Boring or Terrible Service Businesses that Have the Potential for Fastlaners...

[MJ DeMarco]

Seems to me a lot of service, locally based companies have poor CS.

In the other thread I mentioned I've been calling around for a surveyor. Only 1 responded promptly. One responded weeks later, and the others, not at all. And it isn't a small job.

 

[smithsta]

I started a ‘boring/unsexy’ local service business 3 months ago. Actually I trialled it for 2 months, offered the service to 30+ people for free for 2 months. It’s a unique service business but it’s something we do on a monthly basis, or should do anyway.

In the 3rd month now and I’m working on website/payment system and they’re messaging me asking when I will be around next and when can they sign up.

I’ve actually documented my journey by video, voice recording and journaling. Have been thinking about writing a progress thread.

There’s certainly opportunity everywhere for local service businesses, especially if you can think outside the box and implement technology and systems.

 

[RazorCut]

I have a friend in the landscaping and property maintenance business. I wouldn't want his business, not because of the poor earnings as it is well paid, but because of all the hassle and grind associated with it. I've had quite a lot of businesses over the years, several in the local services niche.

Yes you can certainly do a better job as you will not have the apathy coming in fresh that someone who has had a decade or more in the business has. But you will run into all the issues that have ground them down to the point where they offer just average services.

The most difficult one of the lot is finding good, solid reliable workers. Those that are good will need paying very well to keep them and are few and far between so get poached. Those that are excellent will set up in opposition to you within 2 years (and take a good percentage of your customer base with them). And all the rest you will wish you hadn't employed in the first place as they will let you down at every opportunity (despite you giving them loads of chances because you are finding it so difficult getting a replacement).

This IMHO is why you see:

tons of people raving about starting a new digital marketing/consulting business, or an app, drop shopping, affiliate work from home business

 

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[MidwestLandlord]

Pretty much any "blue collar" industry has massive opportunities I think.

Here's an example (gotta be a bit vague to not give away this guy's product):

Business neighbor of mine was a salesman for a service company that does a certain type of manual labor for houses.

He saw that these guys used tools that caused the work to be back-breaking (literally), and the systems in this industry hadn't really changed, well...ever.

So he invented a tool that saves time and the health of the workers back. An amazingly simple device that costs about $10 to make, and he sells them for $74.99

A trade show, some samples given out, a nice website and some youtube videos and he's selling 10+ per day less than a week after going live. 6 months later and he's got a huge bankroll...

Now he's working on getting workman's comp carriers to offer discounts to companies that use his device.

He has now also invented another product for this industry. Again, one that saves people's spines. This one costs about $1,500 to make, and sells for $6,500-$10,000 depending on the model.

He's selling 2-3 a week.

Of course this is an example of supporting the "blue collar" businesses, but there is tremendous opportunity with operating service businesses too, because no one wants to get their hands dirty and lot's of blue collar business owner's have little business sense.

 

[LamboKing]

I see tons of people raving about starting a new digital marketing/consulting business, or an app, drop shopping, affiliate work from home business, but no too much of boring businesses that have the potential to become a fast lane.

I wanted to brainstorm here and see if you lost everything except what you knew today, what type of business what you start or where do you see a lot of ideas that need execution.

Asking because I will admit I’m on the freeway hitting 0-3 mph in the fast lane and trying to get help where I’m failing at. Not trying to start the next Nike or Facebook, but it would be nice to have a business that adds value to a lot of people.

 

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[Fox]

I read about a girl in Ireland who created a drain inspection service and was clearing millions with a full-blown company a few years later. She had a really effective approach and got the best gear. Basically crushed the few slow old-school competitors that previously had the market.

 

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[minivanman]

I have my hand in several very small businesses. Let's take the lawn care business. The one I'm connected with only does mowing/trimming/edging/blowing. I've brought in right around 1800 calls this year for service.... unfortunately, no one wants to work so we have less than 10% of that many customers. Now mind you, I am not aware of what happens on a daily basis in this business. All I do is bring in the potential customers. No clue what is happening daily. But I do know the guy is nice so it's not because he is being a d!ck.

