So I had several small business ideas in mind suitable to my investment abilities (about $ 50k) and after some consideration I am down to 2 ideas:
- Online store for green energy products (solar panels, windmills, biofuel generators…etc).
and
- Online store for advanced humanoid robots (like…simple home assistants).
My concerns are that if I create the reneable energy store the profit would be about $ 50 per product sold and the demand not that high given that such things are relatively new to the end customer. If I create the robotics brand the demand will be even lower (like several times lower I guess) but the profit can be over $ 1000 per robot as such things are expensive and with very little competition.
Here are 2 examples of what I will try to accomiplish:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/category_alternative-renewable-energy
http://www.robotshop.com/aldebaran-robotics-nao-academic-robot-v3plus.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=base&utm_campaign=jos
10x!
More Pages:
- Solar Products: Is Creating An Online Store For Green Energy Products A Good Idea? (6/28/2011)
- Solar Energy: How Can I Get Information On Solar Energy Business? (5/7/2011)
- Solar Products: Thoughts On Purchasing A Business? (6/26/2011)
- Solar Turbines: I Want To Start A Small Business On Solar Power Or Green Technology.Anyone Know Of A Business I Can Start ? (5/16/2011)
- product or service idea’s?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
High demand trumps high profit.
If you can sell 1 Million T-Shirts that say “I’m with stupid” on them at a $ 1 profit each.. you just made 1 Million dollars in profit. That is fare better than selling 20 items at a $ 50 profit. You just make $ 1,000 in profit. That sucks.
I think you should take your idea for green energy products and mix in other products that are high in demand. Like a bait and switch type thing.
For example.. McDonald’s makes most of their profits selling drinks.. not food!! So that’s something to consider.
Entrepreneurs and business managers are often so preoccupied with immediate issues that they lose sight of their ultimate objectives. That’s why a preparation of a strategic plan is a virtual necessity. This may not be a recipe for success, but without it a business is much more likely to fail.
A strategic plan is not the same thing as an operational plan. The former should be visionary, conceptual and directional in contrast to an operational plan which is likely to be shorter term, tactical, focused, implementable and measurable. As an example, compare the process of planning a vacation (where, when, duration, budget, who goes, how travel are all strategic issues) with the final preparations (tasks, deadlines, funding, weather, packing, transport and so on are all operational matters).
A strategic plan should not be confused with a business plan. The former is likely to be a (very) short document whereas a business plan is usually a much more substantial and detailed document. A strategic plan can provide the foundation and frame work for a buisness plan.