new idea-critiques please

[tonog1]

Hello all,

I am one of your run-of-the mill "i really want to start a business but don't have any ideas" sort of person. However, I did come across an opportunity to change the way high school students entertain themselves and socialize. I have this grandiose plan to basically take the model of college "Street entertainment" such as franklin street at UNC (where I am currently a student) 9th street at Duke, etc... and apply it to the highschool setting (except, of course, on a much smaller scale).

In my hometown, highschool students normally go to the local B&N to get coffee and study.Also, near my old highschool there are a number of commercial properties where I could more than likely open a sort of chic coffee shop/lounge for highschool students. The small, sophisticated coffee shop would be right off campus to the highschool, and basically serve the students, faculty, and surrounding community. It would be a place that would eventually be a part of the school culture.

The main risks I foresee is that my costs would be too high and the market would be too small (~1600 students +100 faculty). But, if I plan it out accordingly and try to find a way to keep my costs down, I believe I can make it happen and possibly expand to other schools in the area.


Any help and advice would be appreciated.

[Sarafina]

The main concern I see is that your market is indeed too small. Also, what happens for the two months that people aren't in school? You lose revenues. Perhaps instead of focusing on targeting one particular school, you could pick a central location accessible by several schools and try to make it 'the spot' for high schoolers.

Take in mind that your target market is probably the most destructive out there. Vandalism, rudeness, fights etc. will be issues you have to face as a result of having your establishment cater to youngins.

[akula]

Hello all,

I am one of your run-of-the mill "i really want to start a business but don't have any ideas" sort of person. However, I did come across an opportunity to change the way high school students entertain themselves and socialize. I have this grandiose plan to basically take the model of college "Street entertainment" such as franklin street at UNC (where I am currently a student) 9th street at Duke, etc... and apply it to the highschool setting (except, of course, on a much smaller scale).

In my hometown, highschool students normally go to the local B&N to get coffee and study.Also, near my old highschool there are a number of commercial properties where I could more than likely open a sort of chic coffee shop/lounge for highschool students. The small, sophisticated coffee shop would be right off campus to the highschool, and basically serve the students, faculty, and surrounding community. It would be a place that would eventually be a part of the school culture.

The main risks I foresee is that my costs would be too high and the market would be too small (~1600 students +100 faculty). But, if I plan it out accordingly and try to find a way to keep my costs down, I believe I can make it happen and possibly expand to other schools in the area.


Any help and advice would be appreciated.

it's a dog of an idea...do it and you'll have one major migraine.

I won't get into a discussion on how to select market opportunities (see other posts), but I will relay one anecdote.

A friend of mine, back in 1st year uni, used to go to all sorts of "outdoor" events (college functions), marathons etc...and take photos of people.

he did it with a very expensive polaroid camera (which he leased), and then he'd sell the photo to the person he photographed.

You'd be surprised how much people would pay for a good shot of them running a marathon. He easily pulled in $20 a pop.

What I'm saying is....if you like hanging around these kind of events, this is one, consumer side business which I can tell you- works beautifully. Now it's even better...with bluetooth printers (you could just preview digital copies and print on demand).

I remember, on one New Year's Eve, my friend made over $1000. These's going to be hundreds of thosands of (drunk, cashed up) people hitting the streets and wanting group shots to remember how they celebrated 2006.

of course...this is all just fun and games...stupid little things we do if there's nothing better to get into...

[Sarafina]

There you go on one of your tangents again akula. How does your buddies success in the photo industry have to do anything with this guys potential coffee business? Every reply of yours seems like a self-servicing post as it never deals directly with the issue at hand. Yes, we know you have alot of *contacts* and you have *good* business ideas. There. I've validated your ego. Now can you please start posting more valuable information instead of your usual vague suggestions. 'Its a dog of an idea' doesn't really cut it.

[joshw]

Well, I like your thought process, so keep dreaming up ideas. Here are your main problems with this particular idea.

1. Commercial real estate next to most high schools is ridiculously expensive.

2. If there was good profit potential here, Starbucks would already have researched it and you would see Starbucks close to every high school.

3. Making a place like that become a part of the "culture" is much, much easier said than done. That process usually takes years....much to long to wait to begin making a good profit.

