Looking For Ideas! How would YOU implement something like THIS?

6 replies
Hi all!

Ok, here is the scenario.

Imagine you have just moved or relocated to a remote location. It is a seasonal destination - think island.

So, you get tourists during the warmer months and then things die down in the fall and are dead during the winter.

There are the tourists of course, but there are those who stay in this location year round.

There are a couple of grocery stores, and things like a "home center" where you can get some regular items like towels etc. But the places like the home center are very limited in the selection of inventory they carry. And the grocery stores can be limited - but even worse they are expensive because everything needs to be shipped in. So something you might only spend a dollar for on the mainland can be more like 3-4 dollars on the island.

Now add this to the scenario. It is possible to take a ride over to the mainland - and even possible to bring a car over. The ride to the mainland takes in total around 3 hours (which would suck up 6 hours round trip) and if you bring a car you can add between 200-300 for the service of putting it on the boat and bringing it back. So in order to make a ride worth it, you want to make sure you purchase products that will save you a lot of money - and you want to buy in bulk when possible.

There might be 2-3 people all looking for a specific product every time they go - and they may benefit if they knew their neighbor was making the same trip for the same thing.

There is a flow of people who regularly go over to the mainland. Maybe every couple of months. Once they get there you can find all the stores you want.

I just returned to this island and I caught a ride with someone who has been living here for quite some time (about 20 years). She had the car packed to the hilt with things like xmas decorations and dog food.

I started to think about it on this trip back of how a swap forum of some kind might be beneficial to those who are here year round. This could be like a club where members can have lists of items they have an issue getting or maybe they only grab when going to the mainland. They could save money on shipping if lets say they have an item found at a Walmart could be added to the car and brought back with a bunch of other stuff. And if there needed to be a return of the item it could go back on the next trip. So who ever does the trips would need to be trustworthy. Also, these trips could be shared - where maybe each member commits to one trip a year and they pay for that ride over and back and grab things for everyone on a list.

I'm looking at ideas of how to organize this type of thing and also how I would monetize this idea.

How would you monetize something like this?

Would you charge members a nominal fee to join? Or if it is free to join how would you make a profit? Would you make this an exclusive private membership site or would you make it an open forum that anyone could join?

This would obviously be a very community based membership as it would be all locals running errands for each other. The other thought is me going over to the mainland every month or so and doing the shopping. This can be running errands too or what ever type of business someone might need taken care of. Or I can hire and someone to do this as well. I also may be able to find someone on the mainland who is a permanent fixture - and that person could be responsible for making trips over to the island every couple of weeks with a list of requests and then they do a drop off and return the same day.

Anyway, I'm swishing this idea around in my head and looking for some views of how to manage it that I maybe have not considered.

How would you do this?
#ideas #implement
  • Profile picture of the author sodette1
    Hey Jill:

    Don't you love it when you get into one of those creative flows and an idea really grabs you and won't let go until you get it out and write it down?

    So many times I get these "bubbles" and the adrenalin starts pumping - I know I've hit on something and it just feels right.

    Domain names used to do that to me until I read through the close to two hundred I was maintaining one day, objectively, and had to ask myself: "What the heck were you thinking that day?!"

    My feedback for your post above is... let it sit for a few days and then come back to it with a fresh set of eyes.

    One of the cardinal rules of making money in business is to start with offering something others are already looking for... hopefully, those others also have money.

    Creating a new venture, bringing a new idea to the world, changing the way things have always been done, preventative products, programs or services rather than solution products, programs and services, etc. can cost you in time, energy and money (plus other resources as well like health, friends if your new idea is political or faith based, etc.).

    Your idea is wonderful, if a bit idealistic in nature. Here are some of the questions to ask before going to far down the rabbit hole:

    *. Are people looking for this kind of help or service or collaboration right now?

    *. Are people open to this kind of trust and sharing and community relationship at this time?

    *. What is the reaction of local community members who would be your "customers" to the idea when you mention it to them (if they say "oh, that's a nice idea or that is "interesting" then... what does that mean, really?)?

    *. Where can you find similar models of business or services to model for ideas (barter comes to mind to me)?

    *. What are the risks for participants?

    *. What are the weakest links in the chain of such a service?

    *. What are the liabilities?

    *. What are the benefits to participants?

    *. What if you have more takers than givers?

    *. What objections might participants have?

    I like the idea of providing a service personally... and charging for it.

    Philanthropy and barter are great, but can get a bit sticky when people who are not really philanthropic or barterers try to engage in such programs.

    Know that this might not be what you wanted to hear or read, but... you know me - I've got a reputation to uphold as a "tell's it like he sees it - like it or not..." kinda guy.

    PM me if you would like to brainstorm on the issue at all Jill... love the creativity very much.
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    • Profile picture of the author Net Solutions
      Banned
      You could try a two tier membership on the forum..One free and one paid subscription..Do not forget to offer a free trial to the paid subscription..BTW, how much traffic could you attract? Does it depend on the population of the island?
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    • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
      Ideally I'd be willing to invest some time into kicking this off and if done properly I would want it to be low maintenance.

      I did just discover a different business locally that appears to be catering to the high end clients - the ones who come and visit their local house here for a month or two. This business goes and stocks up the houses before their arrival so they have everything in place when they get here and can really enjoy the time on the island instead of having to go shop and get the place in order.

      I'm looking at the year rounders. I realize a bit more research would be needed.

      That local trust of others in the community is really a huge piece of it. Other wise it needs to be a straight out service that I'm offering.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
    Originally Posted by Chris Kent View Post

    It's a noble cause but personally I'd find it hard to take a significant cut from it that would make it worth doing, simply because I wouldn't want to feel like I'm taking advantage of their situation.
    I don't need a huge cut. This would be something set up as just one income stream.

    I'm not taking advantage of a situation in a negative matter. Last time I stayed here I was personally annoyed when I wanted some things off island and just didn't have the time to get off to get them - or if I had the time I wasn't planning to purchase enough items to make it worth the trip.

    This could spread things out enough where someone could pay something like 50 bucks and be assured x amount of bags delivered within x number of trips. It would be something to take advantage of during the winter. So not a single person needs a full car load - but more like someone who wants to just order to have some of the same things monthly could have that bag of things collected for them. For some things like some perishables this could be great. Or if there is a case of some wine that the local liquor store does not carry, this is a way to have it picked up on a trip. Or someone discovers there is a huge sale on an item - and perhaps a lot of people all use that same thing - this is a way for them to all get the sale price and save money without having to go out individually to stock up.
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