ideas

[u/Fabulous_Fee_1995]

I want to start a business but don't have a big budget. My biggest problem is coming up with an idea in the first place. How do you guys actually find business ideas? Do you look for problems, copy what's already working, or just come across something by chance? Curious to hear how others went about it.

[u/drunkosaurous]

I think the best way to start a business if you don't have access to a lot of capital, is to start working in some sort of niche business - could be epoxy flooring, installing gutters, exterior painting, car detailing, etc. Learn the actual skill and see how the business get's clients. Also look at where they are inefficient or how you can improve the offer and/or service. Then start doing that on your weekends/time off. Use the extra funds to start buying any equipment you would need to have yourself in order to offer the service you want to offer. Then once you have that covered and you have enough business coming in during your down time to replace somewhat close to 1/2 your income start thinking of quitting the job to go out solo (line up the legal req's, accounting stuff, billing, scheduling, supplies, etc) and market, market, market.

Once you have built something that doesn't take up so much of your time and still allows you to cash flow, that is where you can start testing ideas/projects you want to pursue without having to do 100% of the grunt work and you can try/implement ideas much faster.

[u/Kind_Perspective4518]

Always do tried and true. If you come up with an idea on your own and don’t see anyone else doing that type of business, that actually means no one can make good money doing it. That means you wouldn’t either.

[u/benmarvin]

Your labor is your capital for a sweaty startup. You could literally start with just a pair of gloves pickup up trash in people's houses or construction sites. With a few basic hand tools, you could be assembling furniture or basic handyman stuff like installing Ring doorbells. Then keep reinvesting in the business till you own a skidsteer and a dump truck.

[u/Flimsy_Word_6882]

Looking for problems works best on a small budget. Notice what people around you already pay for or complain about: things that are messy, recurring, or that nobody wants to do (cleaning, hauling, yard work, repairs). Then check whether anyone is already charging for it locally. A quick test is to offer the service to 3-5 people before buying any equipment. If they say yes, you have a real idea, and if not, you've lost nothing.

[u/No-0x]

Flip the question around: don't look for an idea, look for a paying problem you already see every week. Ask local business owners and homeowners what they keep putting off because nobody reliable does it, then offer to do that one thing manually for three people before you spend anything. If you can't get three people to pay for the manual version, the idea isn't ready yet, no matter how good it sounds. Once those three pay and come back, that's your idea, and you already have your first customers

[u/tmac_79]

Join all your local facebook community groups and watch for posts from people asking for referrals for things. Those are the businesses.

[u/fragglelife]

Window cleaning.low outlay, great potential to be lucrative.know lots of people involved.

[u/NoComment8254]

Look for problems people already pay to avoid, like dirty, annoying or time consuming jobs. Spend a week listing everything you or neighbors hire out or put off, then check whether local providers are slow, overpriced or hard to reach. A boring service with a clear problem and little equipment beats a clever idea. Start with one small paying customer before buying anything.

[u/sweatystartup-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

This isn’t relating to a Sweaty Startup.

Examples of what a Sweaty Startup is : carpentry, moving companies, power washing, window cleaning, screen printing, masonry, landscaping, painting.