4. Highschoolers and teachers can't go to coffee shops during the day...so your shop would be dead during regular business hours. When I was in high school, very few people I knew would have hung out in a coffee shop at night except the night before exam days.

If you are interested in appealing to that market, I'd brainstorm other areas. Perhaps something like a vintage clothing store close to a high school. Ok, so maybe that's not a great idea, but you get the picture. Good luck!

[tonog1]

Thanks to all who gave positive feedback and critiques.

From all the feedback I began brainstorming again, and actually came to an idea that I had a few years ago but decided to not pursue because I thought I was too young to do it.

Back when I was in highschool (not to sound pretentious), I was one of the high-achiever students and also one of the kids that always studied. Problem was, I didn't have anywhere I could focus to study for real. Home was a big distraction. The library at school was basically closed after classes got out. B&N was closed at 11pm. Same with public libraries. Some kids at my school had to resort to studying at Waffle House (if you're from the south you know what I'm talking about-its basically a lower-tier Ihop) because it was 24hours. So my idea is to take advantage of the fact that sometimes, students would be willing to pay to have a quiet place to study and to have a small, cheap, and convenient beverage to go along with learning. The concept would be to open a sort of lounge that people during the day would be able to have coffee in a sophisticated environment along with a good sized study lounge where it would be quiet, convenient, and comfortable. The coffee area would have normal business hours while the lounge would be 24 hours (you need a sort of key to enter after hours). This is just the concept and I am waiting on feedback to see if I could make a market for this service.

Thanks for all the help.

[akula]

The main concern I see is that your market is indeed too small. Also, what happens for the two months that people aren't in school? You lose revenues. Perhaps instead of focusing on targeting one particular school, you could pick a central location accessible by several schools and try to make it 'the spot' for high schoolers.

Take in mind that your target market is probably the most destructive out there. Vandalism, rudeness, fights etc. will be issues you have to face as a result of having your establishment cater to youngins.

oh...yikes....i thought the guy was in event management or smthing.

btw...who are you? I'd like to know who I'm arguing with.

you know...people tell me that I'm actually a very nice and kind person (only not when talking to entrepreneurs).

it's funny you mentioned egos...very interesting topic, I'm hoping to finish writting an essay about it sometime in the future.

has a lot to do with teams and I am looking at how that interacts with zen buddhism and the destruction of ego....a central philosophical theme.

it seems ego is a catch 22....it's the most detrimental of human traits, yet it is one of the most essential to our survival.

anyways, i'm noticing your posts are getting sharper....how's things?

[akula]

Thanks to all who gave positive feedback and critiques.

From all the feedback I began brainstorming again, and actually came to an idea that I had a few years ago but decided to not pursue because I thought I was too young to do it.

Back when I was in highschool (not to sound pretentious), I was one of the high-achiever students and also one of the kids that always studied. Problem was, I didn't have anywhere I could focus to study for real. Home was a big distraction. The library at school was basically closed after classes got out. B&N was closed at 11pm. Same with public libraries. Some kids at my school had to resort to studying at Waffle House (if you're from the south you know what I'm talking about-its basically a lower-tier Ihop) because it was 24hours. So my idea is to take advantage of the fact that sometimes, students would be willing to pay to have a quiet place to study and to have a small, cheap, and convenient beverage to go along with learning. The concept would be to open a sort of lounge that people during the day would be able to have coffee in a sophisticated environment along with a good sized study lounge where it would be quiet, convenient, and comfortable. The coffee area would have normal business hours while the lounge would be 24 hours (you need a sort of key to enter after hours). This is just the concept and I am waiting on feedback to see if I could make a market for this service.

Thanks for all the help.

Why post if any advice we give is ignored.

Listen carefully... the numbers won't work on this freaking cafe. Too much fixed costs, too little room to raise prices = you are history, and in a lot of debt, in 12 months.

[tonog1]

thanks for your input, akula.

I suppose that you're right. I would need alot of customers just to keep the venture running. Even though I will be looking into other opportunities, I still have an inkling that this thing could work, and I will try to brainstorm ways to make it work and be profitable. Isn't that what being an entrepreneur is all about, doing something that others say is impossible?

Btw, what is destructive innovation?

[Sarafina]

Why post if any advice we give is ignored.

