any good ideas for a small business venture?

[mietla]

Huh? for a moment I just thought I went stupid.

[StSanta]

Anyone got an idea for an unemployed software developer?

I have the know how to do stuff but no niché. Freelancing isn't much of an option. Am basically ready to invest all of my time and borrow money - but need an idea. Not looking to get rich or do anything revolutionary. It's just that in most other industries you can sort of get in and make a living - buy a small shop, if you're a welder set up a business for that....but in IT this doesn't seem to be an option unless you got a revolutionary new idea.

And web stuff doesn't interest me. The market is saturated to the extreme and I find it rather tedious.

[mietla]

call me five years ago Santa...

[ccvi]

I'm often getting emails offering advice on how to make money fast. Do you want me to forward them to you?

[mietla]

yeah, some dude in Africa is looking for someone to cash $20+ million for him. He offers half as a reward

[LePaul]

Originally posted by GrimCO
Udet,

I'll offer you an actual serious option... LOL

Check into a Subway franchise.  You can take out a small business loan for about $90k and be up in running in a few months. Most of the smaller storefront Subway stores bring in an average of $90k per year in profit.

I'm seriously looking into this myself, but for the first year you're gonna have to bust your behind until you can hire a college kid and pay him a meager sum to slap the fixins on the rolls. After that, it's pretty much sit home and collect the money, and go in once in a while to make sure the buggers aren't stealing from ya.

You....are................Jar ed?
(The kid that lost all the weight)  

[Furball]

found it!! here we go : from the movie 'Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels'

Bacon: "Listen to this one. You open up a company called bellybutton Ticklers studmuffingots Fanclub."
Tom: "You what?"
Bacon: "You take out an advert in the back page of some gay mag advertising the latest in bellybutton intruding dildos. You sell it with, I don't know, does what no other dildo can do until now, the latest and greatest in sexual technology, guaranteed results or your money back, all that bollocks. Now, these deals cost twenty five quid a pop, that's a snip for the amount of pleasure they're going to give the recipients. But they send there cheques to the other company name, nothing offensive, err, Bobby's Bits for twenty five quid or something. You take that twenty five quid and stick it in a bank until it clears. Now this is the smart bit. You send back the cheque for twenty five pound from the other company name, bellybutton Ticklers studmuffingots Fanclub saying we're sorry and we couldn't get the supplies from America because they ran out of stock. Now you see how many people cash that cheque. Not a single soul. Because who wants their bank manager to know they tickle bellybutton when they're not paying in cheques?"

[Furball]

Oh and also, my dad owns a cleaning contractor business in London.  My grandfather started it after ww2. There is a lot of profit and a lot of potential work,  you can set it up so you just have to go into work once or twice a week and pay people.

[udet]

lol Furball...great idea

[hazed-]

Originally posted by StSanta
Anyone got an idea for an unemployed software developer?

I have the know how to do stuff but no niché. Freelancing isn't much of an option. Am basically ready to invest all of my time and borrow money - but need an idea. Not looking to get rich or do anything revolutionary. It's just that in most other industries you can sort of get in and make a living - buy a small shop, if you're a welder set up a business for that....but in IT this doesn't seem to be an option unless you got a revolutionary new idea.

And web stuff doesn't interest me. The market is saturated to the extreme and I find it rather tedious.

tried military simulators? there must be someone or some government company?out there programming them.Wow if you do make it please let me come and use the simulator hehe

Personal security. Many people want the latest technology to protect their homes or businesses. How about developing a software that intergrates security systems? perhaps make it online so that it can be linked directly to the authorities or perhaps the home owners lap top etc?
Theres systems for cameras, systems for movement detection, timed lighting,device activated lighting and alarm systems. All are pretty much produced by many different companies and manufacturers.

Well imagine if you built a software 'Front end' for these systems? much the same as windows has simplyfied the use of computers you could design and code a system that handles all the various security devices.Online monitoring, pictures saved to a centralised database maybe. You could even provide this part.

A software that resembles a plug and play PC of today. Go for a standard that all the companies can easily adapt their systems to or just add to.Make the setting up of a huge home security system a breeze and people would want to use it to dsave development and installation times.

You would only work for extremely rich people with loads of money

of course you owe me a drink if it works

[culero]

Originally posted by udet
i.e. a way to make money fast and legal.

I keep telling my wife we oughta open a drive-through carwash.

And recruit female college students to wash the cars.

Topless.

culero (can't figure out why she gets pissed when I mention it)

[Toad]

Zip, we need to talk. Seriously.

Grim, I've looked at the sandwhich shops. I'd be pretty amazed if they were all taking 90K out of ~$125K mostly borrowed investments. The books I've looked over of ones for sale around here show the owner paying himself ~$35-40K to manage and clearing ~$30-35K after debt amortization. Their real estate isn't going anywhere because they're all leasing. The common thread is that they are all working 80+ hour weeks for that and it doesn't seem like it leaves much room for expansion.

Now, if you've got the bucks to get 3-4 of them going at one time withoug huge loans... different story. Those guys show some pretty nice returns.