (that's hard yakka) just making and selling the mosaics...sticking the pieces onto the backing to form the picture/pattern.




Ahhhhhhhhhhh .. got it thanks .... Ok I am with you now. How do we set this up to make money?


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## trainspotter (27 January 2011)

It would appear that the Gubmint has caught onto my idea at last. Take a little bit off everybody and no one will complain. Flood levy at $1 per week per tax payer yadda yadda yadda = 2 BILLION AUD per annum. Now ...... do you think they will stop after one year?? hahahha HA a ha ahA HA h ah h HA HAh ha haa a a * cough* heh eh ahahe h ah ehahheheh heeheeeeeeeeee . Like vampires they will keep on sucking the proletariat dry !!!!!!!! 

WAKE UP AUSTRALIA ....... you are being dudded yet again !


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## So_Cynical (31 December 2011)

I was watching a Doco on ABC last night about a guy in London setting up a peoples supermarket...a supermarket based on like a farmers market but where people pay a small annual membership fee (say $25 bucks) and do 2 to 4 hours of unpaid work every month at the supermarket...stacking shelf's, cashiering, serving in the deli etc. 

http://www.thepeoplessupermarket.org/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodandd...upermarket-communal-cheap-and-democratic.html

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/the-peoples-supermarket/story-fn9d34el-1226230560354

Idea being that the peoples supermarket can offer prices to members significantly lower than the majors because they only need to cover costs and most of the labour is provided free.... apparently there is a market like this in NY that's been running for over a decade and has 50000 members.

http://foodcoop.com/

Anyway i reckon this could work here, especially in Sydney's inner west...with the right location and rent agreement and 50 or 60K start up money i think it could work in the Newtown, Enmore, Erskineville, Alexandria area...all the ingrediants are there.


Alternative youth co-op culture, students
Many suitable locations, lots of empty commercial space
Lots of high density housing..people per sq meter
 Reasonably close to Flemington markets


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## LifeChoices (31 December 2011)

So_Cynical said:


> I was watching a Doco on ABC last night about a guy in London setting up a peoples supermarket...a supermarket based on like a farmers market but where people pay a small annual membership fee (say $25 bucks) and do 2 to 4 hours of unpaid work every month at the supermarket...stacking shelf's, cashiering, serving in the deli etc.
> 
> http://www.thepeoplessupermarket.org/
> 
> ...




Wow, I watched that last night, and was thinking of bringing it up myself. Thanks for doing the research, I'd  support something like that - would work anywhere in Melbourne I think.

I really enjoyed the first episode. I loved his passion - the freegan thing he did in his restaurant was fantastic - good luck to him. Really looking forward to how the series pans out.

This Coles/Woolworths situation we have now in Aus is the same thing - very underwhelming. In the next 10 years I can see us going back to basics.


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## tech/a (31 December 2011)

Having been in business all my life I can associate with all those suggestions already posted.

However I am a little different in thinking.

Firstly I like bigger ticket items 
The deli type mentality of lots and lots of little sales to make a buck I replaced long ago with bigger items which require just as much work to turn over but have a margin of 100 times the small item ( whatever that be in you business model)

You must look for demand and fill the supply hole.

I set up business as the hub
I employ people with liciences I don't have. ( I do have a builders licience).
That way I can supply spin off work from my main income producing business to other trades and make a cop out of them just for arranging the trade.

Here is an example.
I,m in civil construction.Times are tough
Our main line is Retention--- retaining walls both civil and domestic
rwi.com.au

Anyway a while ago we noticed that clients wanted fencing on boundaries retained or no.
We didn't do fencing.
We arranged excellent buying of product and as it's tight contractors beat a path to our door looking for work.
We buy product for $33 a meter and contractors to build $ 16/ meter.
All boundaries normally fenced at $69./ meter.from 50-100 meters.
Around $ 1500 a pop.
We do 2-5 / week.

Currently looking at solar.

There are infinite variations
Paving
Concreting
Landscaping
Irrigation
Storm water
Pool cleaning
Etc

All you need is the vehicle to establish clientele
THAT is YOUR job!!!


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