Need Advice on business start up

[Berry18]

I am 18 and currently attending Georgia State University...

For the past couple weeks I have been looking to start up a business in the area of DVD rentals. I would like to know if this is a good idea. Details below

This would be a automated DVD Kiosk (such as Red Box)...

I plan on locating it in the GSU dorm building (which is 4.2 acres and includes building about 4 building that are 8-15 stories high)....

DVD terminals use sophisticated and proven robotics to dispense and receive movies over and over without fail. Our state of the art terminals allow you to maximize your revenue by allowing customers to easily pick titles through the glass door. Movies are rented in their original packaging minimizing labor and maximizing sell-through potential.

To cut our losses on DVDs we will use:

RFID - Radio Frequency Identification Tag, on disk like a barcode, unique disc, Tells who has it, when they are supposed to return and all their information and they will not be able to try and put DVD case back in without disc or put the wrong disc with the incorrect case.


This will be located on a college campuses.

In the traditional video rental store 90% or all movie rentals are new releases. The automated DVD rental kiosk focus exclusively on the heavily rented and highly profitable selection of new titles with the burden of having to carry an inventory of under producing older movies. The terminal can be set to manage the inventory automatically by selling off used DVDs as a movie's rental demand diminishes.

Could this idea work and have a chance of being successful?

[BusinessAdviser]

I think it stands a great chance of being successful, but there are still a lot of uncertainties that would need to be worked out.

[meaghannf]

It's a good idea but you might want to get a feel of how many people on your campus use other DVD rental methods. If 50% of students already use netflixs, they might not want to switch to a new method with fewer options. Also, maybe survey your student body to see how much they're willing to pay for DVD rentals. If they aren't going to want to pay enough to cover your costs, it might not be worth it. Try handing out survey cards at dining halls and common areas to get some feedback, or, if you have the ability, send a campus wide email to solicit feedback.

Good luck!

[adkot]

Hmmm...

Being a graduate of Georgia Tech (right next to Georgia State) and having lived in the dorms, let me throw some bad stuff at ya. Not saying this will break your business, but it is something you will face.

First of all, a lot of hall mates were hackers and tinkerers. If there was a way to work the system, it will be found.

Secondly, every dorm has internet access. Anyone who is halfway informed will know how to watch the movies they want through the internet. Therefore, you're demand may not be that high.

Thirdly, ALL of my friends (including myself) were cheap. If we had money to spend, it was always on food. We'd rather go to Felini's and buy a slice of pizza.

Forthly, as I've been learning as of late, you never really know until you try. If you were selling crap in a box, I bet you could find someone to buy it. Although, don't expect to retire any time soon.

[BusinessAdviser]

Let me be the devil's advocate of the above statements:

Hmmm...

Being a graduate of Georgia Tech (right next to Georgia State) and having lived in the dorms, let me throw some bad stuff at ya. Not saying this will break your business, but it is something you will face.

First of all, a lot of hall mates were hackers and tinkerers. If there was a way to work the system, it will be found.

This is how the world works. Every industry deals with such problems, whether they are file sharers, eBook hackers, or employees stealing from the cash register. Prepare for these things, both in prevention and detection. But don't think for one second that the existence of such problems means that there's no opportunity for such business.

Secondly, every dorm has internet access. Anyone who is halfway informed will know how to watch the movies they want through the internet. Therefore, you're demand may not be that high.

Most households have internet access, and I don't see Blockbuster closing its doors yet. Very simply, we are a long way from the internet making movie rental obsolute. This argument is not valid.

Thirdly, ALL of my friends (including myself) were cheap. If we had money to spend, it was always on food. We'd rather go to Felini's and buy a slice of pizza.

However, not every person is that cheap. AND I think that there is great opportunity in the convenience of heading to the lobby of the dormhall in your shorts and a t-shirt at midnight to rent a movie. You never know what your friends might have done with such an opportunity since it didn't exist before. That said, do some market research.

The big lesson here is to consider everything. It's more important to consider why this business opportunity WON'T work, than it is to keep reaffirming yourself of why it WILL work.

[rogercbryan]

I like the idea… make sure you stock the right movies:

Animal House
Old School
Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”
Up in Smoke….

All the good party movies
Ahhhh.... I miss those days...

[closedbook]

redbox.com does something similar, although the only place I've seen them is at the grocery store. It's sorta like a vending machine for movie rentals.

[allysa]

I think this is a good idea. Even though this is a modern society where people depends on the net to watch movies but it is more exciting and more appreciated the colors when watching it on original dvd's. Some sites ( based on my experience ) don't have a quality movies.