Who has a business idea on their mind but never acted on it?

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octopoly

86 posts

Master Geek

#213980 22-Apr-2017 08:40

How many of you have had a business idea but never tried to realise it, and why?

I am curious to see how many carry around an idea in their head but have always refrained from trying to make it happen. It could be an idea you had at one point in the past or one that has been on your mind for years and still is. No need to share the idea.

Let me hit this off: I have an idea for an online business for about 4 years now. I am halfway done with the business plan but stopped due to lack of time - I really should get back on it.

Your turn geeks :)

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#1769612 24-Apr-2017 11:19

I've run an import "service" on another website where I bring in items from Japan to sell to people who have requested
Always thought I should have turned it into a real side business, but always thought the start up costs would be too great for what has always been a fun side thing (and it does not exist to make a profit)

Dairyxox

1594 posts

Uber Geek

#1769616 24-Apr-2017 11:28

I've got a few "good" ideas for businesses, and other projects/hobbies I'm passionate about.

I do act on my instincts (have started a couple of small businesses in my past), but currently struggle to make time (with a young family & salary job) to act on everything I'd like to.

octopoly

86 posts

Master Geek

#1769634 24-Apr-2017 11:52

nzkiwiman:

I've run an import "service" on another website where I bring in items from Japan to sell to people who have requested
Always thought I should have turned it into a real side business, but always thought the start up costs would be too great for what has always been a fun side thing (and it does not exist to make a profit)

Thanks for sharing nzkiwiman. Sounds like a viable business idea to me (I am no expert in the import/export sector though). Is your website still online?

b0untypure1

1426 posts

Uber Geek

#1770104 25-Apr-2017 10:11

food delivery service targeted at gamers. easy to use 1 click checkouts and you can order from a bunch of places.

my other long term idea, was an in car app where you can rate drivers around you - e.g. thumbs up for letting me merge / out of my driveway and thumbs down for speeding and cutting me off

bmt

574 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1770111 25-Apr-2017 10:30

Want to own a small hotel, have thought about even just having a floor of an apartment building.

Just found out the other day that the #1 hotel in Wellington on TripAdvisor is pretty much like that, occupies one floor of a building, so always a possibility. Dreams are free though..

octopoly

86 posts

Master Geek

#1770133 25-Apr-2017 11:12

b0untypure1:

food delivery service targeted at gamers. easy to use 1 click checkouts and you can order from a bunch of places.

my other long term idea, was an in car app where you can rate drivers around you - e.g. thumbs up for letting me merge / out of my driveway and thumbs down for speeding and cutting me off

Thanks for sharing. Both are interesting ideas. I can see myself using the food delivery service for gamers. The question is, would they be able to open the door themselves and bring the food all the way up to my computer desk? :P If the answer is yes, you found a new customer!

octopoly

86 posts

Master Geek

#1770134 25-Apr-2017 11:15

bmt:

Want to own a small hotel, have thought about even just having a floor of an apartment building.

Just found out the other day that the #1 hotel in Wellington on TripAdvisor is pretty much like that, occupies one floor of a building, so always a possibility. Dreams are free though..

Thanks for sharing your micro-hotel idea, a lovely thought. I guess a business that involves having real estate is a bit trickier to realise than "just" an online-based project. I wish you best of luck, hope you find a way to make that happen.

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octopoly

86 posts

Master Geek

#1770147 25-Apr-2017 11:19

Dairyxox:

I've got a few "good" ideas for businesses, and other projects/hobbies I'm passionate about.

I do act on my instincts (have started a couple of small businesses in my past), but currently struggle to make time (with a young family & salary job) to act on everything I'd like to.

Thanks for sharing Dairyxox. Yeah, time management is a tough one. I tend to get myself caught up in too many different ideas at the same time, which results in not making progress with any of them. I have to focus more on one idea and make it happen (or give up on it) before moving on to the next. At the moment I have at least no family obligations. I completely understand what you mean though, family should always come first.

networkn

Networkn
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#1770149 25-Apr-2017 11:29

I am a pretty reasonable cook, and have always though the steak restaurants in NZ were pretty average, even the long-established ones. Restaurants are high risk, and I am reasonably risk adverse. There have been other smaller restaurant ideas I've thought would pan out like getting an American franchise, however still would like to do it at some stage.

Dynamic

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#1770156 25-Apr-2017 11:45

networkn: I am a pretty reasonable cook, and have always though the steak restaurants in NZ were pretty average, even the long-established ones. Restaurants are high risk, and I am reasonably risk adverse. There have been other smaller restaurant ideas I've thought would pan out like getting an American franchise, however still would like to do it at some stage.

