Business Ideas for the (emerging) stay-at-home Economy?

[EVMaso]

As more people and companies are discovering that working from home might actually be a good thing for themselves/their business, maybe there's opportunity for a "working from home tech consultant".

This consultant would take care of the following things:

- Getting all necessary computers and tech in place so a person can start working for a company from home in rapid fashion (less than a day or something like that). They would select the computer, mouse, webcam, etc. and set it up for the home worker so the company doesn't even have to think about it.
- Setting up all necessary software (zoom etc.) so the home worker is ready to go as soon as possible
- Getting a person actually connected to their company's specific network through home (lots of small businesses don't necessarily have a dedicated I.T. person, it's just "the young guy on staff who knows a lot about computers" [been in this position many times]).
- Also takes care of chairs, desks, general ergonomics, etc.

 

[ChrisV]

Over the next few weeks and months we're of course going to see drastic differences in the way businesses are run. As is always the case – those who can adapt will thrive, and those who don't will be at the mercy of whatever the government decides to help them with. As a group of resilient entrepreneurs I thought it might be a good idea to brainstorm some ideas for this new emerging economic structure. Maybe not idea that we're going to use ourselves; but getting some ideas out there may spark some thoughts for those who want to help and make an income during this time of economic and health-related crisis.

So how can we capitalize on an economic structure where people will be staying home. How can we avoid being a bunch of whining sissies that are dependent on government bailouts; whether personal bailouts or business bailouts. How can we add value in this new world that has been thrust upon us. What can we do to blunt the impact to our personal lives and to society as a whole.

One idea might be to provide shopping services for the elderly. Right now many older people are really scared to be in public and us younger people are in a position to protect them. So I think that a business that helps them get the things they need (for a reasonable delivery price of course) could thrive in this new economy. A business (or even self-employment situation) that basically provides personal assistance to any elderly person who needs it. Many of them aren't that good with technology so applications like Peapod (that delivers groceries) might be too complicated for them. Purchase items, sterilize them, and leave them on their doorstep. This is also massively scaleable if you could start a service like Uber for this assuming there's no shelter-in-place order in your area.

Something else would be giving lessons to the non-tech-savvy on how to do things from home. Teaching pastors how to livestream, teaching older Americans how to use Skype, teaching various workers how to freelance from home.

This one is my own personal bias but, perhaps teaching Data Science / Artificial Intelligence / Coding classes. People are going to have a lot of time on their hands and what better way to use it than to teach a skill that will be highly marketable as soon as this whole quarantine situation is over. Hell, it might be highly marketable even before this whole quarantine situation is over, since you can do it from home. So teaching any skill that will allow people to make money from home.

Perhaps an iPhone app that tracks when Grocery Stores are expecting deliveries.

So what can you think of? What ideas, business models or inventions do you think can help in a time like this.

 

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[Andy Black]

Saw this on LinkedIn:




Found it only on Instagram here:
> http://instagr.am/p/B94tLg-HnbM/ View: https://www.instagram.com/p/B94tLg-HnbM/

 

[Kak]

I was just thinking a drive-in movie theater could actually be quite a hit in this brave new world.

 

[Andy Black]

Office chairs seem to be selling quite well for one of our clients at the moment. I’m sure more people will be upgrading their work-from-home space, and buying their own set of office supplies since they can’t nip to the company stationery cupboard anymore.

Printers? Print-toner? Laptops, laptop risers, monitors, monitor stands, desks, screens? Office pods in the garden?


I went looking for some dumbbells today but everywhere is sold out. My wife wanted a yoga mat to do sit-ups on. All sold out too. I picked up the last chin-up bar in a shop, and it’s not great so I can imagine upgrading soon. Everywhere online is out of stock for home gym stuff. I’ve always wanted a weights bench out back, along with a punch bag. A gym alongside the home office in the garden would be great.

I might even be interested in a podcasting or YouTubing package. Just buy the damn stuff in one box and follow instructions to set it all up. I’ve wasted too many hours struggling with incompatible kit, and the wrong kit too.

