Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity
The concept of Do it yourself is not a new idea.  People have utilized tools and techniques passed down through the years to create the things that they need for everyday life.  It was not too long ago where people still built their own houses and created furniture off of the land that they owned.  These days it is far cheaper to buy sticks and stuff from mega stores like Ikea, Wal-Mart, Target, and the like.   These products are created overseas in foreign factories of subpar materials.  They are not made to last, they are made to be convenient and inexpensive.  For some of us, the desire to own something meaningful far outweighs the convenience and price factors.  For some of us, that desire to create that meaningful object still burns deep and gives us something to be proud of.  It is these people that are spurring a movement that is driving applications like Pinterest, and Etsy to staggering popularity.  Do it yourself is back and it is getting bigger and bigger by the day.

The major problem faced by individuals taking part in a DIY project is the learning curve.  For many of us, we are trying to do things that we have never tried before.  Sometimes we fail, but sometimes we get it just right.  It is these moments that spur us to the next bigger project, and gives us a confident feeling when the next opportunity presents itself.    Another stumbling block faced when these projects come up are tools.  We   don’t always have what we need, and if we have to buy new ones, we have to learn to use them effectively while completing the project.  The type of customer that I am looking for comes from these very scenarios every day.  The big box home improvement stores are full of them every weekend, fighting to get what they need to complete their home projects before the Gators take the field to destroy this weekend’s rival.

My customer is everywhere, they could be:
• Single
• married
• College Students
• Male or Female
• Young or Old

My target customer could come from anywhere at any time.  This market segment is huge and growing by the day and by the pin.

Innovation

The concept behind my business targets these individuals and the projects that they want to complete.  I look to open a warehouse size workshop, completely equipped with the tools that they need to complete just about any project that they can imagine.  Included in this service would be local professionals that know how to use this equipment, and can give you the tips and techniques that you need to use the equipment safely and successfully.  All that you would have to bring are your supplies, your imagination, and your desire to create.
 
The cost of this service would vary based upon the level of expertise that you need.  The fee schedule would be as follows:

• First time orientation and safety training   $25.00
• Level 1 – Full Service, includes a professional to
        assist you in the completion of your project, tools,
        workspace, and  clean-up.                           $35.00/hour
• Level 2 – Partial Service, Includes a semi-monitored
        area with a service professional available to answer
        questions as needed, tools, workspace, and clean-up.   $25.00/hour  
• Level 3 – Self Service, includes tools, workspace, and
        Clean-up only.  No assistance with this plan.   $15.00/hour
• Limited amounts of building materials and supplies
        Available for purchase if needed.           Prices Vary By Item

Additional areas of interest for customers would come with a varied cost, dependent upon the type of activity.  One aspect of this would be a project of the week, where all supplies and instruction would be included in the set cost.  This activity would be centered on a group like setting where several professionals would teach step by step how to complete a particular project.  This would include lessons on proper usage of tools and equipment associated with the project.  As stated earlier, the cost of these activities would vary based upon the cost of included supplies, level of instruction and time needed to complete the project.

Available for purchase in the shop, would be a variety of building materials and supplies.  These items will not include every possible item that you might need.  However, popular sizes of lumber, screws, nails, and bonding agents would be stocked in the event that they are needed.

Venture Concept

The venture concept associated with this innovation provides individuals with home projects that do not have the various tools and abilities to do the things that they want to do.  We offer them the outlet that they need to accomplish the things in life that have meaning to them. I feel the opportunity to complete these projects without having to spend an enormous amount of money on tools will drive customers through the door.  Through this process they build skills and abilities that will push them to try bigger and more in-depth projects creating the return customer that we are looking for.

Minor Elements

My secret sauce will ultimately be the driving factor behind this business.  It is my desire to help foster an environment where people can come and do the things they enjoy.  In the process of this they build skills that will help boost their confidence where projects of this nature or home repairs are concerned.  Putting into practice the things that I have learned over the years to help others will push this business to be successful and create a business culture that puts customer success before profits.

The next step for this venture will be the introduction of tool kits aimed at various target applications.  These kits will all be a starting point for the customer to add too as they become more skilled and branch out into other project areas.  Kits would vary in complexity, so that someone who already has technical abilities gets wat they need to continue their growth and accomplish the tasks they need too, while a novice will not have a bunch of tools they have no use for.

The next step for me would be to continue to grow this venture into a family business that could be started in other towns and states.  Ultimately, I would want to be able to turn the business over to my children if it were something that they also had an interest in.  In five years, I still see myself very active in the community and the business, pushing to build this venture to the best it can be.

Summary

The feedback that I received for my first venture concept was very insightful and helped me to further hone my concept.  All of the feedback was very positive in nature and very encouraging to someone who wasn’t quite certain of where to start about 13 weeks ago.  One comment in particular, suggested the creation of some sort of a maker community that would help to bring these types of customers together.   While I thought this was an excellent suggestion, I felt that I would be directly completing with far more well established communities such as Pinterest, and Etsy.  I felt that this would take too much time away from the actual business to make it worth wild.  Changes that were made came from feedback that was received during other exercises.  These changes included adding a limited shop in which customers could buy certain types of supplies that they might need and then minor rewording to better explain the overall concept. Overall, I did not make many changes to the actual concept, all feedback felt that the concept was excellent and definitely hit a need in the need market.  The only negative feedback I received, really wasn’t negative to the concept. This feedback in particular, hit home for the secondary market that was referenced in the “What’s next” post.  The poster had a time issue that did not allow for him to take part in these types of projects, so he preferred to pay someone to complete necessary projects for him.  This market segment is definitely a larger segment that needs some further investigation on how to attract them.  The changes that were made enhanced the venture concept and helped to further define the overall services that would be provided.