One of my wife's best mates is an award-winning chef turned restaurant and menu consultant. The constant I hear is the trouble hiring and retaining reliable staff, both for restaurants and for high-end fast-food type places. For example, we were supposed to spend Easter with this couple, but most of the plans were abandoned after 3 staff from the current 'project' resteraunt called in sick and she felt she had to fill in to keep the doors open. It's a challenging and competitive industry, so if you do decide to move ahead one day, I would encourage better than average planning.

And let us all know so we can be your beta testers

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surfisup1000

5288 posts

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#1770168 25-Apr-2017 12:48

Dynamic:

networkn: I am a pretty reasonable cook, and have always though the steak restaurants in NZ were pretty average, even the long-established ones. Restaurants are high risk, and I am reasonably risk adverse. There have been other smaller restaurant ideas I've thought would pan out like getting an American franchise, however still would like to do it at some stage.

One of my wife's best mates is an award-winning chef turned restaurant and menu consultant. The constant I hear is the trouble hiring and retaining reliable staff, both for restaurants and for high-end fast-food type places. For example, we were supposed to spend Easter with this couple, but most of the plans were abandoned after 3 staff from the current 'project' resteraunt called in sick and she felt she had to fill in to keep the doors open. It's a challenging and competitive industry, so if you do decide to move ahead one day, I would encourage better than average planning.

And let us all know so we can be your beta testers

I have a couple of relatives who are running Cafe's. I could never do it, the hours are horrendous and staffing a nightmare.

blakamin

4431 posts

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#1770172 25-Apr-2017 12:58

surfisup1000:

Dynamic:

networkn: I am a pretty reasonable cook, and have always though the steak restaurants in NZ were pretty average, even the long-established ones. Restaurants are high risk, and I am reasonably risk adverse. There have been other smaller restaurant ideas I've thought would pan out like getting an American franchise, however still would like to do it at some stage.

One of my wife's best mates is an award-winning chef turned restaurant and menu consultant. The constant I hear is the trouble hiring and retaining reliable staff, both for restaurants and for high-end fast-food type places. For example, we were supposed to spend Easter with this couple, but most of the plans were abandoned after 3 staff from the current 'project' resteraunt called in sick and she felt she had to fill in to keep the doors open. It's a challenging and competitive industry, so if you do decide to move ahead one day, I would encourage better than average planning.

And let us all know so we can be your beta testers

I have a couple of relatives who are running Cafe's. I could never do it, the hours are horrendous and staffing a nightmare.

My sister owned a cafe in Hawkes Bay (she's a chef). 4am -7pm 6 days a week by the time she finished all the paperwork. Even with 8 staff.

She sold it and bought a country pub on SH1. Even longer hours, but not quite as early. But also harder to staff.

mattwnz

20144 posts

Uber Geek

#1770186 25-Apr-2017 13:47

I think the reasons many people don't bother, is because it requires a significant amount of energy and hardware, and most importantly time and money, and it is highly likely to fail. It is also likely to be at a time when they are having a family. A very high percentage of new businesses fail in their first few years. During that time you also may not gt any reward out of it. So what many large companies do is tack on an idea to an existing successful business, so it can be bankrolled from that at least initially. That is why many people just buy and sell houses to make money outside wages. The other problem is that often you have to grow the business fast, to stop other people setting up businesses using the same idea.

octopoly

86 posts

Master Geek

#1770206 25-Apr-2017 14:14

Thanks all for your input. I have also friends who run a restaurant and can only agree with everybody; it is a very tough business. It is hard to retain staff for longer than a few months (most are students or work and travel folks) and the work hours are longer than in most other professions. I also feel that restaurants are the first to suffer in every recession.

martyyn

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#1770220 25-Apr-2017 15:19

I would like to open a football academy. Not an academy as such, but to provide proper coaching rather than a dad who's only played rugby and was bullied into it because no-one else would do it.

I've been involved with football for nearly 40 years. I've coached kids for 10 years and have done the NZF junior and youth coaching courses. There are enough kids around here to do it but I'm not convinced there is the desire within the rugby dominated community for it.

I love football and am pretty outspoken about how it should be played, but especially how kids should be coached. Whilst I've been involved with some pretty good players over the years, it doesn't always win me too many friends amongst the parents.

I did try it a couple of summers ago. Everyone told me I was wasting my time, it had been tried before and no-one turned up. I had 25 kids at the first session and over 40 at the second. That year the local club had 40 new enrolments of kids 8 and under. Something they hadn't seen in years.

I gave it up when the new season started because I was already committed to coaching two teams but I've always wanted to do it properly and not be tied to either a club or a school.

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