10 service-based businesses I could start
I recently joined a private Facebook Group that follows the philosophy shared in Claudia Azla Altucher’s book “Become And Idea Machine” which advises people who wish to be more creative to come up with a daily list of ten ideas on virtually any topic.
I started out like many others in the group by simply posting the idea list to the closed group page, but I think it would be more fun to share my efforts publicly on this Tumblr blog at www.getmoreideas.com. I started the blog a while back to post image-only versions of my quotes on creative thinking, but I shifted from sharing the larger illustrated quotes to instead posting handwritten quotes on yellow sticky notes.
The Idea Machine project gives me the opportunity to dust off a favorite domain and to have some fun sharing ideas with the world on whatever topic strikes my fancy at the time. Today’s list of ideas was suggested as a prompt from the Facebook administrator and I thought it sounded like fun, too.
You don’t need to be a member of our group to play along -- just start creating a list of 10 ideas of your own and post them wherever you like!
10 service-based businesses I could start
1. Domain naming service
I'm able to come up with some pretty good dot-com names after most people give up because their first three choices are already taken.
2. WordPress/Hosting Setup
So many people seem intimidated by install and activation process, this service could help alleviate their blogging procrastination.
3. Podcast Production/Co-Host
Again, the intimidation factor for this content creation is high. I've helped the occasional client overcome their caution by simply acting as a co-host to create the content (they never have to worry about "running out of things to say") along with creating accounts on podcast sites and uploading the audio.
4. Ideas-On-Demand
I offer brainstorming services (and it can be profitable), but the services is sometimes difficult to explain and orders are too far apart.
5. Professional Introductions Service
I have a pretty good track record of turning unknown contacts into personal connections. Perhaps this can be translated into a service for people who want to pitch their ideas to specific companies or individuals.
6. Next Level Strategies
I enjoy building on the ideas of others in order to help make them bigger and better and expand their reach and life. As soon as I hear an idea I love, I can't help but sare ideas to take it to the next level. Could be a good service for a company who feels there is more potential for a service they offer or one whose sales have sarted to drop off with their existing strategy.
7. Problem Spotter/Solver
I think I am especially good at listening to a new idea and then spotting hurdles that may impact efforts to put it into action. A lot of people are actually good at spotting (or creating) those roadblocks, but I see the roadblock and then identify ideas for jumping over it, going around it, tunneling under it, or blasting right through it.
8. Strategic Alliances
This is sort of related to #5, but rather than a service to connect individuals it would be a service to link companies together which could mutually benefit one another. While #5 might be interpreted as a parasite (one person may be benefit more than another), this concept would be all about sybiotic relationships that I personally identify and then work to construct.
9. Towel Thrower
In "The Dip" Seth Godin wrote about the fact that sometimes it's smart to give up on a project or idea. That it's okay (and sometimes required) to throw in the towel and move on to the next project. This service would have me acting as a sort of mediator to a businessperson or other individual who is contemplating the idea of "giving up" on a really big thing in their life (a major shift in career, cloosing a business, etc.) and wants a second opinion from a person who isn't so close to the topic.
10. Trader
I've always been amazed at the story behind "One Red Paper Clip" (www.redpaperclip.com) and how this guy took a single red paper clip and through a series of trades in increasing value turned it into a house of his very own. I think it would be interesting and amusing to offer a service that offered these kinds of random things up for trade and helped facilitate the exchange. Something like a more focused CraigsList, only offering items available for non-cash trades and the cost to the users would be telling the story behind the item they were trading and sharing what their plans are for the item they were going to receive. I think it even has potential as a television series.
