100 Unsexy Business Ideas: Name as many as you can!

[greenGabbard]

Pulled into my local gas station and found this golden nugget. Who would ever think u need a fuel servicing service. Definitely not the customer's but the owner does.

 

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[minivanman]

You reminded me.... I don't know how it works now but WAY back in the day, there was 1 guy that used to go around and change the wheels on all the Walmart carts. That's why the wheels were always screwed up because he couldn't keep up. I don't know if they still use an outside company to do this or not.

 

[Late Bloomer]

Pulled into my local gas station and found this golden nugget. Who would ever think u need a fuel servicing service. Definitely not the customer's but the owner does.

Just out of college, I worked a couple of years for a company in this field. This post brings back memories. When you have an underground fuel storage tank, if it leaks you have to clean up the contamination. Gas and oil have all kinds of toxic chemicals that can cause cancer. You really don't want that stuff in the water supply.

Someone has to dig out the tank and all the contaminated dirt. There's also a need to drill monitoring wells, only an inch across so you can drop down a glass vial to collect a water sample. Soil and water samples go to a lab for testing the amounts of hydrocarbons, benzene etc.

The soil's usually spread out in a thin layer to air out, occasionally flipped over and tested again. One of our clients mentioned something about Russian scientists who supposedly had invented a microbe can be sprinkled on dirt and it eats the petroleum. But I never heard anything more about that.

Reports have to go to the local government. If a gas station is sold, this is super important for the real estate deal to go through.

This is a perfect "partly dirty" job or business, for someone who likes to play in the dirt with backhoes and bulldozers in all kinds of weather, who likes science, and who can put up with some government paperwork. The paperwork to track the samples is crucial. The government wants to be sure the lab measures the same water or dirt that was collected in the field. Super easy business to enter. Need is dictated by the local laws and the Department of Environmental Quality. Just make sure there aren't too many competitors close by.

Where I worked, the field crews had gloves and masks as needed. The scientists had gloves and powerful vent hoods. But in the office where I checked in samples and typed reports, there were no protective measures at all. I strongly believe this carelessness contributed to my cancer many years later. (Fortunately I recovered.) But there's no way to prove it. If you get into the field, I'd urge you to be super careful about not touching or breathing the contamination.

This would be a great area for a vertical market solution. Instead of signing off on paperwork in the mud and the rain (we often got the triplicate forms - for us, client, and government - in a big ziplock bag), a cell phone app could scan a barcode or QR label, timestamp the GPS location and include a photo or video clip when you take the sample and tape the label shut. At the lab, a barcode scanner could automate checking in the samples. There's some more that could be added, but I don't want to give away all my best ideas I might want to act on some day.

 

[Late Bloomer]

What about nurseries? Those places cost a bomb, sometimes more than rent for a month

If you own a casino, you need to be personally licensed by the state. But aren't there many private day care centers, schools, and youth activity groups, where you could own the business, and hang out with the kids as much as you like, without needing an education degree yourself?

 

[Late Bloomer]

If someone would ask for their oven to be cleaned we charged $25 and they thought that was too high.

I think the niche is high-end residential rentals, for people who'll have to pay a $200 cleaning fee when they move out of the house or apartment... unless they pay a cleaning service $100 to clean it for them.

 

[Late Bloomer]

I’ve seen a couple companies that set up lights for homes in affluent neighborhoods.

There’s definitely demand there and some fierce competition between neighbors in some places.

There are Designers for interiors and landscaping of luxury homes. I wonder if there is, or could be a Design service that would create these spectacular displays for rich people who like to show off, but aren't visually creative themselves?

 

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[Late Bloomer]

Lots of potential with business models like this. Especially going from US --> Southeast Asia or other developing countries. Southeast Asia is developing the fastest though.

In Las Vegas, the Venetian casino hotel is owned by one corporation, and the Paris casino hotel is owned by a different corporation. The parent company of the Venetian got the rights to build new casinos in Macau. They built not just a Venetian Macau, but also a Parisian Macau. The concept of "a resort hotel with a Paris theme and a half-size Eiffel Tower out front" can't be copyrighted. The Venetian's owners didn't have to pay a penny to the owner of Paris Las Vegas for the use of the idea.

 

[Late Bloomer]

Can you convince Taco Bell to let you sell their franchise in Australia? Can you get any local business to join the franchise?

The name Taco Bell, the names of their own fake-Mexican food that can't be found anywhere else, and the recipes are all owned by the company. If you tried to launch Taco Bell yourself in a new country, they'd probably sue you. Even if they lost, they could afford enough lawyers to put you out of business. I wouldn't try to match the color scheme or the exact layout of the restaurant and menu. But you could open American Tacos, or Tacos Mexicana, or Bell Mexican Grande Food, with similar fast food tacos and burritos. (I'm guessing at fake restaurant names here.)

