Brainstorming

// July 13th, 2008 // Online Experience, Personal, QOTW, Work/Volunteer

Is it just me or has blogging/commenting died off now that summer has rolled around? I know I’ve been wandering around the four corners of the world (okay, more like two) so Ubiquitous has taken a backseat.  I’ve got to get back into the “blogging habit” again, instead of just staring in awe at all the fashion pieces in my Google Reader feed.

Anyway, I’ve been doing a lot of brainstorming in the last little while, about possibly starting a small (read: minuscule) business. Blogging for money does not count. And no, I’m not dropping out of university silly. It’s just something small on the side that may need a lot of time and effort at the startup, but will eventually just self-propagate forward while bringing in much-needed revenue. I had it on my to-do list this summer to form an idea and a structure, since I’ve got all this post-IB free time/utter boredom.

The obviously possibility is doing something design-related on the Internet. Whether it’s providing web design service, selling premade layouts, or - if I must stoop so low - selling teen-bopper glitter graphics (brb, need to puke). Watch me go underground and resurface as some ditzy fourteen year-old selling BlEnDz & gLitTeRz of Keira Knightley… or was it Ashley Tisdale who’s in fashion at the moment?! Lmao. *shifty eyes* Okay that HOPEFULLY, won’t happen.  As for the other options, since I haven’t even bothered to fully customize the layout for my BLOG, I doubt I will proceed to design others. It’s no that I’m bad at coding or designing (I’m rather proud of my contribution to Youth Parliament as the Minister of Internet Affairs - what an er… interesting title *cough*), it’s just I’m not sure it’s my calling. I’ve made a meager amount $1200 bucks doing web designing in the last few years. A lot of the sites I did were volunteer/non-profit work, so I didn’t charge for them. I could still take on contracts, but this isn’t what I’m looking for for an enterprise.

The next idea is something that a friend has been pitching to me on MSN for the oh… past 2 agonizing hours. Ladies and gents, don’t you find yourselves under attack once you let the world know that you can put together a website? What my friend wanted was a niche site that works as a rebate program for large businesses such as Ebay, Amazon, or Chapters. Basically, we link products on our page and offer discounts (original discounts from the Giants mentioned above, sort of as affiliate marketing) to a target audience which we decided will be college students. The margin between the two discounts is our profit. I told him that from a business perspective, it’s a good and simple idea. But from the programming/e-commerce standpoint, it’s just not worth the effort. What we have to consider are Search Engine Optimization, PageRank, site programming, manual updates (eep!) etc. I’ve always been the pessimist who believed that little business startups do not win when they 1) compete against or 2) work with big corporations, a lesson taught by experience. Oh I miss the naivety shown in my peers which I used to possess.

Option number three will be left for future considerations, as I missed my opportunity this summer. In succint terms, I would basically purchase bulk quantities of unique and trendy goods (purses, handcrafted random things, cards, ipod covers and whatnots) as well as raw materials from China at a very discounted price - haha knowing all the hidden meccas with cheap goods really come in use now - ship it over, and sell them online either as is (Ebay) or remade (Etsy, for the raw materials). I will start small of course as I can

  • Ship in my own luggage whenever I go back
  • Get my friends (I swear 1/2 of the ppl at my IB Prom are in China right now) to store it in their luggages, and pay them a small service fee
  • Or ship in bulk containers - isn’t that what Walmart is doing?! Lol.

Hmm… now that I wrote this down, it sounds like I’m about to open my own Online Dollar Store. OKAAAY! I seriously need something totally less lame/cliché/financially impossible. All those ppl on Etsy who are becoming rich with handcrafted items one sale at a time - I really admire them.

I could always try some subscription thing, start a new magazine (oh boy!), join affiliate networks (read: SCAM!!), or well… get a job.

QOTW: Have you ever wanted to start a business (of ANY sort)? What kind of ideas did you have and how did they turn out?

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11 Responses to “Brainstorming”

  1. Arielle says:
    July 14, 2008 at 10:41 am

    You know, we should be business partners. Since you will be at Berkeley and all ;)

    You’re moving in on August 23, right?

