I honestly believe that the potential for a new industry presently exists that would have been impossible before the internet. The skilled and semi skilled individuals needed for this industry used to be few and far between with no contact with one another. presently small groups have formed all over the world and it seems to be growing like a mushroom.
Families or individuals will typicaly spend a sizable portion of their income on hobbies that tend to become part of their life style.Sports,motorcross,off roading,sking, camping,
just to name a few. A large portion of our society does not partake in any of the above mentioned activities for various reasons. Many of the ones that do partake in the above activities would also show an interest in the industry I am going to talk about.
Primitive skills, is one of the most inclusive activities I can think of. The many different phases include and can interest nearly every aspect of civilized human beings. It is green and eco friendly. Very social, artistic, educational, sporting, out doorsy, made to order for nature lovers, wood workers, putsers etc.
Some of the skills but not limited to include, bow and arrow making, fire starting, knapping from stones, shelter building, canoe building, leather work, making cordage, processing food, making fabrics, pottery, carving, the list is almost endless.
The only test marketing I am aware of has been conducted in a non formal setting where individuals with no formal exposure to any of the above were exposed to it in a positive manner and then observed. The rate of acceptance by the adults was phenominaly high. The happy faces and desire to do it again was expressed strongly. This senario has been repeated for boy scout groups, at campgrounds and even in driveways that tyuned into block parties.
The idea is to set it up similar to an amusement park but layed out more like a swapmeet. This would work well as a day use center or campground theme or combination of both. The start up costs would be very low compared to a typical amusement park but still relatively high just because of the size.
I think kicking it off as a summer time festival would be the ideal marketing strategy and provide an ample test as to wether it was actually feasable or not. One of the beauties of this industry is how addictive it is once we get into it, like many other hobbies. It seems to be one of those things that stays with someone once they start instead of the big thrill then burn out as with paintball guns and some other things. The customers actually take over and teach one another the skills as they learn them themselves. So the amount of teachers is greatly reduced once the ball gets rolling. As far as marketing goes it is a marketers dream. An endless amount of attributes that could be keyed on for any individual ad campaign.
Very difficult to keep this short but am looking for feed back on how I could present this to investers, I have a much more detailed description of the business all ready worked out. Steve