So let me break it down to you what all that means..... it is a product of supply and demand. When we have 1800 people wanting service but can only service less than 10% of those people, he can get away with not doing the work like it should be done. Now I have NO IDEA if the work is great or if it sucks. Customer retention is great so it must be good, on the other hand, maybe the customers stick with him because he shows up each time. But if he has so much work he can't keep up with hundreds of people waiting in line and 0 good workers willing to work.... what is your solution to that? I'm all for it. I'll go WAY above and beyond my regular $1000 to put in for a business if you have the solution to that problem.

It's the same way in the cleaning business and all the other service businesses.

By the way, the Amazon for this is Thumbtack. But how does something like Thumbtack really help? We had almost 1800 calls yet no workers to service that many people. Getting the customers is not the problem.

 

[Boo]

I see. So it’s a managing and maintaining workers in the field. I get it. I bet it can be frustrating dealing with those kind of issues (hiring/firing, handling pay checks, etc)? To be honest, I really would prefer creating a business that is little to none employees because of the managerial side of things.

If the turnover right is high, should the business focus more of a McDonald’s approach where it is systematic or does it require an intrinsic skill that may take time to get the job done?

You're basically ruling out the majority of service businesses then, which was the premise of this thread. You're going through the same issues in your head that all of us have experienced as business owners. Running these companies isn't easy at all, which is why the service tends to be terrible. Any service that relies on low skilled and low paid employees will face the real difficulties of managing these types of people. It's easy to think that these local business owners suck and we could all do a better job, and in many regards, you might be right, but when it comes to staff management and retention, it's an incredibly complex problem.

I also want to note, this Uber-style of "employment" is not even legal in many circumstances. For people to be independent contractors the IRS has a strict set of guidelines that you must follow. One is that you can never tell them when and where to work. You could argue, the way that TaskRabbit and Handy do, that they have the choice over whether to accept each job or not, but they are still required to go to a particular home at a set time and finish the job within a given timeframe. Call any IRS agent or employment lawyer, they'll tell you that at best it's on the edge, at worse it's blatantly illegal. Which is why all of these companies are being repeatedly sued over and over by ex-workers. Plus, you can't train your staff in any way, give them any equipment, force them to wear a uniform and if a job goes poorly they are independent contractors so tough luck, you can't force them to go back and arguably you can't deduct pay from them either because you pay for the job to be done, not to be done well or even adequately.

That's all before you start looking at the problems these Uber for X companies have, which is that the service is always horrible. They get 3 stars average, often less, which is appalling for a local service company. I truly believe that the best way to run companies like this is a decentralized system like a franchise, but completely company owned. Where instead of a franchisee you have a high paid MBA graduate whose pay is heavily incentivized based on a few key metrics like ROIC, increase in FCF and increase in net revenue. You'd need to grow very very slowly, using the first location to form systems for everything, test price elasticity and then charge right at the top to justify the associated costs of management etc.

I'm in the constant process of trying to figure this out for my own company and if I make any progress, I will be sure to never tell anybody because it's a problem that if solved could make anybody billions of dollars, it's that big of an issue.

 

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[Thoelt53]

Solve the labor problem. Make billions.

A lot of blue collar jobs are open.

How can you find blue collar labor that can pass a drug test and show up reliably?

Commission based pay, or incentive based pay seems to work for some of the big home service players. It weeds out the bodies and leaves you with go-getters.

In a past life I worked for a large grocery wholesaler who paid on an incentive basis. HiLo operators who were willing to hustle and work could make $22/hour. Those who didn't have the drive either quit or moved into janitorial, non-incentive positions. The people who put in the work, however, were rock star employees and were probably worth even more than $22/hour. Granted this warehouse was hiring roughly 5 new HiLo operators per month to compensate for turnover and washout. I believe there were roughly 30 HiLo operators total, split over three shifts per day. Good help truly is hard to find.

I heard a podcast with Tom Mello of A1 Garage Door, and in it he spoke of recruiting people from various places he visits during everyday life. For example, he was checking out at Walgreens one day and was blown away by the cashier's level of customer service. Offered him a job on the spot and handed him a business card. A few months later the cashier called Tom wondering if the offer still stood. Tom happily took him on. I believe he had a similar story with an outstanding waitress at a restaurant he ate dinner at one night.