Oh, and I pay over the odds for my computer kit so I have the option of dropping it off at the big box business to be fixed. I don’t want to buy online and not get it fixed in a timely fashion if it goes wrong.

Hmmm... it would be nice to lease all this stuff and upgrade it occasionally. I must look into that.

And I’ve accumulated a fair amount of monthly paid services and software over the years. If someone wanted to get setup overnight and working immediately then they might be confused with all the options they need. Buying some package where it’s all setup might be a godsend.

 

[Lex DeVille]

Sustainability Coaches that teach people how to grow their own plants, livestock, and other consumable resources from home.

Minimalist Coaches - that teach people how to live with less through down-sizing (tiny houses) and getting rid of crap they don't need.

Survival Coaches - that teach people or businesses how to prep for emergencies.

Financial Coaches - to help people unf*ck their financial situation when the dust settles.

Ammo Store? - I can't buy ammo anywhere. Bass Pro has been sending emails for weeks telling me my shipment is delayed.

All Sleep Products - People are losing a lot of sleep due to anxiety and mental chatter.

All Wellness Products - Especially products like Muse that help you meditate and calm your mind.

Reality Television - Focused on drama situations arising from at-home living.

Food Sanitation Product or Service - People are spending 15 - 30 minutes prepping cleaner, wiping down boxes, hand-washing veggies, etc. when they get home from the grocery store.

Decontamination/Sanitation Storage - When people get home they have to drop their shoes, clothes, keys and anything else that is likely infected. Where do you put all of that stuff? How do you keep your kids from touching it? How do you keep it out of the elements and how do you sanitize it all?

Backyard Games - More fun stuff for kids or families to do outdoors at home.

Side Hustle Flipping - People are running out of money so they're selling stuff at bottom dollar prices on Facebook Buy/Sale groups. Cars, toys, electronics etc. For hustlers this is a good time to scoop up product for resale.

New Media Entertainment - With the world at home, there's a lot of people consuming television non-stop. They'll burn through Netflix, HBO, Prime libraries. Where can they fill their desire for consumption? YouTube? Twitch? They want something new, constantly.

 

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[Bobby_italy]

Over the next few weeks and months we're of course going to see drastic differences in the way businesses are run. As is always the case – those who can adapt will thrive, and those who don't will be at the mercy of whatever the government decides to help them with. As a group of resilient entrepreneurs I thought it might be a good idea to brainstorm some ideas for this new emerging economic structure. Maybe not idea that we're going to use ourselves; but getting some ideas out there may spark some thoughts for those who want to help and make an income during this time of economic and health-related crisis.

So how can we capitalize on an economic structure where people will be staying home. How can we avoid being a bunch of whining sissies that are dependent on government bailouts; whether personal bailouts or business bailouts. How can we add value in this new world that has been thrust upon us. What can we do to blunt the impact to our personal lives and to society as a whole.

One idea might be to provide shopping services for the elderly. Right now many older people are really scared to be in public and us younger people are in a position to protect them. So I think that a business that helps them get the things they need (for a reasonable delivery price of course) could thrive in this new economy. A business (or even self-employment situation) that basically provides personal assistance to any elderly person who needs it. Many of them aren't that good with technology so applications like Peapod (that delivers groceries) might be too complicated for them. Purchase items, sterilize them, and leave them on their doorstep. This is also massively scaleable if you could start a service like Uber for this assuming there's no shelter-in-place order in your area.

Something else would be giving lessons to the non-tech-savvy on how to do things from home. Teaching pastors how to livestream, teaching older Americans how to use Skype, teaching various workers how to freelance from home.

This one is my own personal bias but, perhaps teaching Data Science / Artificial Intelligence / Coding classes. People are going to have a lot of time on their hands and what better way to use it than to teach a skill that will be highly marketable as soon as this whole quarantine situation is over. Hell, it might be highly marketable even before this whole quarantine situation is over, since you can do it from home. So teaching any skill that will allow people to make money from home.

Perhaps an iPhone app that tracks when Grocery Stores are expecting deliveries.

