I’m often asked to suggest cheap business ideas or home business ideas that can be started with little or no capital so when I heard that Just Make Money Online is running a group writing contest asking bloggers to write about what you would do if you had $25. I though it would be fun to write a post explaining how I’d look for potential business ideas and how I would then evaluate the potential of a business idea and then to actually create a business with $25 to show how it could be done.
Finding The Idea
To start a business on only $25 the idea means the value creation will have to come from my knowledge, expertise and time rather than brought in materials and expertise so that limits the possible business ideas to the creation and marketing of some form of Intellectual Property (IP). So I’ll start by listing some of my skills/areas of expertise:
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Software development (including web development).
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Business advice.
Now I need a problem that my expertise can be used to solve, or one that can be solved by customers if they have access to my expertise.
As it happens I’ve recently been interested in studying for an MBA, but as I’m busy running my own businesses I don’t want to do one full time so I’ve been looking at distance learning MBA courses. I’ve found it’s very difficult to find all the information I want about different options in one single place, it’s even hard to actually find details of some business schools MBA courses. I now have some expertise in this area as while I’ve looking I’ve also been collecting a lot of information about distance learning MBAs into a document recently for my own use so I already have some material.
Evaluating The Idea
Now I’ve identified my problem I need to determine if it’s a problem worth solving i.e. will people pay for the solution and are they prepared to pay enough to make it worthwhile (i.e. profitable). There are a few points that suggest there would be interest in a solution:
- I’ve written a number of posts about MBAs recently as they’ve been under discussion rather a lot on blogs and in the mainstream media. This discussion indicates there’s a level of interest in them.
- Given the number of business schools that are now offering MBAs by distance learning there must be a significant demand from prospective students, many of whom will no doubt find gathering the information about the available courses just as difficult and time consuming as I have.
- I’ve come across several forums while doing my research that contain similar questions to mine from other prospective students.
- A quick look at Amazon shows there are a number of books about choosing MBA courses.
However it’s probably only capable of making a few hundred dollars per month, not enough to give up your day job for, but perhaps a nice little part time business to pay for a family holiday, which is a pretty good return on your initial investment of $25 and some time.
Evolving The Idea
Now that I believe there is a demand for good information on the range of available distance learning MBA courses the question is how do I turn this into a product or service? This could be done by producing a book, an e-book or a website.
Looking at my skills (web development) the obvious answer is to build a website (and if the idea turns out to be a success there’s potential to turn it into a book then). As I’ve done it several times before I know I can register a domain and arrange some basic hosting for $25, therefore the idea becomes:
Build a website that is A Guide To Distance Learning MBAs on www.mbabydistancelearning.co.uk.
As this would make an interesting case study I’ve actually registered the domain and setup some hosting through Heart Internet which still leaves some change from the budget. I’ll post some updates on how the site does as it progresses.
So what would you do with your $25?
This blog is about business opportunities and ideas that I spot, think of or hear about and think are useful and interesting. It is intended to provide ideas and inspriation for you to help you find the right business idea for you to then grow it into a successful business.
Hi John
This sounds like an interesting idea. I actually got a Masters via distance learning and am pursuing a PhD in the same way (different school). I think there is a real interest in this topic as ivy league schools in the US are now starting to offer distance MBAs as well.
The one challenge I see in your domain name is that it actually says m baby distance learning - which might be a bit confusing. Could just be the mom in me - but the word baby sure jumped out at me before I realized it was mba by distance learning!
Good luck with this and you’ve made me ponder what I would do with $25…..
Liz,
As a new dad it jumps out at me too, but there’s a limited choice of domain names available as most have been grabbed by domainers.
What subjects did/are you studying?
If you google MBA courses the first result is the Guardian Education section which has a course search utility so you’ll probably have to do something similar. There seem to be plenty of sponsored links so adding them on your site might give you something. You must be down to less than a tenner now so you’re going to have to cut out the cuppas!
The Guardian’s search is not very good unfortunately and like far too many searches assumes you know what you are looking for…
Hi John,
Congratulations on being a new dad. And it’s probably just us - the site name is good.
Since my undergraduate degree was in business, I decided against getting a traditional MBA and got a Masters in Project Management which has been quite useful. Now I’m working on a PhD in Organizational Psychology. I am interested in factors that influence success in entrepreneurs and whether they vary by gender.
Still have a long way to go. When I first went to school, many years ago, my original desire was to major in psychology - then I found out the odds against being able to earn a living at it!! And switched to business. I like the fact that I have now come full circle and am studying the psychology of work and how we do business. Fascinating stuff and helps me provide value to my clients.
I did a lot of research and had a lot of trepidation about using an online school, before I started. A site like you are proposing would have been very helpful.
Liz
[...] Shai Coggins author of Just Make Money Online asked this question recently on her blog. I read about it on John Crickett’s blog Business Opportunities and Ideas. John had a good idea for developing an additional website devoted to a topic of interest to him and potentially to others. He was so excited about his idea that he actually went ahead and invested the $25 to put his plan in action. [...]
I often think I’d have enjoyed psychology far more than computer science, even though I’m a geek at heart.
Your interest sounds rather like they’ll cross over with what I’m planning to explore in my dissertation.
Hi John
I started out in programming - back before they had degrees in Computer Science - you just needed an aptitude and good work ethic. Since then, I’ve spent a career managing technology teams. So, there’s more than a little geek in me.
So, what are you planning to explore in your dissertation?
I’m still a little way off doing it so haven’t properly settled on a topic yet, but my interests lie in exploring the factors that influence success in entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial businesses.
Hi John
It does sound like there are similarities. Keep in touch and let me know your progress - I would be interested in hearing what you come up with.
Well it’s going to be at least a year before I start my dissertation, but I’ll be in touch once I have.
John, love how much thought you put in to this! Looking forward to what happens to your plan. Let me know how it goes! Good luck with the contest.
[...] John - What I would do with $25 [...]
Shai,
Thanks for the compliment, it was fun and it’ll prove a nice case study for my readers.
Pretty Good Job; John.
So I think you are the one who gonna to won this contest x-(
Never Mind
God work should be rewarded.
Good Luck!!!
Interesting idea John.
Even distance learning MBAs are very expensive and if you can attract students and alumni to share their experiences across the different schools it could be very interesting.
Did you make your mind up about which Business School you’d like to join?
I have no regrets about my MBA at the Manchester Business School. Although I had read widely and considered myself a student of business, the structured nature of the MBA meant that I couldn’t just read the books that interested me but I also had to cover the other subjects as well.
It is tough, especially as I was determined to pass well. I was after getting as much knowledge out of the course as possible and I hope that shows in The Business Coaching Blog.
Yes I’ve decided to study with Leicester University.
I agree, I read a lot of the books related to the subject but I’m hoping the MBA will give me a more structured approach and will introduce me to some topics I might not otherwise have explored.
I also expect the discussion with other like minded people to be beneficial.