His reasoning was that the people you want working for you are already employed simply because every company wants to employ them. You will rarely find these people looking for work, and instead you have to recruit them from their current job.

Most of these blue collar skills can be taught on the job. The key is to hire based on personality and not necessarily skill set. Be willing to train your employees.

Drug testing and blue collar work is tricky. I have primarily held blue collar jobs and have often joked that if the companies were to drug test, they would be out of business the next day. I have worked with plenty of great people who drink most nights and smoke weed. Those who use harder drugs are easy to spot and usually don't last long, so drug testing for harder substances than weed is beneficial. If your employees show up to work on time, sober and not hungover, let things be. However, this is complicated by Google Home Services, which will require your company to drug test in order to be Google Certified.

 

[Second Act]

What about bringing modern era / digital technologies to the boring, inefficient industries, without having to get your hands dirty. Instead of fighting the grind of running one of these businesses better than the competitors, what about providing a more efficient marketplace for customers to find the best businesses in those industries?

On this note, an episode of the "Side Hustle School" podcast on an "Uber for Lawn Care" business really stuck with me as a great idea - “Uber for Lawn Care” Mows Down the Competition | Side Hustle School

 

[minivanman]

This is a HUGE pain point for me (aka a potential opportunity). Whether it's lawn mowers, maid services, pool companies or landscapers, the level of service and communication is HORRIBLE around here. Some of these idiots will spend money to run an ad, then not return customer calls. Do they even WANT to be in business?!

It doesn't take much to stand out from the masses of jackasses in these categories, and I've thought long and hard about how to capitalize on this. I could build a company that competes directly, but I'm not sure how to make this a fast lane biz (even though it would be hugely gratifying to crush these idiots). I'm in marketing, so I've also thought about creating a lead gen service or a directory for them, but Home Advisor and Angie's list seem to have that buttoned up. Another thing that makes me hesitate is having any of these companies as customers, given the difficulty of working with them as a customer. Plus, many don't have any money to spend. Still, I can't stop thinking about it...

It took me awhile to realize this too but the reason the lawn guy runs the ad is to get more customers. He quickly gets several calls and those calls become more customers and now he has a full schedule. He tries to hire people but here is what happens.... people continue to call and he is so busy he just says FK it. At the same time he is trying to hire someone to help but that person keeps quitting or is slow or just sucks but even if that person is slow or sucks he needs to keep him. About this time he realizes that trying to have workers sucks. So he just keeps enough customers for himself and if he finds a helper down the road fine and if not, fine. On the bright side for him, he now realizes that instead of looking for cheap lawns and charging $30 per lawn he can now charge $60. See, he shows up and does good work AND he only needs a finite number of customers. So 1 by 1 he can replace those $30 lawns with $60 lawns and he just doubled his profit. And of course, that makes him happy for awhile and then he starts trying to hire a helper again or quits all together and goes back to work for $15 an hour and threatens to quit every day and go back to mowing. The moral of the story: If you are one of the first 20 people that call, he might answer the phone. Customers are a dime a dozen when you first start at low prices.

 

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[lowtek]

Just about any type of labor could be a candidate. Most of these guys are total hacks, and of those that aren't, are typically bad at business.

More often than not, just being persistent sets you apart. Our landscaper kept leaving cards at the gate. Eventually I called him, and the dude does a good job keeping the yard clean once a month for $50.

 

[LamboKing]

I read about a girl in Ireland who created a drain inspection service and was clearing millions with a full-blown company a few years later. She had a really effective approach and got the best gear. Basically crushed the few slow old-school competitors that previously had the market.

This is my goal ^^^

Even though I haven’t executed into business just yet, I followed what MJ DeMarco said for lazy asses on the couch lol...smothered myself into sales.

Learned the ups and downs, how to talk to people, closing the deal, copywriting, etc.

For almost a year and a half I have been flipping and selling a variety of items I find. Sold about $25,000 with a 80% profit margin (about 20k). A guy decides to sell their Toyota Tacoma and Tundra parts for $50 because it’s taking too much space, and I end up selling just one of their spoilers for $150.