So what can you think of? What ideas, business models or inventions do you think can help in a time like this.

I see entartainment as a HUGE business opportunity NOW, people are craving stuff to watch/interact with, literally the worst tv shows and youtube series are getting mad success here in Italy.

You're on your way with the YT channel, this is the time to grow, but think about it like an entepreneur and see where you can make money.
It could be opening a premium channel that people pay a subscription for, maybe offer consultation and coaching while you can't work and scale it if it goes well.

 

[LightningHelix]

Not specific to staying at home, but infection prevention (nice ring to it...)

Coat all handrail, doorknob, gas pumps (basically thing that are commonly touched.) with copper, copper oxide or silver. After the awareness (and slight paranoia...) of viruses, you can bet this will be a great business.

Adding to the "don't dig for gold, sell shovels..." idea, any kind of company that can recoup, salvage or mine these metals can see a hefty profit.

Home computer building, home office supplies....Oh! Actually home office tools that combine different tools in one to save space!

Building desks, comfortable computer chairs.

Space management services and interior design firms will have a boom due to people integrating more office in their living space.

 

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[biggeemac]

Tire guys are literally out in front of my house.....changing my tires. Love this new found sense of customer service. I guess all of this brick and mortar overhead wasn't as necessary as everyone thought it was.

 

[Entre Eyes]

I am thinking entertainment and infotainment. Will be big surge in video uploading.

People will be going viral with their home hijinks who never intended on doing so.

Teaching/sharing like for example...
How To's.
Magic Tricks.
Gaming
Cooking
Working out
Micro Gardens
How you hooked up the backyard/garage.
Decoration hacks/ tips.

Then there is the option to create infoproduct, app, software on video marketing.

 

[minivanman]

Get started today because others are...... what have many people been doing during this time TOGETHER at home? Making babies. Think ahead, this could be your opportunity. Baby showers, baby gifts, health of mom & baby, baby product reviews and so many other things. Even weddings will come from the makings of babies. If I were to start an online business, I might go one of these routes. Let us know if you do and if you do, let us know how it goes for you.

Just think of how many babies were made during the typing of this message..... and then again, just think of how many were.... well, we won't go there.....

 

[valuecreator]

I just spent a few hours on Google Trend.

Wow, some stuff just went ballistic. A few things in the lot I wouldn't have expected.

let's just say there's no shortage of opportunities...

If you PM me I'll share a few of the juicy ones.

 

[Andy Black]

You have to have money to make money.

Not true.

Help someone. Get paid. Simple.

 

[ChrisV]

I dunno about you guys, but I am absolutely loving this whole thing. Companies are starting to do things the way they should have been doing them years ago.

Retailers just allowing you to put in an order through their app and a curbside pickup.

Like me? I despise shopping. I would rather just pay an employee at Stop and Shop who knows exactly where these products are to do my shopping for me. It's infinitely more efficient. Have you ever asked an employee where something is? 90% of the time they know exactly where things are. So while I'm searching around a store for 10 minutes trying to find shit, they know exactly where everything is. A shopping trip that would have taken me an hour would take them 15 minutes.

(Related - Why Economists Never Mow Their Own Lawn, And If You Want To Make Money… Neither Should You.)

It's simple division of labor. The same reason that assembly lines worked so well. You just get really good at one thing, and people can focus on that thing.

But I needed something from Best Buy? Boom, rather than walking around the store for 15 minutes, I just put my order in online and picked it up. They just bring your items to the car

Here’s How Curbside Pickup Works At Best Buy To Get Your Tech Essentials - Best Buy Corporate News and Information

We know our customers depend on Best Buy for the technology necessities valuable during this time when people need to...

corporate.bestbuy.com

I absolutely despise going into retail stores.

