Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I always like to think about what the revenue model is. Either you get paid by the customer (flat fee or a percentage), ....or essentially you become the specialty retailer that locates specialty items, buts them at wholesale and sells them to your customer at retail. I`d have to think through whether or not the retail model could really work since you wouldn`t be buying in volume, but say you had to buy in lots of 10, the customer seeking the specialty item could prompt your purchase of the "lot", sell one to your customer, and post the others for sale in your online store. In this approach, you would need to be, and could be, selective in the lots of items you`d buy because you don`t want to get stuck with inventory, but if you believed the item to be one that others might desire, this could work.

The model of buying an item and charging your customer seems simpler but there are issues with this too. How much do you charge? (how much is the customer willing to pay?) For example, for OHDenise`s underwear, the value of your time (and the amount you`d have to charge) could be more than the cost of the underwear, thus making it a difficult model to execute. (by the way, my comments about the cost of OHDenise`s underwear are strictly hypothetical of course)

This could be an interesting opportunity. Let`s keep thinking....

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Right, pricing is just one of the dilemmas I see.  As you suggest, the cost of the time involved in the search could outweigh the cost or value of the item found.  The question then becomes:  Is the buyer willing to pay for the product at any price plus a flat fee for the service?  A percentage of the cost of the item hardly seems appropriate since a two hour search might yield a rare item that costs $10.00, for example.

I suppose there could be a flat fee for conducting the search, then a contract of sorts for the amount of money (i.e., my time) the buyer is willing to pay over and above the flat fee.

Just to give you an example, one search I did for a friend resulted in 10 videos that she could have found herself but didn`t want to mess with finding them from 7 different vendors.  She could have had new videos at the click of a button, but they were $100.00 or more over her price range.  Even though it ended up being a relatively easy search, it took a while because some of the information I needed, such as the titles of each of the programs, was not available from my friend and there was no one vendor that carried all 10 programs.  The only information she gave me was that they were TV shows produced under a certain character name, but she didn`t know much else except that there were 10 of them.

As for wholesale or retail, I prefer to do what OhDenise and wartimethings have asked of me - find the source for them to buy the product themselves.  That way I am not involved in any money changing hands or dealing with items that don`t fit or are "not as expected."

My idea is to be the one leading the buyer to water, not making him or her drink.

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The Anniversary Shop, online store for traditional and modern anniversary gifts Plug-In Profit Site Work at Home Ideas and Opportunities

By the way, did I tell you I found my husband online?  I think we were some of the pioneers of internet dating.

Anyway, I will be away for a week or so.  Don`t take my absence as a sign of lack of interest.  I am EXTREMELY interested, I just won`t have daily access to a computer.

As I told OhDenise, maybe you all can get the problems ironed out and my new business set up for me before I get back.  I`ll just step in as CEO and start raking in the dough!

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The Anniversary Shop, online store for traditional and modern anniversary gifts Plug-In Profit Site Work at Home Ideas and Opportunities

I`ve been reading all of the posts on this topic.  It was really interesting to me to watch the networking online and the idea develop.  Having been in retail of all sorts I am knowledgable about many products, as well as owning my own business and the services it requires.  The challenge would be to assemble a group of people that have knowledge and skills to acquire the product a client needs.  I think you might be able to draw retailers/wholesalers to the site as well to advertise.  After having built a house I also think that  a service that recommended reputable local contractors, plumber, electricians, etc would be an excellent ,  It may already be available, I`m going to check it out.  I sold my landscaping business and am looking for a new opportunity and I think this would be a great opportunity.  The key will be doing some research on whats already out there and finding a niche.  Let me know what you think....

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Helping Businesses On The Grow
http://www.aliciarobertsco.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciaroberts

My idea is more along the lines of finding things that are hard to find.  An earlier post mentioned personal shoppers, but I see that as providing a service for someone who, for example, just doesn`t have time to order their own pair of khakis from Land`s End.