A lot of customers would tell me that what brought them to my ad or posting was the Title (copywrite), the pictures, and that I answered my phone immediately when they were ready to buy. This has resulted in repeat customers.

Thinking about taking a similar approach with a boring yet potential business.

I don’t bring the best skills to the table or have Twitter venture capital funding, but relentless human capital (myself) to bring to the table. Also pretty good in sales, web design (thanks Fox), and making sure customers have better customer service.

 

[Boo]

Although I don't currently do any B2B or B2G (government) work, I tend to think those business models are superior in some regards. Have a think about the kinds of services that businesses and governments need.

Take a restaurant, for example, there are probably thousands in your city. Each of them has probably a couple deep fat fryers and they likely hire specialized teams to come in periodically to clean them deeply. Similarly, many restaurants rent cooking equipment because it's quite pricey. Could you buy and rent grills or friers?

At the end of a single day, a large restaurant has up to a thousand dirty napkins. All of those need to be cleaned. A service business comes directly to the restaurant, picks them up, cleans and returns them the following day or day after. Predictable and long-term revenue.

With the government, the opportunities are endless and quite often in a publically visible list. If you search for your local areas government tender opportunities, you'll often see precisely what you can bid on right now.

One I saw recently was for jet power washing of trucks and tankers. Another needed jet washing for graffiti removal. While a different contract wanted a power washing company to clean parking lots.

 

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[Solais]

6 boring service businesses with low startup costs

1) Moving service (commercial moving probably has higher margins than residential)
2) Mobile car wash
3) Dog walking
4) Professional organizer
5) Tablet/phone repair
6) Landscaping

For more ideas, I strongly suggest visiting BizBuySell - Business for Sale Search. Find a business to buy and browsing through 3-5 pages. These are already tried-and-true businesses (though most are not "Fastlane").

A service business can definitely be "Fastlane," it's just harder to pull off because scaling isn't inherent in the system. But before you reach "Fastlane" status, you have to uh, you know, have a working business first!

 

[Solais]

Just a question because I've never been in the moving business. Why do you think commercial moving has higher margins than residential? By commercial moving do you mean moving businesses?

Asking for a friend. lmao No, actually, some people will read this and wonder the same thing but lots of people never ask questions.

Matter of volume and scale.

Example 1:

If I start a tutoring company, I want to partner with public schools, private schools, and organizations that can supply students en masse. A class of 10 students for remedial tutoring @ $25/hour = $250/hour.

If I instead choose to partner with individual households or private families to get clients, then I can only charge a measly $50/hour for 1 on 1 tutoring.

Notice that in both cases, you only need to hire 1 tutor/teacher. Their rates will be roughly the same ($25-$30/hour). But option #1 gives you a FAR HIGHER margin.

Example 2:

If I start a HVAC business, I want to partner with commercial clients like grocery stores. They have hundreds of units that will break down every year or two (maybe more often...I wouldn't know, I'm not a HVAC expert) and when that happens, their #1 priority is getting AC back up or else their inventory quite literally becomes worthless.

If I instead seek out consumer clients, then most houses will only need one or two units replaced whenever their heating/AC breaks down.

Once again, whatever hourly rate you pay your HVAC expert(s) is roughly the same, but the volume (which is directly proportional to the "value" you create) changes depending on the customers you service.

Services can be changed depending on whom you want to service.

Dog walking is strictly B2C (but you can hire someone to walk 8 dogs at once, thus creating a decent margin despite the consumer focus), while a mobile car wash can be B2C or B2B depending on how you execute.

 

[LamboKing]

Seems to me a lot of service, locally based companies have poor CS.

In the other thread I mentioned I've been calling around for a surveyor. Only 1 responded promptly. One responded weeks later, and the others, not at all. And it isn't a small job.

Reminds me of when my family ac went out. We called 7 local companies, 4 were too busy/didn’t answer and 3 came over to give a quote. 2 wanted to charge us around $1200 to change a $20 capacitor that takes less than 5 minutes to install. The last one charged a fair price (much less than $1200) and checked/added Freon.