 

[Late Bloomer]

I always wanted to find out more about dirty jobs but had no idea how.

I hope you've seen Mike Rowe's show by now?

 

[Late Bloomer]

It was my perception that good customer service was default because I personally didn't think it was that hard to provide. I also had the perception that anyone that went into business knew that customers are the most important part of the business. So the thought that if anyone treated customers like crap, they wouldn't have a business for very long.

Oh hell no! There are plenty of little service businesses where customers complain about that tacky jerk who does the work, but pay him anyway!

If you were the only one in your town with great customer service, someone else who also has a clue might want to join you rather than compete with you... or buy you out, when you're ready to walk away.

 

[Late Bloomer]

These seem like the sorts of businesses you have to go all in or nothing and not something you could run on the 'side' until it grows legs.

Not necessarily. If you do lead generation sites like Minivanman and Andy Black, you can start advertising poop scoopers tomorrow if nobody buys lawn moving services any more. The gas station environmental service is another example, you could be a courier for construction companies who'd rather pay someone else to drop off samples at the lab, so their backhoe operator can stay onsite all day. Starting that business could be as simple as showing up at a construction site where it looks like they're removing an underground gas storage tank. Ask any worker if this is a cleanup of a leaking gas or oil storage tank. If yes, say you'd like to talk to the boss. Tell the boss you're offering a courier service for environment cleanup companies, is that something that would help them?

 

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[Late Bloomer]

Big players in the fencing industry do this. One of the biggest fencing companies in my area is called fence outlet.

... these installers make $8-$10k/month. They will never have an opportunity to make money like that and be their own boss anywhere else, so they take large amounts of pride in their work and it yields very little on the management side for fence outlet.

I had no idea! Thanks for the explanation!

And unlike selling something online, it doesn't matter if some hard working fence building kid in China can survive on a penny a day. That has nothing to do with the local pricing for your local market (assuming you're not in that part of China).

Man I love this thread! So educational! I can't remember even one day of high school or college when there was any kind of discussion like this about basic local jobs for hard working people, with some marketing and customer service skills.

 

[Late Bloomer]

So one of the services is cutting grass. What can someone possibly do better if there is already a large company in a local area doing this?

Marketing. Customer service. Showing up on time as promised. Having clean trucks and uniforms. (One plumbing company has radio ads that let the housewife know their guys don't smell bad.) When the mower goes back on the truck, come back to the house with the clipboard and sell this month's seasonal upgrade offer, whether it's for flowers, fertilizer, mosquito control, raking leaves, cleaning gutters, prepay for snow removal this winter, putting Christmas lights up or down. Follow up call from the boss the next day to see if the customer was satisfied and let them know you can refer roofing, plumbing, electrical, handyman services you've checked out and trust, if they ever need anything else make you their first call. Lead gen online. Pushing a mower for an hour is a commodity. Lots you can wrap around that to make a unique business.

 

[Late Bloomer]

These blue collar guys are the ones I know, and I am sure part of it's my geographic region

Brilliant story. These guys are everywhere. And often looked down on by ignorant folks, who don't have a tenth of their net worth.

 

[Late Bloomer]

And I think they have an iron clad guarantee. If you're not 100% satisfied, double your poo back.

I bet the employees ain't gonna steal the inventory with this one either!

 

[Late Bloomer]

But honestly I smell "slowlane" in most of them.(No offense!)

Slowlane when you do the work yourself at first, Fastlane when you grow it to the point that you're the owner with multiple crews and the best marketing in town.

 

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[Late Bloomer]

But honestly I smell "slowlane" in most of them.(No offense!)

Slowlane when you do the work yourself at first, Fastlane when you grow it to the point that you're the owner with multiple crews and the best marketing in town.

 

[Late Bloomer]

Posting here now to remind myself to throw up some ideas later.

Don't worry about making a mess when you throw up, we've got the cleaning crew here if the price is right.

 

[Late Bloomer]

i been wanting to make an app for an overlooked niche for the longest time.

Something like an Info App. It's so easy to make:
1) Get good info
2) Get some graphics
3) Whip up nice looking info app
4) Put in Admob ads
5) Profit

Sadly have not found an expert in their field who has a good idea for an info app for their industry.

The money is in YOU becoming well informed enough about a specific industry, that you can see something where automation or convenience would help business owners make more profits.

This will require that have a variety of work experience in different jobs and industries, and that you go out and talk to people with empathetic questions about what their work day is like and what concerns they have in their business. I know the concerns of gas station tank cleanup companies and of fast food managers because of bad jobs that were all I could find at the time. I know the concerns of art and philosophy publishers and of monkey brain research investigators because of conversations with friends. What do you know that's far more unique in a niche than how to crank out an app?

