Good idea vs Bad Idea

In My Humble Opinion
1

At what point do you consider something a good idea or a bad idea. If 1% of the population likes it, or 20% or 51%.

My argument was this it is simply a matter of economics and whatever it takes to support the idea would determine what percent was necessary. I realize most of the things I come up with that I think are cool are not widely accepted. But on the good side there is usually almost no competition.

My latest idea would require slightly less than 1% of the target demographic ( Over 50) to become involved. Properly located I could cut that down to 1/4 of 1% because of the close proximity of surrounding cities.

The idea is roughly to start a non profit club whose primary purpose was to provide an environment where people could socialize and work on projects mostly out doors. Getting in some exercise while working would be a major part of the theme. Men could do things like make and stack firewood or any form of woodworking requiring only hand tools. Cleaning up old construction lumber is good exercise. I doubt there would be enough room for actual gardening but maybe some bonsai and a greenhouse for orchids. A big compost pile that would need work. Clubs could hold meetings here. The club members would actually develop the concepts themselves and the club would try to provide facilities that would accommodate the members.

It looks like to would take about $7,000 a month to keep a place open. This would require about 140 members paying 50.00 a month. The coffee bar would also generate some income and clubs would pay a small room free for holding meetings. All positions would be staffed by volunteers. Profits beyond a prudent reserve would go back into the club to improve member services and if there was anything left after that it would go into a foundation fund for eventually buying a building.

What are the chances that 1/2 of 1% of a demographic would join something like this? My gut tells me it is attainable but kind of a close call. It would require better planning of a program but stay with the basic idea.

2

Addressing the question you asked but not particularly the context: an idea is good or bad on its merits, not because people think so.

If you’re asking if I would support a plan like this, as it stands my answer would be No. I think your idea is, frankly, a little weird. You’ve got men doing labor, and paying $50 a month for the privilege. What are the women doing? Don’t tell me they’re running the coffee bar. I can’t quite see what it is this is getting at, frankly. Maybe if you started with the results you’re trying to achieve.

3

“If I find that the majority agrees with me, I rethink my position.” – Mark Twain

4

There are already setups that do what you are suggesting, that don’t have a marginal cost to stay open, or at least have very little. There are parks and nature preserves that have volunteer organizations doing things like gardening, trail maintenance, and hosting school field trips. They use buildings and land that are already funded for their broader purpose. They have varying degrees of success, and many such programs succeed well enough that they go on for years and years. But participants don’t have to pay anything to be there, and they can identify some public good toward which they are contributing as volunteers.

5

I don’t think going at this from a % basis is going to be particularly helpful.

Your idea sounds vaguely similar to the UK Men’s Sheds concept, a space for retired men* to get together socially, learn skills, and get involved in projects like making stuff for charities and restoring local community things.

So far, so good, but your costs sound far too high. I’m sure there are people who’d love to get involved in something like that, but not to the tune of 50 a month. Chipping in a couple of for tea and cookies at breaktime, or for gear rental, sure, but not $50 a month.

I think you’d need to scale it back a lot.

Why do you want a coffee bar? Something like that may bring in money (with a big emphasis on the may) but it also brings in a lot of costs, and staffing a coffee bar entirely with volunteers just ain’t gonna happen. Oh, sure, it’s fine getting people to do the coffees at a weekly club night, but not working, selling to the public, every day. It’s hard work if its busy, and it’s not going to make any money if it’s not. What are the local rules on catering for the public? Does someone need hygiene certificates? How many people? I’ve worked in coffee shops, and I highly doubt you’d be able to run a profitable one on volunteers without really really knowing what you were doing and having at least a paid manager.

Honestly, what I’d do is try and find the people who would like to do something like this first, then finalise the plan, with their involvement. Not only will this mean you find out what it really is people would want, but someone involved right from the start, who got their ideas taken up, is much more likely to stay involved. Maybe they’d even know of- or own- a cheap space, or know of a source of setup funding.

*Women and younger men aren’t banned or anything, they’re just not the target group and there aren’t many involved.

6 
The $50.00 a month would likely be the deal breaker here. I don't know how you could avoid it with the high cost of rents in So Cal. I would much rather go with something like $10.00. Of course volunteering would pay dues for those who chose to volunteer. I think an ideal size active membership would hover around 120 members. The exercise theme might not be very good either from a business standpoint. I think I will just file this under bad ideas. I have considered many angles of this for the past several years. I tend to hope others think like me even though I know better.
7

I think that location matters. You are in So Cal, which has a very large population, so there are a lot of potential people you could reach out to, but the cost of doing anything remotely like what you’re suggesting is prohibitive, and charging people $50 a month to do work, whether chopping wood or working at the coffee bar, would turn most people off. To get enough people to join at even $15 a month might be an iffy proposition.

As has been mentioned it might make more sense to partner with someone like your local Park and Rec Dept. to see if there is an underutilized facility, in a good neighborhood, that you could use. One big issue will be insurance, especially if people are doing dangerous things like chopping wood, but I assume you have already factored that into the monthly run rate.

I live in a very small town, less than 3,000 people, so organizing something like you suggest would be easy and not very costly, but there just aren’t enough people to support it, and there are already plenty of places where people gather, drink coffee and plan civic activities. You might want to talk to someone at your city or county council and see if they have any ideas on how to start something like this in your area.

8

i think I have mentioned 3 times now cutting firewood was just an example. People would work on whatever they chose to work on. I t would be a place for them to do some work and socialize. They would bring their own work or volunteer to do projects that might improve the place. Just very limited use of power tools restricted to maybe a couple of individuals who were well qualified to use them. I am pushing 70 in a few months and hate exercise but I love to work hard. When I get home at night I am usually feeling pumped as if I had been lifting weights just from using hand tools to work wood. I love that feeling. Maybe I am unique, maybe others feel the same way, I really don’t know but I have noticed I am usually not as unique as I think I am.