# Poll: If you could start your business, what would it be? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 21, 2003, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-if-you-could-start-your-business-what-would-it-be/150039 "2003-01-21T19:50:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Deej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/53a042/32.png) [@Deej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deej)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-if-you-could-start-your-business-what-would-it-be/150039/21 "2003-01-22T02:04:02Z")
Carry out catering. Good (tasting, not necessarily for you) meals, family style, picked up hot and ready to serve. Tell us how many you need to feed, you provide the beverage and dinner’s on the table. Meatloaf, baked potaotes, and greenbeans. Spinach lasagne, fresh green salad and garlic bread. Roast chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob. Friday night fish dinner, either baked or fried. Complimentary desserts with every serving. Home cooked comfort food, available every day of the week. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-if-you-could-start-your-business-what-would-it-be/150039/22 "2003-01-22T03:37:00Z")
Assuming “business” means profitable enough to sustain itself (and me) passably after start-up… **pet sitting**. Actually I’ve researched it fairly thoroughly, as a distant dream against a distant retirement. (I know too many gritty realities about publishing/public demand, etc. to want the bookstore route.) A lot depends on demographics (i.e. market demand) balanced with the fact that it can be very time and labor intensive. The huge _plus_ side is caring for loved critters, in their own homes. Research says the _down_ side usually is dealing with the owners, natch. (“Oops, we forgot to tell you about the alarm system?!”) It could be , if done well, rewarding in all senses. Veb ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-if-you-could-start-your-business-what-would-it-be/150039/23 "2003-01-22T03:49:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ringo \* > \*\*If I do it again, it’ll probably be an oil and gas exploration company. Or a T-shirt shop at the beach. \*\* You’ll make more money and meet more chicks with the T-shirt shop. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-if-you-could-start-your-business-what-would-it-be/150039/24 "2003-01-22T03:51:42Z")
\*\*Ryan \*\* your ideas aren’t odd, to the rest of us, they resemble hard work. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-if-you-could-start-your-business-what-would-it-be/150039/25 "2003-01-22T04:02:53Z")
Another one that is something that I toy with alot because I drive alot. Some kind of shuttle kids to soccer, scouts, school, parties, whatever service. The reason behind this is that we live on the border between two school districts. Either one we send our kids too are the first ones picked up for school - usually 6-630am and last ones dropped off, around 4ish. That is just wrong. I always knew I would drive my kids to school, I might as well make some mula off of it. Tell me what you think: So, rather than become a bus driver for the district and go by their rules, I could have a ‘first come first serve’ daily sign up for runs to school and charge a minimum fee. Say 3 one way, 2 round trip or pre pay and get a punch card. This would be idea for kids who are habitually late and over sleep. Or miss the bus. Also, parents who cannot take off of work in the middle of the day to run their kids to the dentist, I could take them there for a fee and wait. This is ideal as many people cannot cram any more commitments into their weekends. Same thing for dance and soccer and feild trips for scouts. Kinda a limo service for kids in a safe enviroment. My dog will be on board too, because I can. 😃 I was even thinking of having a laptop/printer/internet port on board for the kids for that last minute homework assignment. ( All for a fee, naturally, but reasonable. I remember being broke…not like I am now. 🙂 ) I could call it Are We There Yet?™ or M.O. T. R.™ Mom on the Run My husband thinks I’m insane, but I was drooling over one of those airport shuttle type busses at the Detroit Auto Show. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-if-you-could-start-your-business-what-would-it-be/150039/26 "2003-01-22T04:04:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by XJETGIRLX \* > \*\* > Either that or a laundromat/bar. > > I have a thing for combos. \*\* As if laundromats don’t already have enough weirdos, lets give them booze ! Throw in a tattoo parlor and you have the ultimate business idea. ---
**Author:** ![XJETGIRLX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9fc29f/32.png) [@XJETGIRLX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XJETGIRLX)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-if-you-could-start-your-business-what-would-it-be/150039/27 "2003-01-22T04:08:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shirley Ujest \* > \*\*As if laundromats don’t already have enough weirdos, lets give them booze ! > > Throw in a tattoo parlor and you have the ultimate business idea. \*\* Heh, actually I’d go for that if not for the sheer volume of the waiver I’d have to present to patrons. (It’s probably outright illegal, though) I figure a bar/laundromat is a great place to meet people, and might make a killing in a college town such as this. