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So many people today want to launch businesses in sexy and trendy industries they're passionate about. This creates opportunities in boring niches, for entrepreneurs who don't have such preferences and simply want to solve problems and get paid (well) for it.
Unfortunately, many people on this forum get stuck, considering only ideas in niches they know something about and/or considering only the most "fun" or otherwise interesting industries. But there's a whole world of businesses that nobody talks about, yet they often generate 10x, 100x, or 1000x more than your standard YouTube channels, social media marketing agencies, or e-commerce businesses.
So let's play a game to broaden our horizons a little. There are only two rules:
1. Brainstorm 3 business ideas in the industry mentioned by the previous poster. Bonus points for providing examples/links/research on why you think it could work. Don't worry if you have no idea what you're talking about and don't worry if the ideas are shit and/or you aren't sure if they can work. It's just a brainstorming exercise.
2. Head here: https://www.ibisworld.com/united-states/list-of-industries/ and randomly pick an industry for the next player. Ideally it's something you have no idea about and it's a boring niche that nobody (or almost nobody) would enter because they're passionate about it.
Forget about your passions and forget about what you know. The point of the game is to set aside your preferences and biases regarding the kind of a business you can start. Practice doing research and thinking like a entrepreneur looking for problems to solve instead of coming up with a narrow set of business ideas from your own world.
Feel free to comment on any of the previous ideas - it's a game but also a way to uncover and discuss some interesting ideas in overlooked industries.
Here's an example:
Let's say the previous poster picked used car dealers as an industry (I literally scrolled down the list on IBISWorld with my eyes closed and randomly pointed at this industry).
What's available for free on IBISworld at this link already gives me some ideas and even says that the industry will maintain steady growth.
Here are my 3 ideas:
1. A used car dealer that sells only work vans, trucks, and/or buses for small businesses. Imagine you're an entrepreneur who wants to get into, say, mowing lawns, building sheds, or porch installation. You need a reliable, cheap vehicle. Of course, you could buy it online from a random person or from CarMax (which I learned is one of the biggest used car dealers online in the US). But I imagine many people would rather visit a used car dealer that specializes ONLY in vehicles for small businesses and can offer additional services for entrepreneurs like you (like favorable financing that you won't get in other places or fitting your vehicle with stuff you need for work).
2. A course or a membership site on how to start and run a used car dealership. For this idea, I used Answer the Public. People are searching for keywords related to how to start a used car dealership. I imagine that at least some of them could be interested in a course on how to do it. Or imagine a membership site with monthly calls with tips and tricks how to run a successful used car dealership. As far as I know, Alex Hormozi did something like this for gyms.
3. SEO services for used car dealers ONLY. Again, specialization would make you stand out. Local SEO in smaller cities/areas shouldn't be that hard to master to provide excellent results. Alternatively you could start websites for chosen cities and towns yourself (for example, a website targeting "used car dealer taos nm") and then sell them (or sell the leads) to the dealers. Considering how many smaller towns/cities there are in the US, the scale is huge.
Note that I have NO idea about used car dealers which is exactly the point of this game. So let's start.
The next poster provides 3 business ideas related to convention & visitor bureaus. I had no idea what it actually was until I checked it lol.
Unfortunately, many people on this forum get stuck, considering only ideas in niches they know something about and/or considering only the most "fun" or otherwise interesting industries. But there's a whole world of businesses that nobody talks about, yet they often generate 10x, 100x, or 1000x more than your standard YouTube channels, social media marketing agencies, or e-commerce businesses.
So let's play a game to broaden our horizons a little. There are only two rules:
1. Brainstorm 3 business ideas in the industry mentioned by the previous poster. Bonus points for providing examples/links/research on why you think it could work. Don't worry if you have no idea what you're talking about and don't worry if the ideas are shit and/or you aren't sure if they can work. It's just a brainstorming exercise.
2. Head here: https://www.ibisworld.com/united-states/list-of-industries/ and randomly pick an industry for the next player. Ideally it's something you have no idea about and it's a boring niche that nobody (or almost nobody) would enter because they're passionate about it.
Forget about your passions and forget about what you know. The point of the game is to set aside your preferences and biases regarding the kind of a business you can start. Practice doing research and thinking like a entrepreneur looking for problems to solve instead of coming up with a narrow set of business ideas from your own world.
Feel free to comment on any of the previous ideas - it's a game but also a way to uncover and discuss some interesting ideas in overlooked industries.
Here's an example:
Let's say the previous poster picked used car dealers as an industry (I literally scrolled down the list on IBISWorld with my eyes closed and randomly pointed at this industry).
What's available for free on IBISworld at this link already gives me some ideas and even says that the industry will maintain steady growth.
Here are my 3 ideas:
1. A used car dealer that sells only work vans, trucks, and/or buses for small businesses. Imagine you're an entrepreneur who wants to get into, say, mowing lawns, building sheds, or porch installation. You need a reliable, cheap vehicle. Of course, you could buy it online from a random person or from CarMax (which I learned is one of the biggest used car dealers online in the US). But I imagine many people would rather visit a used car dealer that specializes ONLY in vehicles for small businesses and can offer additional services for entrepreneurs like you (like favorable financing that you won't get in other places or fitting your vehicle with stuff you need for work).
2. A course or a membership site on how to start and run a used car dealership. For this idea, I used Answer the Public. People are searching for keywords related to how to start a used car dealership. I imagine that at least some of them could be interested in a course on how to do it. Or imagine a membership site with monthly calls with tips and tricks how to run a successful used car dealership. As far as I know, Alex Hormozi did something like this for gyms.
3. SEO services for used car dealers ONLY. Again, specialization would make you stand out. Local SEO in smaller cities/areas shouldn't be that hard to master to provide excellent results. Alternatively you could start websites for chosen cities and towns yourself (for example, a website targeting "used car dealer taos nm") and then sell them (or sell the leads) to the dealers. Considering how many smaller towns/cities there are in the US, the scale is huge.
Note that I have NO idea about used car dealers which is exactly the point of this game. So let's start.
The next poster provides 3 business ideas related to convention & visitor bureaus. I had no idea what it actually was until I checked it lol.
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