Glad you chimed in. Feel I’m on to something. I could check a few local companies and skew something from those with poor service/CS.

Thanks!

 

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[c4n]

Here's a nice list: NOTABLE! - 100 Unsexy Business Ideas: Name as many as you can!

 

[Lex DeVille]

I started a ‘boring/unsexy’ local service business 3 months ago. Actually I trialled it for 2 months, offered the service to 30+ people for free for 2 months. It’s a unique service business but it’s something we do on a monthly basis, or should do anyway.

In the 3rd month now and I’m working on website/payment system and they’re messaging me asking when I will be around next and when can they sign up.

I’ve actually documented my journey by video, voice recording and journaling. Have been thinking about writing a progress thread.

There’s certainly opportunity everywhere for local service businesses, especially if you can think outside the box and implement technology and systems.

You definitely should. I'll keep an eye out for it. Progress threads by people already in action are the best.

 

[Merging Left]

You've solved customer service, but you're not hearing what people are telling you about having trouble finding quality workers. Yes, excellent customer service is a weak spot for many of these types of jobs, but that could be because the business is already operating at capacity.

@minivanman has specifically mentioned 2-3 times now that he has 1,800 customers but only capacity for 180 of them. Why doesn't the business he partners with hire more people to handle the rest of the available customers? They can't.

If you could tell a business "I can promise you a reliable worker who will show up on time, every day, and stay with you for at least a year" you'll have people knocking your door down. Solve that problem, and you can serve every niche. Maybe technology solves that problem (so 1 person can do the job of 3), or maybe employees need better benefits and pay, better training, and more flexibility with their hours.

Some businesses struggle to find and retain clients. You don't want to serve them - they can't afford you. You want to find the business who has more customers than he can handle and help him figure out how to scale up effectively.

 

[minivanman]

With client demand like that, prices should go up.

Can the employee problem be solved with a bonus up front that has to be paid back if they leave before a year?

Can the problem of good people leaving to compete and take clients be solved by adding a time limit non-compete that starts when employment ends?

Just some thoughts.

I have a very small part of a lot of businesses. It is not up to me at all for the prices to go up or down. I make suggestions once or twice but in the end, I never bother anyone. It's their business basically... that's our deal. I don't really keep track of their prices but I do know when they first started they charged $25 to mow a lawn. Then I got them up to $30 and now $45. They don't seem interested in going higher. All they do is mow/trim/edge/blow/go. I started a few of these businesses myself, I love them.

Try hiring Jim Bob, give him a big bonus up front and see how long he stays before giving you the finger. Hell, I'd have to laugh right along with him if I was stupid enough to do that. But the point is still being missed.... you could offer someone $100 an hour, they would come in for an interview, you hire them to start tomorrow and you will never see them again. Or, they come in for a week or 3 and never show up again. I did have this rule when I had all my girls working for me. YOU must pick up your check. No one at any time for any reason is allowed to pick up your check for you. In the hospital? I'll come bring it to you. In jail? I'll come bring it to you. Had to leave the country? YOU can pick it up when you get back. Yes, I did get a few phone calls from the labor department so I'd tell them I'll mail the check out. I'd usually wait a few days and then mail it. We were a tight-nit group so they all knew it was better to just tell me you wanted to quit instead of trying to play around. That way they could come back to work if they ever wanted.... and most did.

Non compete's are very common. I've seen them go both ways. But then again.... if you have a very great person working for you and paying them well yet they decide to start their own business.... they will never work the same for you as long as they do work for you. Once that bug gets in them... it's there. The best you can hope for is that they don't try to take your customers and it might be better for your business that they do quit, the sooner the better before they do end up screwing you.

 

[Walter Hay]

The labor problems so often mentioned are very real, and are probably the primary reason why service industries are so often the realm of franchising.

When people buy a job, which is the reality of service franchises, they have skin in the game and will usually put in the effort required to succeed. That of course is subject to the franchise model being a genuinely successful system, operated by honest franchisors.

Sadly the franchisors are not always honest. I refer to this in the thread:
How Profitable Are Franchises I link to this thread because it contains material relevant to the discussion here.

