Does this business idea sound feasible to you?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’ve been arguing with a friend of mine about the merits of a business he is planning to start. “Tad” is an underachieving genius whose idea of fiscal responsibility is buying the extended warranty when he trades his family’s milk cow for magic beans; many of you know somebody like him: he can talk all day about any philosopher who ever lived or government or music or a thousand other topics but has absolutely no practical sense or apparent drive. He also doesn’t have a college degree and he needs one desperately; he’s 29 years old and while I know that he’s brilliant (in spite of ludicrous pipe dreams) employer’s don’t and nothing on his resume would belie that, but he comes up with more excuses than a pregnant nun whenever the issue of resuming his education arises. Currently he wants to “get this business off the ground” before starting back to school.

Personally I think that the business is unfeasible while he, on the other hand, has an opposing and erroneous opinion. Since nobody on this message board knows either of us in The Waking I’m going to put it here to test its objective merits.

Here’s his idea (and I’ll try not to flavor it, stupid though it is):

He lives downtown in a large metropolitan area. There are lots of parks in his town. He wants to start a sort of shoestring catering service: he will not actually cook the food or handle it in any way, but what he will do is this- he will erect a tent on public or privately owned land (parks, people’s back yards, etc.). The tent will contain a cheap but durable faux oriental rug, harem pillows, a small dining table, etc… He will also pick up (to go) full meals from your favorite restaurant and have it waiting there in the tent for you (a warmer will be used if necessary). There will be music playing (your choice from a list of CDs). He will stand around and be your server. The idea is an intimate evening/romantic setting etc.; his fee for erecting the tent, purchasing the food, etc., will be in the $50 to $150 range depending upon the number of hours required, difficulty in setting up the tent, etc…

Now, I will totally grant that it sounds romantic, but here are my problems with it:

1- IF you can get permission to set up in parks, there will be security issues (making sure that nobody tampers with the tent, making sure that any candles lit don’t cause an inferno, etc.)

2- IF there is a demand for this (i.e. straight guys and gals willing to fork out $100 in addition to the price of a nice dinner) then it could only reasonably work perhaps 6-8 months per year due to rain, cold weather, etc.

3- IF a guy or gal wanted to pay $100 over the cost of a meal for a romantic evening with his significant other, there are lots of other ways to spend it (a hotel room with Jacuzzi and in-room porn, a weekend getaway to the mountains [about 2 hours away {which while more expensive would also be more memorable}], or just a really great “hang the cost” meal in the restaurant itself [there are many 4 and 5 star restaurants in the metro area and few if any would charge more than the $200 they’d be out after tent & meal for a dinner for two])

4- IF it was successful, then it would inspire imitation by companies that could provide the actual food as well and he’d be hopelessly undercut pricewise

5- IF it was successful, he’d have to hire somebody to help him which would slash his profits

6- IF it was successful and he actually managed to clear $100 per setting, he could only do this a maximum of perhaps 5 times per week without killing himself, which is only $26,000 per year and that’s not a lot by any stretch in a large metro area

7- IF it was successful and he earned MORE than the $26K above, he still wouldn’t have health insurance, retirement or any other major benefits (unless he paid for them in addition, in which case the amount just got halved)

8- He knows NOTHING about how to run a business (the quarterly taxes and other paperwork, the licensing and liability insurance, etc.)

So, your opinion: is it a viable business idea or should he fill out the FAFSA instead?

2

You’ve done a fine job of spotting the major hurdles in his plan. Don’t forget to add the cost of getting permits to operate a commercial endeavor in a pubic park. Some municipalities even require people to have permits for their private family picnics, so don’t be surprised at what the parks department will demand. The health department will certainly be inquisitive and will probably want a permit as well. He may not be preparing food, but he’s still transporting, handling and serving.

If this were a viable plan, someone would have done it long ago.

3

I dunno, in the historical re-creation groups I belong to we do this all the time, but nobody pays anything for it.
A tent like the one he wants is fairly expensive. Check out Tent masters.
Many cities will not allow you to put down stakes in a park like the one he will need to hold a tent that size.
Most Americans really hate having to sit on the ground to eat anything more complicated than finger food. I don’t have a cite, just trust me on this one.
He will need a tent with a decent floor, or at least canvas under the rug to keep it clean and away from the damp. Dirty rugs smell terrible.
Other than the tent and warm food I don’t see what he’s adding to the picnic in the park experience. If he was out of the way, so the couple could have sex (like those “discreet” ads for plane rides) it might be different.

4

I just LOVE it when this happens. :smiley:

5

I agree with everyone else that it sounds like a hopeless business idea, for all the reasons stated and more. People already can and do get junk food and eat it outdoors (or make their own party / picnic food). People already can and do take makeshift ‘furniture’ for outdoor fun (blankets, cushions etc.). Your friend is basically charging them $100 to put up a tent for them. Don’t expect a stampede.