This is usually how things go when I need something:

• drive to the store
• walk around the store for 7 minutes looking for the product
• finally give up then look for employees to ask
• look down each aisle to find an employee
• finally find one, but they're (of course) with another customer
• stand around like a retard for 5 minutes while waiting for that employee to finish answering that customers 40,000 absurd questions
• finally ask them where the product is is
• if they don't know, wait for them to run a search with their stupid little smartphone app (an app they could just as easily let customers use to find shit themselves)
• then if you get a legit, useful answer you get to go over to that aisle and still looking around for a few minutes to find the right one
• once you find your item you get to wait in line for another 6 or so minutes

I utterly despise retail stores.

But today when I had to purchase an item from Best Buy, instead of going through the anal torture chamber of retail, I just put the order in online and a representative brought it out to my car.

Boom.

Like it should have been done for years.

Target, same thing. You just find your groceries, add them to the cart and then an hour or two later you go pick them up. It's F*cking amazing.



Or they'll just bring it out to your car.





I mean I'm a dumbass. I completely suck at shopping. I usually have a list and my route around the store looks like it was planned by a 3 year old scribbling on a map of the store with crayons. But again, someone who works there would know the most efficient route to get every item 1, 2, 3... knowing exactly where they are. What takes me an Hour-and-a-Half takes them 20 minutes or less.

It's simply a matter of efficiency. I'd much rather just pay someone to do that. But Best Buy's and Target's services are free.

And these companies will probably save money in all sorts of ways like loss prevention (less chance of theft with this system,) and time saved with employees having to show customers where items are located.

It reminds me of the scene from The Founder movie where they juxtapose the atrocious service of Drive-in, carhop restaurants (where they brought food to your car) to the amazingly convenient, new McDonald's Brothers Restaurant.

Drive-in restaurants:

View: https://youtu.be/-NiB91kSA7s?t=190

McDonalds:

View: https://youtu.be/KultzqPJaJs?t=224


I am freakin loving this whole thing. This is going to be the biggest societal efficiency boost since the Post-WW2 Economic boom (which the West is still seeing the massive benefits of to this day.)

 

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[ChrisV]

@Kak since everyone is working from home – maybe some type of cloud-based computing system that allows you to access your work computer from anywhere? Jeez, somebody really should invent that!!

 

[Ubu_roi]

Unfortunately I know nobody who can really predict the future, but we can read data and make our conclusions, just like when some of us here prepared for this emergency and successfully avoided some of the madness.

So, here are my predictions for the post-lock-down:

1. Increased unemployment. Several small businesses will not reopen, many large businesses have already cut their workers and will be slow to take them back --> huge need for employment services and education.

2. Travelling will be more difficult (and possibly more expensive) I don't see people getting on a cruise ship very soon. --> Drop in demand for airbnb like businesses --> Drop in real estate prices especially in very touristic areas. Rise in prices for airplanes (with fewer choices).

3. Social distance will be an issue for some time: restaurants, theatres, cinemas, bars will have to take reduce numbers. Increased prices? Netflix, Amazon etc are the big winners here.

4. The production and logistics chain has suffered a lot. Some items, mainly non essential, will be more difficult to find, and probably more expensive, especially those made in China or coming from far away.
5. Smart working has already become a fact. It's more efficient and cheaper that the workplace. --> Companies will save a ton of money on travel expenses and real estate. Commercial real estate will drop. Zoom, Teams etc are the winners here.

6. Related to the previous point, schools were the first places to close, and they had to adapt to distance learning. Some of that is here to stay. Huge need of services for stay at home mums and dads. Huge need for distance learning services.

7. In this emergency, local works better than global. Maybe some small localised commerce will come back (but this is the weakest point of the list).

Bonus prediction 8. There will be a toilet paper crisis. People bought so much that they won't need any for a very long time.

Ubu-Roi in Nostradamus version

 

[EVMaso]

Found this neat chart today. Good starting point to get ideas for picking up on what's trending right now, and will possibly be hot for the rest of the lockdown (and beyond!).



You can't seem to see the whole pic in the upload. I'll link to it here:

https://imgur.com/VKQXc67

View: https://i.imgur.com/VKQXc67.jpg

 

[Connor]

- Getting a person actually connected to their company's specific network through home (lots of small businesses don't necessarily have a dedicated I.T. person, it's just "the young guy on staff who knows a lot about computers" [been in this position many times]).
- Also takes care of chairs, desks, general ergonomics, etc.

