- Joined
- Jan 20, 2012
- Messages
- 13
Rep Bank
$120
$120
User Power: 15%
In coming up with my plan, I took MJ's advice and tried to figure out what my community needs. I live in a low-income area, but what I came up with can be applied to anyone, anywhere. Everyone that I know needs more of at least two things - time and money. Everyone else needs one or the other. Those with lots of free time would often like to have more money and those with money would like to have more free time to enjoy that money.
My plan turns everyday people into employees and employers. With the slowlane job market the way it is, I think this plan could really have huge implications. The concept is similar to some of the freelance sites out there such as Elance, but offers a much wider scope. My goal with this plan is to make a noticeable impact in the quality of life of as many people as possible.
My initial plan started simply. Create a directory or classified ads based website where people could submit and browse for free. I would utilize my own branding and terminology to foster brand loyalty. I had big dreams of generating passive income from the site by utilizing ad-based revenue, sponsored banners, charging small businesses fees for positing ads, and lead-generation. All ads would be location-based since the nature of the offering is a local scope for employer/employee.
I decided that this plan was too narrow-minded and started to think bigger. I decided that a multi-faceted approach would increase my odds of success. I've come up with two avenues that this revised plan could take, both of which still incorporate the primary idea.
Idea #1: Expand the directory website to include membership-based services and take a much more active role in the employer/employee relationship. Employers have an option of browsing the site, searching for a person offering specific services, or posting a request for a specific service. Employees have the option of browsing for opportunities, searching for a specific opportunity, or offering a specific opportunity. One of the major problems I was confronted with early on in this concept was the issue of trust. My business model is dependant upon the employer having enough trust in the employee to pay him to perform a certain service prior to the service being performed. It is not viable any other way. I decided that solving this issue could be a premium income generator for the business. Premium employers could pay for the service + a small fee and my company would handle the money transaction. Premium employees would pay a monthly fee to be preferred clients and be offered these jobs.
My solution to this problem was found in another company that actually has roots as a successful startup by one enterpreneur. This business offers a pre-paid debit card solution to other businesses. You can have as many cards as you want and you have total control of the funds, spending limits, where the cards can be used, etc. Transfer of funds to the cards is insantaneous. It's almost a perfect solution to my problem. The downfall is the transfer time from the bank to the account that funds the cards. It takes 3-5 business days for funds to hit the account and that is a major stumbling block.
The flow that I would like to see is this:
Employer finds Employee via site > Employer hires Employee to perform service > Employer pays amount that the service is expected to cost +10% fee to funding account > funding account distributes service cost +5% of the fee to employee's debit card > Employee performs service and provides employer with receipt.
Unfortunately I don't have the capital to fund the account while waiting for the payment to go through so that's the solution I'm trying to work on now.
Idea #2: Take a more "physical" approach to the plan and create a structure similar to a franchise. Employees pay a monthly fee and become a mini-franchise. The obtain the right to use company branded advertising, logos, business cards, flyers, etc. and are listed as employee-owned franchises on the website. It would be kind of like Avon without the MLM. Essentially investors would be obtaining a turn-key based small business. This solves the capital problem but introduces more liability and would require much more time to operate.
Having said all that, I can see a future where the initial plan, and both ideas could be implemented. This would be a longterm goal that would be dependent upon growth that would justify the hiring of additional staff to run everything and try to take myself out of the equation as much as possible.
For a two week old idea, this seems massive now that I've typed it all out. What I'm looking for here is criticism, suggestions, other problems that I may not have thought of, etc.
I'll rep anybody that replies here just for taking the time to read all of this. I know it's lengthy but I figure other successful people in the virtual world will make a much better sounding board than the slowlane mentality of the people I'm surrounded with in the real world.
My plan turns everyday people into employees and employers. With the slowlane job market the way it is, I think this plan could really have huge implications. The concept is similar to some of the freelance sites out there such as Elance, but offers a much wider scope. My goal with this plan is to make a noticeable impact in the quality of life of as many people as possible.
My initial plan started simply. Create a directory or classified ads based website where people could submit and browse for free. I would utilize my own branding and terminology to foster brand loyalty. I had big dreams of generating passive income from the site by utilizing ad-based revenue, sponsored banners, charging small businesses fees for positing ads, and lead-generation. All ads would be location-based since the nature of the offering is a local scope for employer/employee.
I decided that this plan was too narrow-minded and started to think bigger. I decided that a multi-faceted approach would increase my odds of success. I've come up with two avenues that this revised plan could take, both of which still incorporate the primary idea.
Idea #1: Expand the directory website to include membership-based services and take a much more active role in the employer/employee relationship. Employers have an option of browsing the site, searching for a person offering specific services, or posting a request for a specific service. Employees have the option of browsing for opportunities, searching for a specific opportunity, or offering a specific opportunity. One of the major problems I was confronted with early on in this concept was the issue of trust. My business model is dependant upon the employer having enough trust in the employee to pay him to perform a certain service prior to the service being performed. It is not viable any other way. I decided that solving this issue could be a premium income generator for the business. Premium employers could pay for the service + a small fee and my company would handle the money transaction. Premium employees would pay a monthly fee to be preferred clients and be offered these jobs.
My solution to this problem was found in another company that actually has roots as a successful startup by one enterpreneur. This business offers a pre-paid debit card solution to other businesses. You can have as many cards as you want and you have total control of the funds, spending limits, where the cards can be used, etc. Transfer of funds to the cards is insantaneous. It's almost a perfect solution to my problem. The downfall is the transfer time from the bank to the account that funds the cards. It takes 3-5 business days for funds to hit the account and that is a major stumbling block.
The flow that I would like to see is this:
Employer finds Employee via site > Employer hires Employee to perform service > Employer pays amount that the service is expected to cost +10% fee to funding account > funding account distributes service cost +5% of the fee to employee's debit card > Employee performs service and provides employer with receipt.
Unfortunately I don't have the capital to fund the account while waiting for the payment to go through so that's the solution I'm trying to work on now.
Idea #2: Take a more "physical" approach to the plan and create a structure similar to a franchise. Employees pay a monthly fee and become a mini-franchise. The obtain the right to use company branded advertising, logos, business cards, flyers, etc. and are listed as employee-owned franchises on the website. It would be kind of like Avon without the MLM. Essentially investors would be obtaining a turn-key based small business. This solves the capital problem but introduces more liability and would require much more time to operate.
Having said all that, I can see a future where the initial plan, and both ideas could be implemented. This would be a longterm goal that would be dependent upon growth that would justify the hiring of additional staff to run everything and try to take myself out of the equation as much as possible.
For a two week old idea, this seems massive now that I've typed it all out. What I'm looking for here is criticism, suggestions, other problems that I may not have thought of, etc.
I'll rep anybody that replies here just for taking the time to read all of this. I know it's lengthy but I figure other successful people in the virtual world will make a much better sounding board than the slowlane mentality of the people I'm surrounded with in the real world.
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