I believe that ideas are only valuable when they’re shared and acted upon. To show you how serious I am about this, I’m sharing my favorite ideas right here for everyone to see. Feel free to do what you like with what you find here. If you’re interested in making one of these ideas happen and want to pick my brain, let’s schedule a time for a coffee or a phone call.
Risk-taking course
Experience needed: doing scary/risky stuff. Startup costs: nothing.
It’s tough to overcome our fear of failure. Unfortunately, this fear can hold us back from accomplishing the things we would love to do.
This course will give you simple tasks or projects that are risky (but not dangerous). The course will teach you to overcome fear of failure, be intentional about risk-taking, and leverage your failures to achieve your goals.
Web hosting for near-Luddites
Experience needed: hosting, domain registration, DNS. Startup costs: under $1,000
For millions of business owners around the world, web hosting and domains is a nightmare. It’s the ultimate meeting of unfamiliar ground, confusing both in concept and in practice. Where is my website? Is my domain something different? What’s the difference between DNS and DDOS? What am I paying for?
This particular business solves that problem by handling all of the technical details and making all non-strategic decisions for them. Potential problems to solve include storing credentials, granting access to developers, managing DNS changes, selecting and managing hosting, installing SSL certificates.
For the client, all they need to know is their domain name and how much to write on the check.
Digital credential management for enterprises
Experience needed: none. Startup costs: under $500
Keeping track of usernames and passwords is difficult enough for individuals; for enterprises, there are so many additional factors that can cause serious problems. I know of a company who lost access to their web server for the better part of a year due to poor credential management.
This business solves that problem by acting as a premium credential management service. No more writing passwords on sticky notes, no more security leaks through insecure emails, no more loss of access when an employee is unreachable or no longer employed. You’ll always be able to access the services that are used to run your business, with the click of a button or a simple phone call.
Automobile agent
Experience needed: car buying experience (optional). Startup costs: under $1000
If you’re looking to buy a house, you have the option of going to a real estate agent: an industry professional who knows the current market and works to understand your needs and get you the best deal. When it comes to buying cars, the opposite is the case. Dealers are incentivized to sell you a car you don’t want at a price you can’t afford. The auto buying experience leaves a lot to be desired.
Your personal automobile agent will meet with you to understand what you’re looking for in a vehicle. She will have a professional understanding of the auto market for those vehicles and will do the research to make sure you’re getting a good deal. She’ll walk you through the process of negotiation, financing and delivery, and set you up with a maintenance plan to make sure your vehicle lasts as long as you need.