4 of the 400 latest and greatest small business ideas

 Last-Minute Child Care /Emergency Babysitting
CONCEPT: Parents are occasionally or even often let
down by babysitters who fail to turn up or call in sick.
Rather than cancelling their plans, parents can instead
turn to a small business that specializes in providing
babysitting at the last minute – for a higher hourly fee.
STRENGTHS: Unique selling point; last minute =
higher fees; huge client catchment; home-based means
low overheads apart from marketing; staff paid on a perjob
basis; senior-friendly small business.
WEAKNESSES: Making sure that your own sitters are
reliable as it is your unique selling point; finding and
keeping good reliable sitters.
REAL WORLD BIZ: http://lastminutebabysitting.com;
www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22988
430-5014717,00.html

Personal comment:
I think this is a really good business idea because loads of parents would use this
service if there is an emergency or unexpectedly they have to be somewhere and can't take care of their child they need to someone to do it.


 Specialist Car Importer
CONCEPT: A market has always existed for exotic and
slightly unusual used cars for buyers with more
individual taste in cars. Depreciation, the car importer’s
best friend, means that cars can be purchased in one
territory, freighted to another and sold for a handsome
profit. Depreciation, for example, in Britain is among the
most severe in the world and cars imported from the UK
to other right-hand-drive (RHD) markets can sell at a
considerable profit. Possible car types: E-type Jaguar, XK
Jaguar coupe (1997-2006), Nissan Skyline, Nissan
300ZX/350Z, Toyota Supra/Soarer, BMW M3/330
coupe/M5 sedan, Mercedes SL, older Porsche 911/928/
944 Turbo/968, Ferraris. In short, a specialist car
importer works out which territory across the whole
world offers the most profitable importing opportunity
and goes from there.
STRENGTHS: Great for car-lovers; unique cars =
higher prices; can get big deposits or entire price for car
before committing to importation; senior-friendly small
business.

Pesonal comment:
You would make a lot of money by the profit althought it can be hard because you always have to check the foreign currency exchange rate and buy the cars for a low prices at te right time.

 Home Renovation Planner/Project Manager
CONCEPT: Home property development or remodelling
is actually considerably more complex than many
amateurs realize until it is too late and many expensive,
avoidable mistakes that could have been avoided were
not avoided. A growing band of experienced remodelling/
property project managers are thus emerging who take
care of the owner’s complete development – for a
considerable fee. Oh and by the way, home renovation is
a $350 billion+ a year industry in North America.

STRENGTHS: May be possible to manage several
projects at once using same trustworthy tradespeople;
expandable business; can get management fee in
advance.
WEAKNESSES: Detailed understanding of logistics of
property development and remodelling are essential;
strong interpersonal skills and management essential;
some clients can be indecisive, change their minds
constantly mid-project or just be generally difficult.
REAL WORLD BIZ: http://www.renplan.com/

Personal comment:
I think any people would use this service because the majority of people are unexperienced
in renovation

 Used Musical Instrument Dealer
CONCEPT: eBay’s Hot Items list (bestsellers) at
http://pages.eBay.com/sellercentral/hotitems.pdf
proves that there is a pretty significant market for used
musical instruments. If music is one of your passions,
being a dealer in such instruments could be a lucrative
side or even primary business. If you are wondering
where to source such items, ask eBay’s established sellers
by posing as an interested buyer who is concerned about
where the item came from and its history. By revealing
this information to you, you too can source instruments
there. This could also be a healthy spinoff from a music
tuition small business, like the ‘School of Rock’ small
business on Page 203 or the band rehearsal room small
business on Page 211.
STRENGTHS: Relates to music - it beats selling life
insurance!; very low overheads if conducted online
and/or from home; fun.
WEAKNESSES: Slow selling inventory - that’s why
keeping a close eye on eBay’s hottest sellers at the above
web address is essential; established competitors in your
area.
REAL WORLD BIZ: www.elderly.com;
www.palmguitars.nl; www.daddys.com;
www.usedmusicalinstrument.com;
http://pages.eBay.com/sellercentral/hotitems.pdf

Personal comment:
If the instruments are in a good condition many people would use this service because new instruments can be quite expensive and not everybody who plays an instrument can afford one