Listen carefully... the numbers won't work on this freaking cafe. Too much fixed costs, too little room to raise prices = you are history, and in a lot of debt, in 12 months.

See, its really that simple. Good direct advice as he requested. I'm nobody as far as you're concerned. I've just been on this board for a very long time and remember when it actually was a decent place to post. Now its been invaded by one-time posters, spammers and a bunch of other rogue posters. I'm trying desperately to maintain some sense of usefulness and quality within this forum as there are no moderators. I'm sure you understand.

[akula]

I will try to brainstorm ways to make it work

Good idea! Always, always do ventures which supply industry.

Never, ever, ever, do ventures which sell to consumers.

In your case...cafes around campuses have a hard time competing with Starbucks. Supply wireles internet connections to cafe's in your area so they can attract college students.

OR

Go and ask the cafes if, and what, problems they are having with their marketing. Charge them for you to conduct surveys of their target market, sell your findings to the cafes and then use the surveys to give you more ideas for products and services.

You can't brainstorm if you don't know who you are selling to.

Isn't that what being an entrepreneur is all about, doing something that others say is impossible?

No it's not. Entrepreneurship is a specialised occupation like law or medicine. You have to formally study it in order to successfully practice it.

Entrepreneurship is all about booking supernormal, risk adjusted returns for shareholders.

If you're not good at servicing shareholders, you are a bad entrepreneur.

There's a lot more to it, none of which should be important to you at the moment.

What is destructive innovation?

It's disruptive innovation (as different to Shumpeterian creative destruction ) and I've provided a link on our website to explain it.

[akula]

Now its been invaded by one-time posters, spammers and a bunch of other rogue posters. I'm trying desperately to maintain some sense of usefulness and quality within this forum as there are no moderators. I'm sure you understand.

you forgot to mention people who constantly swear

don't worry about this forum - 2 years time you're gonna forget it existed...we all change

i'll tell you an anecdote:

I used to go to all these industry functions, events, meeting, symposiums, forums, lectures, get-togethers and schmooze-fests.

it was all fun at first...but then I really started to feel like something wasn't right...sure you get all these business cards lying around your house, but for the most part I felt I was wasting my time.

and then...I think it was some kind an alumni thing...a very smart lady asked me, "Danny, do you have a stated reason for turning up to these things?"...and of course I didn't.

After that...I've always taken the time to figure out a reason for going to one place or another....other than just going for the sake of it.

The point is: I'm here to recruit people for HotBlog, I'll be gone very quickly if I don't, why are you here and how is it going?

[tonog1]

Good idea! Always, always do ventures which supply industry.

Never, ever, ever, do ventures which sell to consumers.

Why is that? For me, I am trying to create a lifestyle business instead of a growth business (in which I do have to pay attention to share holders). I saw that in my community that students were needing a very comfortable place to study, and I wanted to add the coffee shop to possibly work on the model that B&N has with starbucks. Possibly later on, if it is actually generating profits, positive feeback, and a large following, then I will take it to the next step.

Highschool and area college students constantly come in, study, and get some coffee to help them study. I am providing a service at a specific location. But, I do realize that there are alot of coffee places already. Maybe possibly a bubble tea place instead of the coffee shop?

I am truly thankful for the responses. You probably think I'm married to the idea, but I'm really not. I just see that it could possibly work given the circustances of the community I would like to start this project in.

[Aribra]

I definitely think going forward with a brick and mortar establishment is doomed to fail. What I suggest is this...

Scenario:

You obviously know that B&N is a draw for current students and you also know that students desire to congregate, what if there was a B&Nesque venue where students did not have to leave campus to partake. Most school administration is all for safety,safety. I think you concept would do very well if you were to co-locate your shop/lounge inside the school. For example, there is an empty but sizeable storage or class room, bring the school admin on board, create a contest for the best theme for the shop/lounge, create raging fans, share revenue with the school either by funding or sponsoring Pep Rallies or similar.

This is of course is oversimplified but definitely doable. If you want to take the back door approach as well and have school officials start something similar to YE but maybe call it "Aspiring Students Who Want To Become Entrepreneurs" or ASW2TB or whatever floats your boat. Get the new organization to sponsor the shop/lounge concept.

Hope this helps.

Yahya