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Ok I am stuck in the veritable wantreprenuer stage and I need some advice. Advice can be positive or negative as long as it is constructive. I am nearing my wits end with chasing ideas and want to execute or start a process.
So going from my gut feel and also advice given by @JackEdwards, I reall want to pursue a B2B style in a 'boring' industry. Im not an internet wiz and I don't think that is where I will find my footing. I am chasing a solid B2B distributor style of business.
So I have a few ideas of products that may be worth trying, but I have no idea on how to truly validate them. One of the ideas is listed below but I am sure there are many hundreds that could apply in this field :
1. Engine Coolant for mechanical workshops. Need- Yes alot of car servicing requires coolant change. Entry - Well anyone can source coolant and brand from Alibaba but here lies my dilemma. I fear the entry part will be impossible due to large existing suppliers here in Aus. (see Covs) Scale - Yes to a degree. In Perth, where I live, there are around 1500 mechanical workshops listed. Id be happy to be a supplier for even 200 of those. But my concept could be scaled if value is seen, Aus wide potentially. Control - Well again a difficult one, but if I build the branded product and service then I have some control, admittedly not complete. Time - Less relevant to me right now!!
So my thought process (vision) is to provide value to these workshops by providing value in the form of price and convenience of order replenishment. Essentially my margins would be low and profit based on turnover (as is expected of a distributor). If I could supply 100 shops and they each do 300 coolant changes in a year I would expect to make $2-3 on each change. Not stuff of millionaires at that scale, but it has ability to scale and also introduce other verticals such as gasket glues, cleaners etc. Plus I could offer on consignment to offer further value. And/or an easy refill, where we deliver 'x' amount once a week so they don't need to continually order.
Other areas I see potential are commercial cleaning products etc. Items where brands don't have alot of emotion tied to the purchase, but business absolutley need the product to function.
So please rip in.
1. How do I validate without having to order $2000 worth of coolant that I potentially can't get rid of.
2. Should my focus be on larger items that have potential for larger margins? Again if I wanted to import Gas Chromatographs (just from top of head) how the hell would I know if there are enough being sold that I could even justify trying?
3. Just because market size is large doesn't mean a new business can grab a piece of the pie. I understand risk is involved but how do you mitigate this risk or realistically judge what your prospects are. I mean alot of the odl boring industries are only really able to compete on price? Where else could you differentiate in something like this??
I didn't want to post in the INSIDERS, as it may be perceived as devaluing that section with 'idea' posts, but I really do feel stuck and want to make a go of something ASAP.
Sorry for the long post, I appreciate your patience!
So going from my gut feel and also advice given by @JackEdwards, I reall want to pursue a B2B style in a 'boring' industry. Im not an internet wiz and I don't think that is where I will find my footing. I am chasing a solid B2B distributor style of business.
So I have a few ideas of products that may be worth trying, but I have no idea on how to truly validate them. One of the ideas is listed below but I am sure there are many hundreds that could apply in this field :
1. Engine Coolant for mechanical workshops. Need- Yes alot of car servicing requires coolant change. Entry - Well anyone can source coolant and brand from Alibaba but here lies my dilemma. I fear the entry part will be impossible due to large existing suppliers here in Aus. (see Covs) Scale - Yes to a degree. In Perth, where I live, there are around 1500 mechanical workshops listed. Id be happy to be a supplier for even 200 of those. But my concept could be scaled if value is seen, Aus wide potentially. Control - Well again a difficult one, but if I build the branded product and service then I have some control, admittedly not complete. Time - Less relevant to me right now!!
So my thought process (vision) is to provide value to these workshops by providing value in the form of price and convenience of order replenishment. Essentially my margins would be low and profit based on turnover (as is expected of a distributor). If I could supply 100 shops and they each do 300 coolant changes in a year I would expect to make $2-3 on each change. Not stuff of millionaires at that scale, but it has ability to scale and also introduce other verticals such as gasket glues, cleaners etc. Plus I could offer on consignment to offer further value. And/or an easy refill, where we deliver 'x' amount once a week so they don't need to continually order.
Other areas I see potential are commercial cleaning products etc. Items where brands don't have alot of emotion tied to the purchase, but business absolutley need the product to function.
So please rip in.
1. How do I validate without having to order $2000 worth of coolant that I potentially can't get rid of.
2. Should my focus be on larger items that have potential for larger margins? Again if I wanted to import Gas Chromatographs (just from top of head) how the hell would I know if there are enough being sold that I could even justify trying?
3. Just because market size is large doesn't mean a new business can grab a piece of the pie. I understand risk is involved but how do you mitigate this risk or realistically judge what your prospects are. I mean alot of the odl boring industries are only really able to compete on price? Where else could you differentiate in something like this??
I didn't want to post in the INSIDERS, as it may be perceived as devaluing that section with 'idea' posts, but I really do feel stuck and want to make a go of something ASAP.
Sorry for the long post, I appreciate your patience!
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