In effect the franchisor provides the complete system, and can even provide supplies and equipment. The franchisee supplies the labor, and if they have any sense, the good service.

Setting up a franchise network in most jurisdictions is not for the fainthearted or those who lack capital. There are still a few countries, even in the West, that don't regulate franchises.

Of the larger economies, the UK provides the easiest access for those who want to set up a franchise network. This is because there is no legislated franchise law, and franchisors are simply expected to comply with a voluntary industry code.

The US, with Federal and State governments having legislative controls, has time consuming and expensive compliance procedures that should not even be considered without expert legal advice.

Canada's franchise regulations are so draconian that I shied away from setting up franchises there.

Maybe it's time I finished my often shelved book: "Franchise Your Way Into The Fastlane."

Walter

 

[Walter Hay]

Even if the labor problem can't be solved entirely if this is the biggest challenge the business owners in these industries face it's obvious how to get a competitive advantage... become very very good at human resource.

It will still suck but if the labor problem in your business is smaller than the local competition you should have a decent competitive advantage.
So how can you on average hire better employees and have a lower chrunrate? You don't have to be a master at this... if you can get emlpoyees that are on avg 30% "better" and stick around 50% longer than @ the competition you should be in a very good position.
Of course there would be still a lot of situations than will suck... but that's the reason why it pays very well if you develop the skills/systems to have a lot of people working for your businesses.

The question still remains. How do you get employees to function 30% better, or stick around 50% longer?

Some answers have already canvassed options such as bonuses and higher pay, but it is a strange fact of life that some people can't even handle the responsibility of turning up for work when they promise. Extra pay or bonuses won't solve the issue with people like that. Even handing out shares in the business won't always work for them.

This is why I recommend franchising. I have seen franchises fail because those who bought a franchise were the type that I referred to in the previous paragraph. They were even willing to lose their investment because it was insufficient motivation for them.

Fortunately that is not a common event. Just as I found in my first business, that when people purchased a sample they were much more inclined to try it out than those to whom I gave a free sample, those willing to invest money in a franchise will usually put in the necessary effort to succeed.

Walter

 

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[minivanman]

Breathing was not really a requirement but usually if they stopped treating they didn't show up.

Although I was learning as I went, I just looked for someone that would show up. It goes a few different ways in service businesses. These are my personal experiences...If you are meeting people at McDonald's then you might get 2 out of 12 people to show up. Hire both of them and less than .05% of the time 1 of them MIGHT show up. So then you do the same thing the next day. Once I had an actual office, we accepted applications any time of day but most of the time they wouldn't show up for work the next day. I had my 5 core people that cleaned the whole time I owned it and I had others that would come and go. I don't think there is any trick to it... kinda like finding the right girlfriend, it's all a numbers game. lol In Kansas City and Lincoln they had the same problems but I had people running those offices. We actually had 2 offices in Kansas City but I kinda ran it like 1 office. I have other businesses these days and people have a phone interview and then an actual interview and then finally if we think they might be the one.... they are invited out to dinner. Normally I don't do these dinners because I'm all about jokes and a good time so I'm too busy trying to make everyone laugh and not paying attention as to how they are acting and treating everyone else. I could even see doing this type of thing with people such as plumbers who have gone to school to learn their service or anything where people have put in time to learn. My buddy owned 5 Good Sam's beauty shops and this is how he hired his workers. But house cleaners and lawn guys..... you rarely get anyone with a PhD. If you treat your workers good, you will find your core people. I still have girls trying to get me to move back and start another cleaning business.

As for who I hired, I loved to hire people who have never cleaned before in their life. That way they learned OUR way and we didn't have to try and train them our way which never works. We did not cater to the customer... we did the same thing in every house we ever cleaned except for move out/in. The only difference was a Silver Plan vs a Gold Plan.

Normal employees... LMAO I remember one time I hired this girl, really cute and really nice. I was the one who was training her the next day. I was cleaning the shower and instead of her standing outside of the shower and watching through the glass how to clean... she got right on in with me. Well, come to find out, a part she had left off her application was that she used to be a stripper..... sigh.... nothing happened but she wasn't around over a week. I think she was one of the more 'normal' ones I had. Nowadays it's really easy to make a video for them to watch but back then, I had a video camera but the editing was not too easy in those days.

