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?
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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