Deciding on the Venture: What to Sell

Before you can start a company, you must decide on what you will sell and how you will make your money. This is called your revenue model. Experienced entrepreneurs often have a number of business ideas, that given the time, they would like to pursue. As a young and aspiring entrepreneur, you may not have an idea. If this is the case, you’ll have to develop one or find another aspiring entrepreneur that has an idea. Many times, business ideas develop in entrepreneurs’ heads over the course of years. Other times, they can simply come to someone. Almost always, business ideas are refined and modified as time passes and more knowledge is obtained and research done.
If you already have a business idea, or for that matter, an operating business, feel free at this point to jump to the section below on the MAR Opportunity Evaluation Model. Otherwise, read on and we’ll go through a brainstorming activity.
While teaching entrepreneurship to high schoolers at the Lead America conference in Chicago and Boston in the summer of 2003, we had to come up with a number of business ideas and then, over the course of a few hours, get the list down to two the team would create full business plans for. We began by filling the walls with blank poster paper and just letting the students shout out what came to their minds. During the ninety minute brainstorming period, we were able to come up with following one hundred and five ideas.
1.    underwater restaurant
2.    spa franchise
3.    foldable hammock for car trunks
4.    high quality light fixtures
5.    health bar chain
6.    comfy, damage-free ear phones
7.    chair with popcorn holder, tray, built-in radio, massager
8.    self-cleaning microwave
9.    security software to protect against hackers and credit card scam
10.    wholesale store without membership card
11.    aerobic center for teenagers
12.    chair store w/ imported European chocolate
13.    restaurants for dogs and cats
14.    oxygen tanks so dogs and cats can go diving
15.    computer animation company
16.    real estate company
17.    cosmetics/hair care company
18.    bowling alley in Cartagena, Columbia
19.    electronic translator that you put in your ear
20.    fashion design company for new designers that need a start
21.    iron rod production
22.    selling traditional jewelry
23.    brail screen that reads computer and translates the text on a computer into 3D brail that the blind could read
24.    lumber company
25.    Make a ski board rotating wardrobe at ski resorts
26.    flavored straws
27.    A grocery store that also had a fitness center
28.    a diagonal load dishwasher
29.    sushi restaurant
30.    Candyland theme park chain
31.    web design firm
32.    advertising company
33.    per month CD online company
34.    educational software for the visually impaired
35.    bringing broadband internet access into developing countries
36.    Sonar for blind people
37.    voice/data equipment for hospitals
38.    drink machine that talks to you.
39.    a teddy bear with sensors and small computer inside that would talk to infants/toddlers and encourage good behavior or tell them a bed-time story
40.    an online store where you could customize clothing and then have it shipped to you
41.    an educational software company that made console games for kids that were actually fun to play
42.    New brand of cola
43.    Monorail company
44.    triangular and circular houses
45.    interchangeable shoes
46.    internet café
47.    pens that never run out of ink
48.    new type of fuel
49.    hovercars
50.    new internet service provider
51.    college/cheerleader calendars
52.    college/male athlete calendars
53.    voice-activated radio/TV
54.    voice activated house
55.    remote control finder
56.    voice activated keys
57.    hydrogen powered cars
58.    easy wrinkle remover
59.    never-ending bottle of soda
60.    underwear with pockets
61.    new clothing line
62.    donut store
63.    shoe pockets
64.    wireless TV headsets
65.    hair coloring shampoo
66.    desks with built in computers
67.    textbooks on computers
68.    automatic dog food dispenser
69.    remote control lawnmower
70.    washer-dryer all in one combo
71.    color eye drops
72.    mechanical spiders
73.    MP3 player watch
74.    watch that automatically knows what time zone it’s in
75.    butt-wiping toilets
76.    better toothpaste
77.    virus protection
78.    toothbrush with toothpaste in it
79.    video phone
80.    logo changing shirt
81.    solar color changing shirt
82.    solar powered sports cars
83.    color changing nail polish
84.    TV on cell phones
85.    personal soda dispenser
86.    voice-controlled air conditioning system
87.    a resort
88.    color changing hair bows
89.    voice activated elevators
90.    phone/tv/radio in a shower
91.    sponges with built in soap
92.    self-moving furniture
93.    multi-colored markers
94.    reversible backpacks
95.    student tracker system
96.    remote to control all of your appliances
97.    sneakers with comfortable insides
98.    auto food/water dispenser for animals for when family is away for a few days
99.    vacuum with perfume in it
100.    trash can with perfume in it
101.    real-looking pony tail that hooks in your hair
102.    3 in 1 paint color can
103.    refrigerator that has an alarm for bad food
104.    cat food dispenser
105.    boats that give a smooth ride
Hopefully these ideas will start to get the creative juices flowing. During your brainstorming session, you can simply write down whatever comes to mind, or focus on a specific industry your have experience in. Think about the products you use every day and how they could be better. Think about businesses you interact with and what you would improve if it was your business. Think about things that you would love to have if they existed. Consider the efficiency of the marketplace and attempt to find inefficient and bloated industries that you could enter into. Think about whether you would like to provide a service or sell a product. Consider the possibility of buying into a pre-existing franchise. Consider what you are good at and what persons would pay you to do for them. Consider macro trends in the economy such as the aging population and advent of the internet. Try to fill a few sheets of paper with ideas.
Here are some additional business ideas that I have recently heard often and may be a potential business opportunity for you.
    Designing and selling t-shirts on a college campus
    Starting a web site hosting company
    Start a web site design company
    Starting a software development company
    Starting a healthy fast food chain
    Starting a community portal/discussion forum and selling advertising to area businesses
    Joining a network marketing business
    Starting a computer consulting and networking service
    Starting a search engine optimization firm
    Starting a night club
    Starting a membership-based web site
    Starting a food delivery service that allows online orders from all local restaurants
    Launching a company based on developed research and intellectual property at a local university
    Setting up a web site to sell health products that are drop shipped by the manufacturer
    Buying a product at wholesale from the manufacturer and selling it online to consumers
As stated above, many times the best ideas are not generated purposely while brainstorming. More often, they come through experience in an industry, from persons who you know, or from a moment of inspiration. Don’t be discouraged if you cannot come up with any ideas that you want to start a business around. It will take time. In the mean time, make sure you always are looking for opportunities and are networking with as many people and at as many events as you can make it to.
If you are struggling about what you can do, I would obtain a catalogue of products that are sold at wholesale or drop shipped. See what products you think you can sell. Then build a business plan around this, following the steps later in this book to grow your company and sales. Opportunities are created when there are changing circumstances, chaos, confusion, or regulatory changes. Whenever you experience new things or the world around is changing, there will always be lots of opportunities.
If you are lacking in ideas, you also may wish to ask around and see what internships are available at local entrepreneurial companies or apply for a job at one. Working in an entrepreneurial company with other entrepreneurial minded persons is the best way to come up with new business ideas. If you work at a larger company, I’d suggest talking with your management to see if there are any new products or technologies they are developing. By expressing interest in coordinating the development and launch in a new product, you may just get a promotion to being a manager with full P&L responsibility for that product—allowing you to be an intrapreneur and leverage company resources while you build the new segment of the company.