What I have in mind is more along the lines of finding hard-to-find, discontinued, or unique items.

A service to find reputable services within an area is a great idea.  It would involve setting parameters for who is reputable then maintaining the list by city and then by area within the city for large cities.  I think someone else mentioned this service earlier, so it seems there is a need for it.  You would want to be make sure there is no liability in case someone turns out to not be so reputable.

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The Anniversary Shop, online store for traditional and modern anniversary gifts Plug-In Profit Site Work at Home Ideas and Opportunities

lucky1 - I think a service to find reputable services as you mentioned is a great idea. I have found many times when I wish there was a place to go and find such a referral that is dependable. I have problems just getting a local electrician come out for the initial consultation.

Most of the contractors I deal with are by word of mouth or networking with friends.  If you are new to an area though it is very difficult and you hear many horror stories from people that have hired incompetent people to do work for them.  The other possibility is to get bids for services from several contractors and maybe to prequalify them so that a client can then interview them.  Check out the references for them and present a bid package so to speak.  I think pricing for this service could be based on time, possible percentage of the job from the contractor, a flat fee, etc.  The contractors that are good usually have a lot of work though, but if you could consistently provide them with clients they might be receptive.  You could also link to sites that sell decorative home items like lighting, plumbing, etc.  There are people that work with clients from the b idding stage and throughout their construction to make sure the contractors are getting everything done and have the materials they need.   They could potentially be an advertiser as well. I have to do more research though and find out if this service is already available....in the Yellow pages, Better Business Bureau, etc.  Thanks for you input.

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Helping Businesses On The Grow
http://www.aliciarobertsco.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciaroberts

I think that is a great idea to have a specialty niche.  It will definitely depend on how much people are willing to pay based on how much time it takes to find something.  If the business takes off you could hire stay at home moms, dads, etc. to assist in the search for items on a contract basis. 

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Helping Businesses On The Grow
http://www.aliciarobertsco.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciaroberts

RedDog:
Do a search for Angie`s List to see if there is one available in your area. They are a company who offers a list of people who offer various services that are recommended by people who have used and been satisfied with their service. Not just any plumber, electrician, repair person can join. They have to be referred by an Angie`s List member and if they do screw up, the List people help smooth it out. If that doesn`t work, that company is banned from the List, so they have a vested interest in doing a good job. There is an annual fee, but it`s minimal and better than getting ripped-off by some business that has no one to answer to.  Hope that helps.

cjpeepe el al.:

Regarding the personal shopper idea....... The first thing that comes to mind is about clients. I knew a woman who was legally blind. She could still work and get around, but there were many things she could not do or could not do well. One of those things was shop. Her problem was, though she could see somewhat, she had difficulty with colors. We often talked about how nice it would be if there was a service that could help blind people shop for clothes ... the blind leading the blind as it were. (Not a bad company name either.) The idea would be to pick up the person, take to the store, have them try on stuff, help them with sizes, colors, styles, etc. Then take home. There would be little threat of ID theft as the person would be there to pay. Another side-line job added to that or separate from that is to mark the clothes somehow so that when a blind person gets dressed, they can feel or otherwise determine what top goes with what bottom. So, that was more than 20 years ago and I don`t know if anyone is doing that yet or not. Plus, you know how it is ... we are busy, we often have limited time. I think as well as the shopping idea and/or finding hard to find items, being a right-hand person is needed, too. Need someone to get your dry cleaning or walk the dog or order flowers for your significant other? Hate buying gifts, but your wifi loves jewelry, have someone else go buy it, need a swell birthday card or to go wait in line at the post office? Voila! There are so many things people need done who would just as soon pay for as do it themselves. Believe me, I have 6 dogs and a poop-scooping service that comes to take care of that. Yes, I COULD do that myself, but why if I can afford to pay someone else to do it. PLUS, that helps THEM make a living in their own business. I just think if you set out to help others or provide a needed service or meet a need, there`s no way you can fail. That is, of course, unless you really want to. :-)