 

[Lex DeVille]

You've solved customer service, but you're not hearing what people are telling you about having trouble finding quality workers. Yes, excellent customer service is a weak spot for many of these types of jobs, but that could be because the business is already operating at capacity.

@minivanman has specifically mentioned 2-3 times now that he has 1,800 customers but only capacity for 180 of them. Why doesn't the business he partners with hire more people to handle the rest of the available customers? They can't.

If you could tell a business "I can promise you a reliable worker who will show up on time, every day, and stay with you for at least a year" you'll have people knocking your door down. Solve that problem, and you can serve every niche. Maybe technology solves that problem (so 1 person can do the job of 3), or maybe employees need better benefits and pay, better training, and more flexibility with their hours.

Some businesses struggle to find and retain clients. You don't want to serve them - they can't afford you. You want to find the business who has more customers than he can handle and help him figure out how to scale up effectively.

With client demand like that, prices should go up.

Can the employee problem be solved with a bonus up front that has to be paid back if they leave before a year?

Can the problem of good people leaving to compete and take clients be solved by adding a time limit non-compete that starts when employment ends?

Just some thoughts.

 

[Filippos]

Pretty much any "blue collar" industry has massive opportunities I think.

Here's an example (gotta be a bit vague to not give away this guy's product):

Business neighbor of mine was a salesman for a service company that does a certain type of manual labor for houses.

He saw that these guys used tools that caused the work to be back-breaking (literally), and the systems in this industry hadn't really changed, well...ever.

So he invented a tool that saves time and the health of the workers back. An amazingly simple device that costs about $10 to make, and he sells them for $74.99

A trade show, some samples given out, a nice website and some youtube videos and he's selling 10+ per day less than a week after going live. 6 months later and he's got a huge bankroll...

Now he's working on getting workman's comp carriers to offer discounts to companies that use his device.

He has now also invented another product for this industry. Again, one that saves people's spines. This one costs about $1,500 to make, and sells for $6,500-$10,000 depending on the model.

He's selling 2-3 a week.

Of course this is an example of supporting the "blue collar" businesses, but there is tremendous opportunity with operating service businesses too, because no one wants to get their hands dirty and lot's of blue collar business owner's have little business sense.

There are two awesome principles here that can be used as criteria for a good business idea (of course they are already mentioned in Unscripted in a better way, but the use cases seem to make the principles more believable):
1) Instead of going with the mass of local service businesses, create a business that provides services to them. You'll have many customers that you know they need help and you can define them very precisely, which means your marketing strategy can be developed in a matter of a few hours.
2) The markets that are packed with a mass of old-timers are those that have the biggest potential for such endeavors. So it makes sense that boring businesses would an interesting list to go through, because those are the ones where people can be lazy enough to follow the same practices, just because that's how it's been done always. However, I would consider them customers for my unscripted business and not opportunities for a business...

 

[SEBASTlAN]

I know a guy that makes very nice coin doing garage clearances. He probably gets between 500 to 1000% on his purchase. Customers love him as he clears the whole garage out and they get paid for the privilege. He goes through all the items and advertises the items on ebay/Craig list/local paper classified ads. Lots of power tools, chain saws, lawn mowers as you can imagine which if they don’t work he breaks down for parts and makes a lot of extra money selling.

Dude. That's a goldmine.

 

[Andy Black]

I love having these unsexy local service businesses as my clients.

Plumbers, solicitors, wedding planners, office fit-outs, cleaning companies, hydraulic pump servicing, etc.

 

[ZeroTo100]

Go on yelp...

Search a type of local service you would use...

Read every negative review.

When you start to see similarities with negative reviews - that becomes your selling point and you base your marketing strategy around that being your strength.

Just a small tip...

 

[Get Right]

Boring - How about a Coating and Rust prevention company? The corrosion of metals costs your home state's oil and gas industry 1.372 Billion dollars...a year.

I can see 4 or 5 ways to take that information and build a 10M company in just a few years.