Could We Create a Business Together?

Innovator7

Here`s the Korean model of community business:Members contribute monthly a small sum.  When there`s enough money a drawing is made to determine the lucky recipient of the loan to start his business.  Paybacks from loans (with interest) and voluntary contributions from successful recipients also accrue the community coffer and speed up subsequent funding via loan (that normal banks won`t underwrite).  That funding process and their hardwork are what make Koreans so successful as small businesspeople in the US and elsewhere.Reality of business is it takes a good idea, drive, business acumen, and funding to make it happen.Most will claim to have good ideas even if other consider those ideas suck.  SUN can help with business acumen.  Drive is assumed.  Therefore funding seems to be most critical.Well, in a recent VC fair, a dozen companies paid $10,000 each for 5-minute business plan presentation to the VC.  IMHO that`s a sucker`s deal.

rexiedexie

Hi Mike,
I tend to agree with you as knowledge could be our biggest asset.
Many big companies have a good knowledge base throughout the organization but if management cannot access it or is unaware that the knowledge is there, this knowledge is not utilized
Mike I develop matchmaking software and the information wanted is always there, its how you go about finding it and organizing it that detriments the value of the results. It`s also important also to be able to track back the history.
Learn a little more about me http://www.aselectchoice.com.au/profiles/2811A.html</A> 
 rexiedexie2006-11-15 17:29:40

steve

My vote is for an online mall with a variety of stores selling physical as well as virtual goods and services.

Vendor Benefits
Imagine a centralized shopping cart system, with shipping rate lookup
capability (UPS, USPS, FedEx, etc.) as well as credit card processing
available as a package.

An assortment of standard CSS templates would be available to alter the
store`s facade. SUN community members with CSS skills could offer their
services, as vendors in the mall, developing customized facades for
people who want a truly unique appearance.

A mall newsletter would allow people to keep their stores in the public
eye as well as highlite promotions. We could also offer an opt-in
mailing list capability if a store owner wanted to send their own
newsletters.

Offering all these services in one place as a package deal would eliminate the need for someone to obtain their own:

 website hosting
shopping cart
UPS and USPS accounts
credit card gateway
customer tracking
newsletter service


Just knowing that everything will work right away would be a huge
selling point. Many people would gladly pay just to eliminate the
stress of having to coordinate all these details.

This mall would easily host any of the e-commerce ideas proposed
(security / identity theft store, advertising specialties, cosmetics,
etc) which could also be SUN community member  joint-ventures as
well as individuals.

A set-up fee as well as a percentage of each sale would be the revenue source.

Customer Benefits
Having a single sign-in for several different stores would be an added value for the customers.

One way of building traffic and guaranteeing repeat customers is to
have an automatic rebate, similar to the Discover Card "cash back
bonus". A couple of percent from each sale would be credited to the
customer`s account. Like the Discover bonus, it would have to reach a
certain level before it could be redeemed for any product or service
available at the mall.

In addition to credit for their own purchases, what if people
could  also receive a credit for purchases of people they referred
to the mall? This would create a viral marketing effect as people refer
friends and family as well as on blogs, etc.

While not a trivial undertaking, this is not impossible either. My day
job is as a computer programmer (at least until December 1st ). Trust me this is very doable.

I can`t say that there`s nothing else like this out there but I`m not
aware of anything. The income potential can be huge and that`s what
most of us want from our businesses.

I guess this falls under 1a, 1b, 1d, 1e, 2, 8a, 10, 19, 26, 29.

Innovator7

I`m wondering out loud if BARTERING is still applicable in this Internet age of disintermediary.It seems to me SCALING is essential to a profitable business, e.g. mass production and/or mass merchandizing.   In this regard VCs like software, which needs high initial investment but costs nothing to mass-produce and can be easily distributed.  Likewise mass-production lowers unit cost and enables high volume sales.  In either cases startup cost is high and needs funding.  Then there are service businesses, or personal service businesses, that require lower startup cost but have low sales volume.Is there a better business model?Just my2 cents

pinnaclestar

With the wealth of knowledge on this site, I think that would be a fantastic idea. I would love to work with web promotions. Count me in!!!

