The next step if someone wanted to start AutomotiveClubs.com is to define your user audience. The business would obviously have two users:
Automotive Clubs
Car Owners Who Want To Join An Automotive Club
Automotive Clubs: In my research I estimate over 10,000 automotive clubs in the United States; 3x that in the world. I have been in contact with over 1,000 of these automotive clubs in the USA already. The reason we initially were in contact with these companies because our company sells automotive keychains.
The owners of the clubs are quite friendly, but strapped for cash. Most of the clubs our non-profit or profitably enough to stay in business. They stay in business because club members volunteer their time & sponsors help them financially. Their club websites are old & outdated. Interaction between club members and related clubs is non-existence; that is where the opportunity is.
Car Owners: I don’t need to quote stats on the number of car owners there are in the United States; everyone knows there are many. Granted, most are not too proud of their vehicle to join an automotive club, but high end automobile owners would be our target market as well.
So Step #1 to building a business Is Market Research
I have compiled a database of the known automotive clubs that have websites online today. You can download it here:
Step #2 to building a business Is To Analyze that research
Of the many Automotive Clubs we spoke to National Council of Corvette Clubs (NCCC) provided the best market analysis. They were very excited about the idea that each of their clubs could have a free website where they publish news, events, pictures, videos, and of course give the ability to sign up new members; but they would not pay for it.
So, after all the research & analysis the data showed that Automotive Clubs would benefit greatly from AutomotiveClubs.com; but we needed to figure out a business model that would allow Automotive Clubs to sign up for free. What is more is the SIC code for Automotive Clubs (8699-12) does not provide any help in finding the clubs; the listings are all AAA insurance providers.
The database above is the largest list online for United States Automotive Clubs. Starting the website you would use this database to pre-populate the Automotive Club Database online.
Finding a good business to start online can be tough. This post will be the first of many which will explore the industry, competition, search engine behavior, and the overall consumer market of sun protection.
Why Examine This Industry:
Multiple Organizations, including the World Health Organization, encourages people to take precautions because of the
increase of sun exposure to humans: http://www.who.int/uv/sun_protection/en/
Everyone knows that they should use sunglasses, hats, sunscreen, and other basic preventative products.
People are aware of the threat of the sun; global warming / ozone layer / cancer
Personal Health Care is on the mind of everyone; baby boomers & health care reform
I like it
I hope you like the last one, I am already convinced there are “holes” within the “Sun Protection Industry.” I know there are already companies online that provide sun care products. I know many are well established and have great products. But I do not know of a market leader; I know no “McDonalds” of “Sun Protection Products.”
So I intend to find to research the industry, competition, search engine behavior, and the overall consumer market of sun protection to uncover what it takes to be that market leader. I am sure my research will find stiff competition but like most market research & analysis I do for WebBizIdeas, I am sure I will uncover opportunities!
Stay tuned, I will be posting my research on our blog over the next couple months.
This is a video that www.Seedwell.com; video production company focusing on viral marking produced. They are a great company that usually produces hilarious viral marketing videos but this one discussed “social entrepreneurship”. The groups discussed in the video have been celebrated by Oprah, Jay-Z, Bill Clinton, National Geographic, MTV, CNN, PBS, NBC and others. If you are thinking of starting an internet business you may acquire some great internet business ideas by viewing this video & exploring “social entrepreneurship.”
Would you like a way to increase sales & customer interaction for your eCommerce site? Would you like to allow your customers to customize the products you sell? Do you want the technology that CustomInk.com & CafePress.com have?
Picnik’s Developer API now allows you to do all of this. Picnik’s software allows you to integrate a solution that will allow a user to upload a photo, edit it, write text, and then see how all of it will look on your product! Let me give you an example:
We manage a website called Wholesale Keychain. The website sells automotive, sports, and a few other kinds of keychains. The site needs a better way to reach a broader audience than just car & sport lovers. We decided to start offering users the option to personalize each keychain with their own logo or message.
Using Picnik’s Developer API we could have users:
1. Select Keychain Style
2. Add Text to Keychain
3. Choose Color
4. See & Order Final Product
So instead of just spending $100,000+ building your own Personalization Software you can hire WebBizIdeas to build you a Personalized eCommerce Website Design and instruct use to use Picnik’s Developer API to save you a load of cash.
I have been helping many clients start blogs (including starting this blog) and wanted to answer the question, Do Blogs Make Money…and if so How do They Do It? I have analyzed in detail blogs Business Week Reviewed and one I read occasionally….hope you can tell which one.
This blog allows users to upload/share funny animal pictures.Once you upload it you can add a funny caption to the image and share it with friends & family. An extremely simple concept but obviously very effective:
600k unique visitors a month
25,000,000 page views a month
charges $500 o $5,500 a week for banner ads
Been featured in The New York Times, The WSJ, C|NET, Business Week, and Wired.
They make money off Google AdSense, Banner Advertising, Widgets, and their store.I feel a great monetization of their blog would come from offering the ability for users to buy t-shirts, pins, badges, mugs, and other products with the pictures people upload to the site.
This blog was started by Mark Frauenfelder in 2000. To me the site is about nothing and everything. But the site is updated 20-30 times a day making it a big in the search engines.
John Chow used to work in the printing industry until he decided to quit his job and start online businesses. The blog is about making money online, internet business, internet marketing, and just as the slogan says.
Yaro is a blogger that WebBizIdeas.com has advertised with for years. His target market is Entrepreneurs, Internet Marketers, and Bloggers who are looking for advice. Recently he started promoting products & services through his blog that has added to his revenue. It works out well because the products & services he is promoting relates to his site and helps his target market.
If you want to start an internet business on a “Shoe String Budget” you NEED to have a strong passion for the business/industry you are getting into.If you have the passion, you will acquire knowledge, and eventually wisdom; becoming a leading voice in your industry. As an expert you rely on yourself to build & market so your expenses are less.
Below I have I go over my ideas for the cheapest, fastest, and cost effective way to start an internet business on a budget.This was in response to a forum post where the user had a passion for “horror movies / Halloween.”
Build an Online Directory:Buy http://www.esyndicat.com directory software and start listing websites that deal with horror movies, haunted attractions, Halloween, horror merchandise, etc…
WHY:(1) finding related websites doesn’t cost money (2) a good internet business not only knows their competition but is associated with them.(3) will be a great way to familiarize yourself with the entire “horror industry.”
Build a Blog/Content Management System (CMS):Use WordPress to save time & money.I would recommend using www.revolutiontheme.com for buying a template & installing the software (only $79). read about Blog Website Design
WHY:(1) Now that you are pretty familiar with the “horror industry” you will have found EXACTLY the type of internet business you are looking to start.But on a show string budget spending $1,000′s on development may not be the best move.Now you can do what Logan said, “create a site where you provide the movie planner, articles about horror movies.”
Figure it out from there: Dan Fernandez, WebBizIdeas CEO, famous quote is “We’ll figure it out.” I am a big planner but sometimes you need to run before you can crawl and you need to fail before you succeed.Building your idea this way will cost you less than $300.During the process you WILL find the perfect business / revenue model (don’t rely just on advertising or selling a product…be creative) for your “horror idea.
Download Automotive Clubs Database