Oh, and most junk or takeaway food I’ve ever experienced doesn’t keep well on a warmer. It’s not meant to.

Let me add two other points. Someone said that if it were a good idea, someone would already have done it. First of all, this isn’t true. It just isn’t, and if everyone took that attitude then nothing innovative would ever happen. Moreover, even if someone else is already doing it, this doesn’t mean you can’t enter the market and win yourself some market share.

Secondly, let’s just suppose for an instant that your friend’s idea happens to be quite a good one and has some potential. This doesn’t make it worth anything as a business. An idea is just an idea. Turning it into a business is an entirely different proposition. Forming the company; making sure you have the right supplies, suppliers and deals in place that you need to run the company; organising the paperwork so that the IRS are happy; working out WHO your customers are going to be, and why they will buy, what your sales msg will be and how you will get it to them; at least a rudimentary budget, showing where and when the money is going to come in and where and when it’s going to go out, plus a million other little details… these are all the extras that lie on the occasionally rocky road from ‘idea’ to ‘business’.

6

Speaking as a person operating two businesses, one rather successful and one barely so, I must say that your friend should scrap this idea post haste (for all of the very good reasons mentioned above).

He would have better luck developing a “Jump to Conclusions” mat. :dubious:

7

For some reason, when you mentioned parks I jumped to the conclusion that it was a dog field trip business, or a dog walking business.

I don’t think the idea will fly, but I will say that I do admire his spirit. For us ‘smart’ people, we have a tendency to see all the things that can go wrong. The list you mentioned are the same issues that all small business owners run into, and maybe that’s why over 90% fail in two years. However some do succeed.

As a friend, you have pointed out the pitfalls. If he wants to pursue it, you should be supportive (by no means invest money). If he’s as smart as you say, even if he fails he’ll learn some valuable lessons.

8

I was all set to play devil’s advocate. The theory being that the person in opposition would be likely to color their account in a way that makes them sound good. I was going to pull out the good nuggets and make a case for this guy’s business.

Unfortunately this is the single stupidest idea I have ever heard. Why would I camp out in this doofus’ tent eating rewarmed food when I could sit in a nice restaurant and be served by professional servers? Even if I wanted to do that, why would I pay for it? This will never get past the planning stage because:

[ul]
[li]I am sure he doesn’t have the money to finance it.[/li][li]There sure as hell isn’t someone who will loan him the money.[/li][li]I know the type, they are great at planning, but execution is well beyond their abilities.[/li][/ul]

9

I agree.
(And will there be a bathroom within easy reach?)

This is exactly where almost all ‘dreamers’ fail in business.

Has he got sufficient investment lined up to buy the props, advertise and pay his living expenses while the business gets off the ground?
Does he know where to get necessary park / health / entertainment permits and insurance?
Who takes the customer calls? Who files the tax return? What happens if his transport breaks down?

He sounds like my ex-brother-in-law, who bought a successful novelty shop. And ‘saved money’ by not getting advice from anyone.
So he was dumbfounded when the previous owner set up a new shop just down the road and took all the customers. My ex-brother-in-law hadn’t put a clause in the contract specifying no competition within x miles for y years. So he went bankrupt.

10

Am I the only one getting a Smoove B vibe from this paragraph?

11

I’m going to go against the grain and say this could be a viable business.

First though, let me say that all the concerns mentioned are valid.

And some of his givens will have to change. For one thing, he’ll need to reduce his price, perhaps substantially.

And he’ll have to find a way to get more volume. Perhaps he can set up 4 or 20 or 100 of these tents in the same area.

And the experience needs to be more than eating dinner in the park under a tent. It needs some sort of entertainment. Ideally, the entertainment will serve all of the tents, either because the tents are in a semi-circle surrounding it, or there are performers who wander from tent to tent. I like the former, because the entertainment could involve all of the audience in some way.

Perhaps the performance and venue should change dramatically from time to time. Perhaps this week, they’re in tents on the park, and next week, they’re all eating in kayaks a pond or something.

Anyway, I can see this being a viable idea.

However, it doesn’t sound like your friend is the right person to execute it. ianzin really hit it on the head: everybody has a great idea. Great ideas are a dime a dozen. Things happen because people work hard and make them happen.

Another thing: There are a bunch of people here saying it will never fly. For a living, I build new businesses. I’ve built several, and I’ve been very lucky. Two of my businesses sold for almost $200 million each. Whenever you start a business, there are a million people saying it can’t be done. Because it’s the easy path. Anybody can say “no”, and since the odds are that you’re going to fail (most small businesses do), they get to laugh at you after you’ve lost and say “I told you so”. But those are the little people, and nothing is greater than proving them wrong.