I have no idea what Admob is, but I would guess that if there's a killer app that lets a septic tank service business make sure there's enough room in the tank before the schedule another job that day, it will be sold by phone call and sales letters to septic company owners, NOT on Admob. A booth at the Plumbing Expo might lead to a dozen sales. A full page ad in Plumbing Industry World Magazine might bring in a hundred sales. A great sales letter to the Plumbing World mailing list might bring in a thousand sales, and there's nobody left to buy another copy of the app. I'm making this one up, I don't know actually know if the septic tank truck has to go back to the shop for cleanout after each call. The point is that your ad coding skillz are the commodity here, not the info about who might want to buy an app.

 

[Late Bloomer]

I've been contemplating ideas for the elderly care space for a while now. And every idea I come up with ends with the same conclusion, Where the hell does the money come from?

I wonder if you have real estate investor meetups in your area? Could you go to those and talk with people about your idea, until you find someone with commercial property who can see the income potential here?

 

[barman]

Quality thread despite our short derailment into racism and what not.

Still looking for ideas, and possibility marketing? Get yourself on nextdoor.com for insight into what your neighbors are looking for and who they're recommending.

 

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[Argin Gerigorian]

Amazon Home Services.

If you're providing any service and NOT on Amazon, you're missing out.

Our plumbing and electrical businesses are expanding massively.

 

[luniac]

The money is in YOU becoming well informed enough about a specific industry, that you can see something where automation or convenience would help business owners make more profits.

This will require that have a variety of work experience in different jobs and industries, and that you go out and talk to people with empathetic questions about what their work day is like and what concerns they have in their business. I know the concerns of gas station tank cleanup companies and of fast food managers because of bad jobs that were all I could find at the time. I know the concerns of art and philosophy publishers and of monkey brain research investigators because of conversations with friends. What do you know that's far more unique in a niche than how to crank out an app?

I have no idea what Admob is, but I would guess that if there's a killer app that lets a septic tank service business make sure there's enough room in the tank before the schedule another job that day, it will be sold by phone call and sales letters to septic company owners, NOT on Admob. A booth at the Plumbing Expo might lead to a dozen sales. A full page ad in Plumbing Industry World Magazine might bring in a hundred sales. A great sales letter to the Plumbing World mailing list might bring in a thousand sales, and there's nobody left to buy another copy of the app. I'm making this one up, I don't know actually know if the septic tank truck has to go back to the shop for cleanout after each call. The point is that your ad coding skillz are the commodity here, not the info about who might want to buy an app.

i hear ya, i got some things in the works, solving a need for a graphic designer friend and another need for a hippy friend. my coding skills are what brought them to me.

 

[ocricci]

The point is that your ad coding skillz are the commodity here, not the info about who might want to buy an app

I agree, you can easily outsource the app building process but not the need // demand discovery - this is the exact challenge i face being a software developer myself

 

[VincentV]

How about cleaning trees?

In the netherlands we have a problem with trees infested with Oak Processionary Moth. From what I see there is only one company cleaning the trees (they vacuum the nest) for our town.

Unsexy as hell but can be good business.

 

[Deleted52409]

@Kennypaul admitedly I could have done a better job of including more unsexy products. One day if I have time, I should make another thread like this, but even better and include a ton more ideas. I have a lot of them.

 

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[Late Bloomer]

Amazon Home Services.

If you're providing any service and NOT on Amazon, you're missing out.

Our plumbing and electrical businesses are expanding massively.

I'm not a homeowner, so I haven't kept up with what's available in this space. When did Amazon get into this? How long have you been on it?

 

[Late Bloomer]

How about cleaning trees?

In the netherlands we have a problem with trees infested with Oak Processionary Moth. From what I see there is only one company cleaning the trees (they vacuum the nest) for our town.

Unsexy as hell but can be good business.

I'm sure that in all my years in school, nobody ever mentioned that vacuuming trees could be a way to make a living!

 

[Argin Gerigorian]

I'm not a homeowner, so I haven't kept up with what's available in this space. When did Amazon get into this? How long have you been on it?

I believe launched in 2014 but they still haven't really marketed it and brought it out to the public.

As their marketplace grows with products, the need for installation grows with a wide range of products they sell.

Knowing Amazon and experiencing selling the service first hand, they are providing a customer experience beyond any current company!

Selling services on their platform in the future is going to be what selling products was a couple of years ago

 

[Late Bloomer]

Selling services on their platform in the future is going to be what selling products was a couple of years ago

Thanks Argin! Very cool to get in on the ground floor and learn about it it now!