As someone who has worked for two 5,000+ people companies, even the big guys sub out their tech support when not near one of their bigger offices.

Also, ergonomics is a big deal- I work in the world of insurance, and companies are already taking about how there will be more workers' compensation claims in white collar jobs, as people don't have the right setup at home for avoiding carpal tunnel, tripping on cords, etc. Sounds ridiculous but it's true when you have a massive number people working at home.

 

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[MattR82]

What's everyone's thoughts on how commercial cleaning could fit into this? Obviously things like gyms and office space will see a downturn, but anything that remains open will need more cleaning than normal.

 

[avafab]

Folks, I want to give you another idea. We need to reinvent the desk chairs for remote workers such as developers. Those ergonomic chairs are expensive and not very comfortable. I was thinking about an comfortable armchair with some sort of computer table attached to it. In this way you can stay in a comfortable position between a bed and a sofa and still focused on your work. I am a remote tech manager, I have a ergonomic chair but I feel most focused and productive when laying on the couch with my Mac on the legs. Think about it..

 

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[biggeemac]

The impact of this event is about to put some big demands on the mental health space. I, myself, am starting to feel the effects of this. I am already mentally exhausted.

 

[ChrisV]

People can think about the long-term impact this will have and innovations that will be popular in a more germ-conscious world. Example:

3D-Printed Covers Allow Hands-Free Door Opening to Help Slow the Spread of Germs

“Anyone with access to a 3D printer can download the design and 3D print it locally in a matter of hours.”

mymodernmet.com

Even better... doors that open via foot-pedal. People are going to be very conscious of touching door knobs going forward, and something like this would likely flourish.

 

[Lee Wright]

What I'm working on at the moment is helping farmers sell direct to the public. It seems there's been a huge upswing in people wanting to buy direct from farmers due to shortages in supermarkets or even just wanting to eat local & healthier. My strategy is to build farmers simple 1 page websites with online stores & get their produce online. There might also be opportunities with home deliveries. In my town there's apparently a shortage of refrigerated transport.

 

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[Georgia Grown]

Gourmet Coffee & Pastry route truck for the suburbs. Think icecream truck. Morning and early afternoon routes. Folks are going to miss that fancy coffee they had on their commutes!

 

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[becks22]

Thanks for all the helpful tips! All of these companies will need my service for bringing people on board. Got a great list of future clients that will start popping up. Also as a PSA: if anyone needs any HR help during this time, let me know.

 

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[VincentV]

it makes sense empowering the workforce to work at home. A company I know just pivoted their business model from "workshops on location for optimal team performance" to the online training of teams to work together online. How do you set-up conference calls, manage the agenda, have effective meetings etc...

 

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[Andy Black]

Online courses...

 

[mrpixel]

How about literally starting a work from home consultancy agency, guiding companies to building an infrastructure which allows employees to work anywhere, not just for this pandemic but for the future. You'd be surprised how many companies still don't understand the cloud, remote access or team collaboration software.

 

[ChrisV]

Virtual Reality.

 

[sonny_1080]

Online tutors for kids in the United States since schools are shut down?

I feel like the home-services business aren’t going anywhere. I’m taking a Udemy digital marketing course, maybe I can market that skill towards blue collar businesses? Plumbers, electricians, etc.

What’s the best way to make an app? Can I just take a Udemy course on app development you think? The other day I had to go to 4 different grocery stores to find eggs... never found them. An app that shows what grocery stores are out of out, their estimated wait times, etc.

An app that shows hospital urgent care wait times.

I don’t know. I get so distracted and caught up in thinking of ideas that I end up action-faking... or not doing anything at all. I should probably just finish this digital marketing course and go from there.

I get ahead of myself trying to figure out a way to help people sooner rather later but I don’t really have any skills. Go figure! An economics degree and 2 years working at a clothing store and I feel absolutely useless.