Buisness Idea 1

Idea #1 for a small business.

           I’ll call it “Patching a Life”.  Or P.A.L ha! No…

Idea:  The idea is to make money for/off the “unemployable” (original idea homeless, or ex felons, or just people on unemployment).  My idea would be centered on the customer, and what they want.  They want to help people get money to progress, but they don’t want to pay taxes for them to get unemployment, or other services.  The customer I’m looking at also wants to be “green”.  This business idea doesn’t work unless people are willing to recycle.  So main ideas: paying the unemployed, and recycling.

            Product is, bike tubes.  Biking is becoming the fastest growing mode of transportation, and one of the fastest growing sport/pastime.  So there are a lot of tubes out there.  And everyone flats.  That’s where we come in.  I would go around to all the bike shops in town, and ask them to give me all their flat tubes.  It’s a waist of their time, and their customers time to patch a tube.  So they have a few lying around.  Here in Eugene there are about 6-10 bike shops in town, and plenty of tubes that get thrown away.

            So we have the tubes, now we need to patch them.  My thought would be that we would take the size and type that is least used, and cut it up, so its rubber can be used for patches.  Only thing we need to buy is some rubber cement to glue the patches on.  We could even use old paper from somewhere, as long as one side is blank, to use as tags to show what size/valve/ and so on these tires are.  Maybe we would print off a label, that explains our motto and idea or web sight, and that they are patched so quality is somewhat compromised.  I would build a web sight that shows how we patch and check our tubes, and that they have to hold air for 24 hrs before they are considered ready for sale.

            Who’s going to buy these?  Not racers, the cool kids.  Being green is popular right now.  My thought is to sell these tubes at every hip pub, or brewery, or coffee shop.  They will just sit on the counter next to the register.  Bike shops are only open a little later than business hrs, but what if you get a flat when your out and about hanging with friends, or heading to out for an all night cram sesh with your classmates.  Well then just stop at almost any corner, because my product will be there.  Why?  Because going green is cool.  Best part, if the businesses are willing to, we will take the blown out tube to recycle!  We might even be able to get the racers to donate their old tubes, cause no one want to race on a compromised tube.  Sure Dick or Jane could keep it and patch it themselves, but why do it when they can get a new/used one for $3 and support a cause?  Other best part, the type of tubes most used in the community will be the ones that keep showing up to be recycled.  Perfect.

            So as far as money goes.  If we keep it local, we keep it simple.  I figure we pay someone, an “unemployable” a dollar a tube.  I figure a group of 3 people can create an assembly line and crank them out pretty fast. I would assume that I could patch at least 10 an hr.  So not too bad an hr for pretty easy work.  But as far as local goes there isn’t a huge market.  So we wouldn’t have many more than 3 total people employed.  You wouldn’t want to just had out tubes and say patch these and bring them back to sell.

            Since there isn’t the biggest market, marketing on a bigger scale could be good.  Maybe sell on line.  But that creates its own problem with adding shipping and handling into the mix.  Unless people were buying in very large quantities it would be more worth their time and money to just go down to their local bike shop and buy a new tube for $6.  So the only way this idea can go bigger is franchising.

            I figure the best idea is to pay the ex felons to work all winter patching tubes, then cut our employees during the summer.  I know there are a lot of roofers and other contractors will hire them for the summer, but cut them for the winter.  So make a bunch of product during the winter and sell sell sell all summer.

            So the tubes will come to me damaged for free, I will patch them or get them patched for $1 each, then sell them to a coffee shop or pub for $2 each, so they can sell them for $3.  That leaves $1 a tube that goes to me or back into the business.

            I’m debating on weather this would work better as a non-profit.

            Well anyway, this idea could work pretty well in a few places, around here.  Maybe Portland, Eugene, Ashland, Bend…  pretty much any city with a big bike population, and people wanting to recycle.  Maybe I’m over thinking the “unemployable” employee part of it.  I’m just thinking of more marketing.