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What Am I Not Considering?

Idea threads

bvwilk

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In this pandemic era, I often run into signs where fast food businesses are closed for the day because they don't have enough (or any) workers. Here in the U.S., the entitlement mentality (and government handouts) cause many able bodied people to not work because they want instant gratification/pay/reward.

So I'm wondering if this a business idea worth pursuing: building a "pool of instant laborers" that restaurants could tap into to keep their doors open?

Here's how it would work: a restaurant finds out they need 3 workers to open up for the day; they could post that need on my platform and individuals in the pool (vetted individuals with fast food backgrounds) could grab the assignment(s) as desired. The motivation for the workers would be getting paid the same day they work.

As MJ has said, look for problems to solve. I believe this solves the problem of businesses losing revenue because they can't open and the problem of people not having jobs because they don't want to commit to a long term gig (although that's a self imposed problem).

I propose funding the business by having restaurants who want access to the labor pool, pay a monthly retainer. This would serve as reserves to pay the workers. The organizations would be billed weekly for any fulfilled assignments, thus allowing me to replenish the reserves.

Workers would be "independent contractors" so in addition to getting paid the same day they work (via an online cash payment service), they would have no taxes taken out - another incentive for being part of this pool.

As far as the CENTS commandments, I believe this meets:

- Control - I control what businesses can post and what workers can join the pool
- Need - as mentioned above, I do believe there is a definite need on the business side as well as the individual side
- Time - I believe once the platform/process are established, the business can run automatically without a huge time commitment
- Scale - I would start this in my immediate area but if successful, I definitely see it being able to scale into other cities, states, etc.

The one commandment I don't see it meeting is entry. I am aware that anyone can read this idea and get up and running with it. In addition, I recognize that dependability/reliability of a low skilled labor pool will present some challenges. Thus I intend to enforce a "two missed assignments = permanent ban from the platform" policy.

I greatly value the knowledge and wisdom of members on this forum so I am curious as to your thoughts about this. Is it viable? What am I not considering?
 
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abefroman

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I like this idea and I think it has great short term potential. I do however see a problem with the "control". You cannot control the labor market. Today there is a labor shortage but a year from now there could be a labor surplus. What would this mean to your business? What service can this company provide when the labor market is flourishing?

Just some ideas to think about.
 

RussRussman18

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The labor shortage for restaurants is not going to last much longer I feel. It is mainly caused by all of these lower class people having made $800+ a week for 18 months. They were able to save a lot of money. Many of these people never saved any money in their lives before this. They are living off their savings from that time and unemployment, and lines of credit they were able to procure with their new higher income (yes, people on unemployment can still get approved for sizable loans). But that will run out. And all of those people will need jobs again

+ Widespread food service automation is right around the corner anyway

So, I wouldn't say your business has much longevity
 

bvwilk

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I like this idea and I think it has great short term potential. I do however see a problem with the "control". You cannot control the labor market. Today there is a labor shortage but a year from now there could be a labor surplus. What would this mean to your business? What service can this company provide when the labor market is flourishing?

Just some ideas to think about.
Great point. Thanks for the input. I have to give that more thought.
 
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bvwilk

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Jan 16, 2021
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The labor shortage for restaurants is not going to last much longer I feel. It is mainly caused by all of these lower class people having made $800+ a week for 18 months... But that will run out. And all of those people will need jobs again

+ Widespread food service automation is right around the corner anyway

So, I wouldn't say your business has much longevity
I do agree it would be a short-term business. Have to decide if these conditions will continue long enough to make it worth pursuing. Thanks for the insignt.
 

MJ DeMarco

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So you want to start a temp agency for restaurants? I think it is a decent idea, however you might need a restaurateur's opinion. The core problem with this is specialization since most restaurants (the good ones) have systems and standardizations in place... would your temp worker know how to properly make a sandwich? How to properly man the fry machine without getting burned?

The big issue I see is training ... a new worker at a restaurant often does not help until properly trained.

A temp worker at McDonald who needs to make bacon double cheeseburgers is different than a temp worker who needs to load trucks.
 

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