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BUSINESS IDEA #1: Inflatable
Boat Dealer.
Business Plan:
- Order
10 inflatable boats rafts or kayaks at wholesale prices at BoatsToGo.com.
- Lease
a 5’x5’ unit at the local self-storage facility close to your house.
- Buy
a used Jet Ski trailer on Craigslist.com, and paint it with bright colors.
- Buy
a FOR SALE banner and 250 post-card size flyers at VistaPrint.com.
- Put
the inflated boat on the trailer, and mount the FOR SALE banner above.
- Attach
a “TAKE ONE” plastic box so that anyone can easily get sales flyer.
- Tow
the trailer with inflatable boat and banner installed to places where
potential customers may gather, such as shopping malls, fishing piers,
lakes, rivers, etc.
- Park
car with a trailer where people go fishing or camping and can see
it.
- Whoever’s
interested in the boat, will pull a flyer from the TAKE ONE box, read all
about the boat, specs, price, and when ready to order, will call your cell
phone number printed on that flyer.
- You
can meet the customer at the self-storage unit or deliver to his house.
- Payments
can be taken in the form of cash, money order or check.
- To
accept credit cards, you will need to open an account with PayPal.com or
Checkout.Google.com. Money are transferred directly to bank
account.
- Best
part is: Sell-it & Forget-it. We will take care of all after-sale or
warranty issues. Just send customers to us with all after-sale questions,
request, etc.
BUSINESS IDEA #2: Inflatable Boats, Kayaks and Paddle
Boards Rental.
Business Plan:
- Find
an appropriate place next to the campground, local river, lake, bay or ocean
beach where potential customers may gather and where there is easy access
from your car to the water’s edge.
- Research
if approval or permit from the local municipality or park for opening a
rental concession is needed.
- Buy
several boats, kayaks and paddle boards to start your rental fleet.
- Order
“RENT ME - $20/HR” vinyl banners and 250 post-card size flyers at
VistaPrint.com
- A
minivan or pickup truck is recommended to transport bags with deflated boats
or kayaks closer to the water, but a used cargo trailer will work just as
good.
- On a
weekend or sunny day, bring boats and kayaks to the water’s edge; inflate
one of each model with a 12V electric pump. Place a RENT ME sign next to
each boat. You will inflate more boats per rental demand.
- Charge
$20/rental, make sure customers sign RELEASE OF LIABILITY form and you will
provide PFD to each customer to comply with safety regulations.
- Keep
drivers license as collateral for the boat for the time of rental.
- At
the end of the day quickly deflate your rental equipment with electric pump,
roll up and store until next time.
BUSINESS IDEA #3: Single Agency, Social Club or Workout
Boot Camp.
Business Plan:
- Buy
several inflatable boats or rafts or kayaks.
- Place
ads in local classifieds, Craigslist.com and Backpage.com; also leave flyers
in local diners, pubs and bars.
- Advertisements
should state that on a particular date in a particular place, there will be
gathering of local singles or may be workout boot camp, for people that
would like to participate in an active lifestyle and get to know each other.
- Request
potential participants to sign up for the event via e-mail.
- Once
you have enough participants, email everyone and confirm they will be there.
Bring several inflatable boats or kayaks to the meeting place, which should
be close to the water, and organize participants to paddle kayaks or row
their boats to a remote/romantic location where people can get to know each
other, socialize, etc. Nothing brings people together like an active
lifestyle and wilderness adventure.
- Once
you have some permanent number of participants, and word of mouth about your
social enterprise begins to spread, you may start charging some set
membership fees, similar to a gym.
- If
you properly organize these events and pay close attention to details, more
and more people would want to participate. Not only will you get plenty of
new friends, but you will most likely compliment your monthly income with
steady membership fees.
- The
trick here is that many people want to get outdoors and into an active
lifestyle, such as kayaking, boating or rafting. Most people don’t want to
do it by themselves, and would greatly appreciate group activities if such
offers were properly arranged.
- The
boot camp variation of the above project would require participants to carry
inflated boats/kayaks for a set distance along the beach, then row or paddle
in incremental routes to increase endurance and stamina.
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