  2. Crystal says:
    July 14, 2008 at 12:25 pm

    @ Arielle - Sadly, my parents refused to pay for the Berkeley tuition (about $200 000 for us Internationals) so I’ll be staying local going to University of British Columbia instead. Have fun being a golden bear! I know I’m definitely missing out.

  3. Regina says:
    July 14, 2008 at 5:36 pm

    Hm… very ambitious indeed, well, you’re a lot more ambitious than I am, that’s for sure. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to start my own business. :razz:

  4. Kristine says:
    July 14, 2008 at 5:53 pm

    I’d choose option three and getting a job at the same time. You have time to spare especially during the summer, so make as much money as you can. :neutral: I’m sorry your parents refused to pay for the Berkeley tuition!

  5. Clem says:
    July 15, 2008 at 1:17 pm

    I would really love to have an internet-based job too. I really want to have more money, and though I’m legally allowed to work now, I have a feeling that most people wouldn’t hire me because I would be younger than the other applicants.

  6. Yara says:
    July 15, 2008 at 2:49 pm

    Good luck Crystal! I’ve always had a dream of creating my own clothes and selling them in my garage (ROFL at that detail) and one day I do hope to atleast try to make it happen. :grin:

  7. Arielle says:
    July 15, 2008 at 3:35 pm

    That’s horrible! I’m really sad you’re not coming. I’m sure you’ll be top of your class at UBC though ;)

  8. Mimi says:
    July 16, 2008 at 10:45 am

    Being the greedy butt I am, of course! :P I tried to start my own hosting off a reseller, but I lost interest after a couple weeks. I wanted to start a design/coding service, but I’ve been lazy and I still need a resume. My newest idea was to sell Barbie lens (those contact lenses Asians wear to make their eyes bigger), because I know a seller that ships internationally at extremely low prices. We’ll see how that one turns out :)

  9. Nichole says:
    July 22, 2008 at 7:23 pm

    I’ve always had an interest in making money and running a business (it is something I truly enjoy), but I’ve never stuck with one thing for too long.

    In high school, I designed websites and charged $15/hour. Also in high school, I signed up to be a mark representative (I don’t think mark is available in Canada yet?) … which I love but I haven’t had enough time to really make much money off of it.

    And then, I started up a store on cafepress.com. My first store was/is solely non-profit and I donate all the profits to the American Cancer Society. But it did so well that I decided to open another one for profit. It does so-so and would do better if I put more time into it.

    Good luck! It can be a lot of work but if you are anything like me….you will really enjoy it.

  10. Erin says:
    July 22, 2008 at 7:43 pm

    I must have problems because I keep reading blogs and not commenting on them, and I keep coming back to read blogs I’ve already read and write the same comment I probably formulated in my head the first time. -shakes head-

    You’ve got lots of ideas cooking up in your head. I imagine it would be a lot of work to get some of your plans off the ground and for it to start bringing in some decent money, but I know you have the work ethic to do it. I just want to say, don’t stoop to anything you don’t want to do for the money (e.g. selling n00bish graphics) - you have the ambition and skills to get you somewhere, and if you want to start something, you could start something really good. Don’t sell yourself short.

    I have never started a business, although I considered doing a sort of preparation program for chemistry students of my high school - as lots of people just don’t do well in it, and then there’s those who go into the Honors level who barely met the requirements - so to teach the fundamentals early would keep them from being overwhelmed at the start and setting themselves up for doom. I made flyers and the guidance counselors posted them for me in their offices right before scheduling. But I never continued with the advertising or anything so obviously that didn’t get off the ground. It is something I would consider doing in the future though.

  11. TeasasTips says:
    July 29, 2008 at 11:31 am

    I started my own business while living in St Louis a few years back, and it was exhaustive, but rewarding. That’s why the entrepreneurial spirit has never left me. Right now, I am self employed, and doing okay. I do a little writing, a little photography, that sort of thing. I’m also contemplating moving back to STL. One word of advice: find out what you love doing and then turn that into a business. You’ll have more fun that way and be very satisfied even when things don’t go as well as you want. Good luck!

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