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-if-you-could-start-your-business-what-would-it-be/150039/28 "2003-01-22T04:10:25Z")
**Shirley** , there was a gal here who started one like that a couple years ago. For a fee, she would pick up your child at school/sports/dance class/ and take them to /sports/dance class/home or whatever. She did pretty well until the taxi drivers began hollering that she had to get a taxi license and all that yada. Ditto on the hard work. I vote for a neighborhood cafe/bar which would be open when I felt like it. ---
**Author:** ![carlotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@carlotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlotta)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-if-you-could-start-your-business-what-would-it-be/150039/29 "2003-01-22T04:36:57Z")
Two ideas A thrift store …because I love thrift stores. It would feature weekly markdowns of unsold stuff, regular bag sales, easy drive up, anytime donation dropoff and pickup of large donations. And try on rooms. And public restrooms. And I get first crack at all the stuff! An indoor playland. Where I live we have the good fortune to have a good-sized chunk of the year either too hot, too cold or too rainy to play outside. This would not be like ChuckECheese or McDonalds. No arcade games, no flashing lights, no kid habittrail tunnels. Food would be sold, but you wouldn’t have to buy it to come in. Good quality playground equipment over soft surfaces, dress up stuff, water play table, sand table, no choking hazards, good sight lines (so it’s easy to keep track of your kids) well placed cushy seating for parents. Admission would be charged, but only like $2 a kid, no charge for caregivers. The real money maker would probably be the coffee bar for parents. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-if-you-could-start-your-business-what-would-it-be/150039/30 "2003-01-22T05:21:49Z")
carlotta, were we seperated at birth? I love thrift stores too and want to invent some kind of indoor play land, but with some kind of instant de-germ-ifyer and steam cleaning the stuff they play on every hour. Not that my darling children have ever gotten sick at Mc Petri dish. ---
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-if-you-could-start-your-business-what-would-it-be/150039/31 "2003-01-22T05:32:07Z")
Drive in movie theater Gun shop with shooting range Charter aircraft service that specializes in Mile-High flights Kit airplane manufacturer ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-if-you-could-start-your-business-what-would-it-be/150039/32 "2003-01-22T05:44:26Z")
Tiny: Tea shop (like a coffee shop except it serves tea) Small: Restaurant + tea shop with Net access and book section Medium: Computer games developer Large: Media (TV or newspaper) Huge: Biotech ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-if-you-could-start-your-business-what-would-it-be/150039/33 "2003-01-22T05:53:32Z")
Editor and proofreader. Or, the owner of a shop that sell coffee, magnets, and pretzels. It will be called Twisted Coffee Attraction. ---
**Author:** ![Broken\_Doll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbce88/32.png) [@Broken\_Doll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broken_Doll)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-if-you-could-start-your-business-what-would-it-be/150039/34 "2003-01-22T06:20:28Z")
Mmm… my own business. I’ve been toiling with this idea for a while and I want to open a record shop that sells second-hand albums, as well as clothing, hand-made jewellery, second-hand books with an internet cafe attached and so forth. Also, a second-hand bookshop with a cafe inside that has live bands at night, poetry readings, group meetings and so forth. Mmmm… ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-if-you-could-start-your-business-what-would-it-be/150039/35 "2003-01-22T09:15:14Z")
If location/clientele/cost isn’t a worry: Book store. Possibly with a large used/antique section. In the real world: English Language School. This one isn’t really a fantasy, had I not been hired by the company I’m working at now, I would have become a freelance tutor. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-if-you-could-start-your-business-what-would-it-be/150039/36 "2003-01-22T10:24:13Z")
A lunch cafe. An American-style lunch cafe with a distinct Pennsylvania twist, right here in Oslo. Our specialty would be real Philly cheesesteaks, of course, but we’d also have other freshly-made sandwiches on real bagels or kaiser rolls, with a side of Utz potato chips (this is a fantasy and I can import them if I want to), homemade cole slaw, and a genuine kosher dill pickle spear. We’d also have a selection of brownies and cookies, it goes without saying. Once a month or so we’d have a kick-ass Sunday Brunch Buffet, complete with the world’s best pancakes and home fries with plenty of onions. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-if-you-could-start-your-business-what-would-it-be/150039/37 "2003-01-22T10:27:09Z")
A sports team merchandise store. I would sell t-shirts, jerseys, jackets, collectables, ets… A small store and a website. ---
**Author:** ![Erroneous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71c47a/32.png) [@Erroneous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erroneous)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-if-you-could-start-your-business-what-would-it-be/150039/38 "2003-01-22T10:54:45Z")
A Segway hut, operating inside the city zoo. I like the idea of Segways, but the only place I can see them taking off would be in a confined area that’s got wide paths which already allow wheelchair access, and I think people would much rather hire one for an afternoon or a day than spend US$5,000 on one. Or, a calzone hut (I have a thing for huts, apparently). Maybe even a calzone street vendor chain. My calzones would be lovely soft warm cheesy creations. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-if-you-could-start-your-business-what-would-it-be/150039/39 "2003-01-22T11:32:14Z")
I would crossbreed centipedes with pigs and quickly become the “King of Ham”. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-if-you-could-start-your-business-what-would-it-be/150039/40 "2003-01-22T12:42:22Z")
I’ve had a few ideas. Coffee shop/cyber cafe (Lots around here though) Used book store (same as above) After hours club/RPG club (a friends idea actually but he’s getting me excited about it. And he may actually open it!) A sewing store (Pins and Needles, solely for sewing related crafts. Though I may put crochet and knitting in as well) An RPG bookstore (but we have several around here already as well) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-if-you-could-start-your-business-what-would-it-be/150039.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-if-you-could-start-your-business-what-would-it-be/150039.md?page=3)