TheDebtEliminator

I personally like the IGNITE concept and its ability to facility content of material.  I think a perfect marriage for the business is the development of  eLearning with a Shopping Mall.  They can be cross referenced.  Just about any product that is sold needs to have an education of the product and its advantage for the consumer.  If you educate, then you need to have the ability to provide the product that is the solution to the education.
As an example, we educate families on what money is and what debt is, then provide a solution for the elimination of debt and are saving families millions in interest.  On a national basis it could be billions saved.  The national savings rate is now below zero when in the early 80`s it was 8%.  The ratio of debt payments to income is going up as America continues to grow to over $11 trillion in consumer debt.  As we head into the holidays VISA will take on consumer debt of $9 billion per day.  Families need to be educated on how to get out of debt, then they need a product (system) that will help them eliminate debt years earlier and save thousands in interest.
eLarning and a Shopping Mall would work hand in hand for our Mortgage/Debt Reduction Plan as it would for many other products and services.
I notice that both concepts are the leaders in the poll.  Don`t do one with the limitation of not doing the other.
If put together right, there would be real synergy between the two concepts.
 

rvdebby

I like the concept of a University. Seems like most of the other ideas do fit well with that program.
SuNU would provide enough channels for a wide range of talents to participtate on various levels. It also reflects the mission of SuN.
I agree that we need to update profiles. If SuN add extra searchable fields to the profile section it would be easier select/form teams. The first field I would suggest is a simple check box that identifies you as a participating member of the project. From here a "See More" link could take you to a detailed form description...perhaps modeled on a job application? Something that shows your experience and talents.
Great job so far!rvdebby2006-11-19 10:31:48

steve

Could someone explain to me the revenue model for the e-learning /
knowledge transfer business idea? Perhaps walk me through a "typical"
customer scenario.

TheDebtEliminator

To Steve Kirk - Glutten Free Cookies
That is why we need both avenues.  eLearning and Shopping Mall.  You put up appropriate educational material on the importance of glutten free food items and from there it is linked to your site in the shopping mall where your product can be purchased.
If people are properly educated, then they will understand how your product can solve their issue.  I know the value of glutten free food items.  For 30 years I was allergic to glutten.  Most people have no idea that they have a glutten intolerance and suffer for years.  My doctors did not diagnose the issue.  It was through personal education that I finally solved the problem.TheDebtEliminator2006-11-19 11:53:25

steve

I`m not trying to shoot holes in the idea. I really want to know more about it and the only way to learn is to ask.

Are there any other companies doing the same thing, offering online
instruction for sale to the general public? Can you provide links?

rvdebby

Hate to supply this link because I am giving free advertising to the best target market The Donald could ever hope to find--and he really doesn`t need the handout.
Trump University is a site that sells on-line education and promotes related offsite events at the same time. It too has a variety of people showcased by the website. They also promote product.   39
I attended the seminar in Virginia Beach and you could tell that it was all about putting $`s back in the Trump bank account, still I learned a lot and met some great people. I don`t regret shelling out the bucks.rvdebby2006-11-19 17:16:57

rvdebby

Another site that I found on Google is this one.. http://www.businessknowhow.com/startup/impossible.htm</A> 
Like the presentation   
PS: I have an appointment with SCORE on Tuesday... I am moving foreward--YES!!rvdebby2006-11-19 17:44:24

steve

Have to laugh at "glutten" free cookies! 
Isn`t that a contradiction?The word is gluten (pronounced like
glue-ten). It`s a protein in food products made from wheat, barley and
rye. Our products are primarily made for people with a gluten
intolerance called Celiac Disease. Children with Autism and people with
Fibromyalgia also experience benefits from eating gluten-free.

The combination of online mall and university sounds interesting. Seems
to me like the online learning center would be another one of the
stores in the mall selling a virtual product, online courses. Wow, this
is cool.

rexiedexie

Hi Mike
Re  ("Tying it back to the proposed e-learning program.  why would someone want to pay us $19.99 for a course when they can get it or a very similiar one  from someone else at no cost. ???? ")
Mike this is where innovation presentation and marketing skills come in. If you are starting any offline business; you set up in an area where the most opposition is. Why because there are ample buyers there and you only have to take a few percent of customers from each opposition to survive.
With good presentation and marketing you can sell things that others give away.  Many consumers associate quality with price.  Something that you get free often is seen as not being of any real value. If a person pays a price for a product it has value an is more likely to be used or appreciated.
Regards Michael C
 

steve

Mike, a couple of key factors in business decisions are incremental
cost and competitive advantage. If you`re already going to do an online
business, what is the additional, or incremental, cost of including an
e-learning program? You already have web hosting, a shopping cart,
credit card processing, etc. The only additional cost is the course
content.

One competitive advantage we would have in this scenario is that the
software to compile the content has been offered to us for free.

In every business you`ll have competition, and the market place now
days is constantly in a state of transition. Competition is not bad;
competition is good.  If you don`t have competition, you probably
don`t have a very healthy market. The business that can introduce the
most products or services into a healthy market with the least
incremental cost has a serious competitive advantage.

I happen to believe that the best opportunities only present themselves
as you move towards them. It`s up to us to start moving in the
direction we see as most likely to present opportunity.