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Houses or mountains?!

Ambra

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Hi guys, this is Ambra from Italy! (Anyone from there?)

I'm an interior designer and home stager and I'm trying to build my little business in these areas, helping people in selling their houses and having a better house to live.
It's about 3 years I'm trying this, but with no success :frown:

In the last 6 months I've started an online project about outdoors events. I've a passion for trekking and mountains and I'd like to help people finding new things to do every weekend, make them spending their time outdoor, walking in the nature, knowing new people etc. That's why I've created a "book" of outdoor events. People can go on this web site, search for an event, ask the guide for information (and in the future, book it).

I love my both projects, but I think I've to choose one.

The first one is beautiful but it's not really working and I'm a bit in red right now.
The second one is my heart project, but probably I should find another job to sustain myself and the project itself while it become profitable (if it becames so). Not my favorite choice, you know :happy: but I should take into account.

I'm just arrived here, I've seen so many interesting topic and I'm going to read them, hoping to find a solution for my situation. If you have advice, I'll be grateful.

Have a nice day!
Ambra
 
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RazorCut

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Hi Ambra and welcome to the forum.

What is the housing market like in Italy these days? What is the issues you have faced gaining traction in this area?

I can see a trekking/events site working well if you can monetise it through bookings for activities and drive enough traffic to it.

Experience day sites like the one below that might give you some ideas.

Animal Experience Days | Red Letter Days
 

Ambra

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Seems like both are "passion-projects", yet the market doesn't care about your passion unless it solves some pain or problem.

Have you read TMF ?

Hi Longinus, thanks for your reply.
I know, you're right. The first one is a necessity in most cases, though people seems like: "hey, what do you want to do with my house?!". The second one is surely about passions but the interest in trekking and outdoor is growing fast.

Yes, I've read TMF and I'm going to finish Unscripted in a few days.

Hi Ambra and welcome to the forum.

What is the housing market like in Italy these days? What is the issues you have faced gaining traction in this area?

I can see a trekking/events site working well if you can monetise it through bookings for activities and drive enough traffic to it.

Experience day sites like the one below that might give you some ideas.

Animal Experience Days | Red Letter Days

Hi RazorCut, thank you too.

Housing market in Italy is going well enough but it seems that real estate agents have no interest in getting better, nor the sellers. When we talk about home staging (here it's a very new thing for most people) nobody see the investiment but the cost, the difficulty to clean the house and to get rid of their things. We are not good enough in communicating? I don't know, but I think we have done our better.

The site you linked it's exactly what I mean create for trekking and outdoor events :)
 
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NMdad

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As a home stager, you might consider working with realtors and people who want to sell their homes. By staging their homes, they can sell often the house faster and for a higher price. You could also market your services to the people who've sold their house (so you can design their new home), as well as the home buyers (so they can set up their home).

Yes, there are realtors & sellers who won't care about staging their house. Those are not your clients. You probably want people who are at the upper end of the home price, not median-priced homeowners. Not sure about in Italy, but here in the U.S. there does appear to be a market for home staging for sellers/realtors.

Either way--with home staging and/or trekking/outdoor events--you need to determine if there's a market/need. The faster you can do that, the sooner you can move forward (or stop pursuing) each idea.
 

MTF

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Hi Ambra. In which part of Italy do you live?

A few thoughts:

In the last 6 months I've started an online project about outdoors events. I've a passion for trekking and mountains and I'd like to help people finding new things to do every weekend, make them spending their time outdoor, walking in the nature, knowing new people etc. That's why I've created a "book" of outdoor events. People can go on this web site, search for an event, ask the guide for information (and in the future, book it).

How about becoming a guide yourself to get more familiar with your potential clients? You could offer some day trips to the mountains on Airbnb (as experiences) and you'll make money and possibly find some new business ideas in this niche. Airbnb already has a huge audience so it should be easier to find your first clients there rather than on your website.

Also, are your target clients locals or tourists? Your post makes me think it's the locals, but perhaps there would be more money in serving tourists.

I've a passion for trekking and mountains

What specific activities do you engage in most often? Is it only hiking or also climbing, skiing, trail running, photography or something else? Each activity is a separate market.

You probably want people who are at the upper end of the home price, not median-priced homeowners. Not sure about in Italy, but here in the U.S. there does appear to be a market for home staging for sellers/realtors.

This. And just to give you another idea, how about becoming an interior designer for the affluent foreigners buying countryside villas in Italy? You speak English very well (not that common in Italy), you have the skills, and you have a passion for the outdoors and nature. You could even go more specific and focus on villas in the mountains. Or maybe you could start with a simple guide on where to find the best such villas and take it from there.
 

Ambra

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Either way--with home staging and/or trekking/outdoor events--you need to determine if there's a market/need. The faster you can do that, the sooner you can move forward (or stop pursuing) each idea.

Hi, NMdad and thanks for your message!
You're right, I've to check if there's is a market in both idea, though no one of these markets real exists right now.
Home staging is a very new thing in Italy and I'm the first one in my city, but I know that other home stagers have the same problems in selling the service.
And there are no web sites like the one I mean, yet. There are some similiar proposal (I don't know if they're working well), but nothing specific about trekking and mountains.


Hi Ambra. In which part of Italy do you live?

A few thoughts:

How about becoming a guide yourself to get more familiar with your potential clients? You could offer some day trips to the mountains on Airbnb (as experiences) and you'll make money and possibly find some new business ideas in this niche. Airbnb already has a huge audience so it should be easier to find your first clients there rather than on your website.

Also, are your target clients locals or tourists? Your post makes me think it's the locals, but perhaps there would be more money in serving tourists.

What specific activities do you engage in most often? Is it only hiking or also climbing, skiing, trail running, photography or something else? Each activity is a separate market.

This. And just to give you another idea, how about becoming an interior designer for the affluent foreigners buying countryside villas in Italy? You speak English very well (not that common in Italy), you have the skills, and you have a passion for the outdoors and nature. You could even go more specific and focus on villas in the mountains. Or maybe you could start with a simple guide on where to find the best such villas and take it from there.

Hi MTF and thanks!

I'm from Rimini, a city on the sea on the east coast of Italy.

The guide idea is good and I've already thought about it. In some way I'm already doing this kind of job - not officially, of course - planning hiking for little groups of friends. And I'm in contact with a lot of guides so I can ask for informations about what could help them in their work. My idea is giving people a website where they can search and book an activity, but also give to the guides some services to help them in get in contact with clients, check lists of participants and other thinghs.

My target client is locals and tourist in the same way: they can find a hike for the sunday but also a holiday having hike in the mountains.
The first activity I engage is hiking, but every guide is specialized in more than one activity, so the project will be naturally expanded to climbing, skiing, biking etc. And probably to foreing trips or trips to Italy for foreiners, too ( i've already some proposal on my site).

So interesting the interior designer idea for foreigners! Though I think it could be very difficult to start finding contacts. Anyway, I'll think about it.

----------------

Wow, speaking with you guys is's so helpful. How many ideas I've never thought before :)
But what about you all? I'm courious, what's your goal, or the goal you've reached?
 
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