The Business Ideas Thread

[Blöp]

I spent some time recently reading through Coburn’s topic about underrepresented legal jobs on the server. Came across many really nice ideas but didn’t really feel we have a place where these ideas can be collected for people who has the time and energy to make and upkeep new businesses. 

 

Another issue we face all the time is not being able to make businesses that are engaging for a bigger audience even though I read many really nice ideas that could bloom into popular and enjoyable things on the server. Some of us have the time and energy and some of us have ten times as many great ideas as others. Let's connect these people.

 

This topic serves one purpose: collect and share business ideas that can be executed by anyone on the server who feels like breaking the Clubs & Cafés & Casinos triangle. There are a few things I wish to happen in this thread, please keep the following in mind.

 

1. The ideas should be well-developed and not just spit in ideas. 
2. The ideas should focus on businesses that can be executed with the currently available scripts and opportunities.
3. The ideas should not focus on super niche businesses unless they can be sustainable. Even though these are super nice and I personally love them, usually they don’t engage too many people and therefore they don’t create a sustainable space for people to socialize.

 

I would like to provide a template that can be used but is not necessary. Either way, please make sure your idea contains the required information so when someone wants to pick up your idea they will have an easier job and fewer things to research. Please keep this thread helpful and don’t be each other's gatekeepers.

 

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Template (optional):

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THE BASICS

Business pitch: (describe your idea in one sentence, treat it as an elevator pitch)
Human requirement: (how many people are required to operate the business and what their roles are)
Financial requirement: (approximately how much money it requires to start this idea and how it breaks down to expenses)
Moodboard: (provide pictures, videos, real-life websites, locations about the execution of this business idea in real life - how it looks like, how people are dressed, etc.)

Legality: (legal / illegal)

 

IN-DETAIL

Write about your idea in detail. Make sure to answer the following questions when writing about your idea.

• How do you imagine this business attracting many people sustainably and how can it create social interaction between characters?
• How will it generate enough income to make it at least break even?
• How can this idea create roleplaying opportunities?
• What situations can be played through it?
• How does the idea stays interesting even if someone plays with you every week?
• What roles need to be filled and what in-character knowledge does the roles require?
• Where can people learn about this topic before they start roleplaying?
• Best sources for further research?

 

Thank you for posting ideas and especially for trying them out in-game. Good luck!

[Coburn]

52 minutes ago, liafriuli said:

The ideas should not focus on super niche businesses unless they can be sustainable. Even though these are super nice and I personally love them, usually they don’t engage too many people and therefore they don’t create a sustainable space for people to socialize.

What suggestions would you have on a sustainable business?

[Blöp]

1 hour ago, Coburn said:

What suggestions would you have on a sustainable business?

Sustainable: Any idea that has the potential to stay around for longer than a year because the roleplaying opportunities it provides are not limited to a single set of actions. 

 

As a bad example, a manga store will probably not stay around for years because the roleplaying opportunities are super limited. A person can go in, eye around, get a few items and probably forget the place for months. 

 

As a good example, a manga franchise, that opens the manga store a few times a week but also organizes monthly/biweekly weeb festivals where they try to entertain the people interested in that niche by creating different themes each time and providing a unique experience every time can be something that stays around for a while. This idea has a lot more space to expand and renew and with dedicated people it can stay interesting.

 

Obviously, these are just random examples to show what I mean by sustainable. An idea (in our case a single manga store) will probably not stay around for too long because simply the idea will become boring after two visits. On the other hand, something that can renew each month, something that can bring in new ideas, new sets of action is something that at least has to potential to stay exciting. 

 

A real-life example I personally witnessed a while ago: a hookah bar. The bar opens up, everybody visited a few times and then slowly died out because it couldn’t offer more than the same ten /me every time. This is not sustainable, doesn’t matter how good the base idea is. It will become boring on both sides after a few times. I will write my own ideas in a few days to show some examples.

Edited March 10, 2022 by liafriuli

[Mahitto]

Just now, liafriuli said:

snip

 

What businesses fit that description, though? There are barely any that were around for that long.

 

It's pretty much impossible to make a profit in most businesses, especially if you go for a more realistic approach and don't settle for the bare minimum of expenses. It's pretty much impossible to find clients who would visit the business and transact over and over, over the course of one or more real-life years. It's pretty much impossible to make sure you always have $20 available to pay for the business blip, exterior furnishing and such, every month, including other real-life expenses that come with running a more complex business (a domain or website, software etc), including the ton of time that's needed to properly set it up and run it. It's pretty much impossible to find reliable employees - most of them barely show up for one shift, some not even that; others are just looking for "great paying jobs"; others are valuable but quit 1-2 weeks in. And more.

 

A year is an extremely long period of time, especially for a virtual character, business, faction. It's pretty damn hard if not straight up impossible for all of these to line up and such place to exist. The only way for a business to last that long is if it is a faction business, and thus is a hangout for said faction, although very few factions last that long in the first place.

[knppel]

As for sustainability of businesses, I think a major issue is the rules that forbid business owners to employ full time managers for a business- and thus indirectly encourages people to not (as one would realistically) seek a job in said area (business management), but rather to apply for own concepts.

And while niches are supported typically by PM, it's not rocket science to figure out tried and tested concepts (read: Nightclub) are still amongst the more popular and often requested.

 

This rule setting also, if consequently applied, forces businesses into shutting down as soon as the owner's not available full time to manage it themselves (due to them not being allowed to have a full time manager keeping it running technically).

 

Personally, I think settings with owners where managers are in case also held responsible ic are much more benefitial than forcing people to apply for own businesses - all this leads to is novels only staff will ever read why character X needs an own business to be able to manage one (even when direct ownership is all too often not the ic concept applied. Irony.)

[Power]

Quote

• How do you imagine this business attracting many people sustainably and how can it create social interaction between characters?

 

So the only type of business that are in a position to do that are ones offering actually tangible script services like Dealerships, Mechanics, Interior Designers etc. Very limited in what businesses I can do that. I run a Lawfirm and some weeks business is great, some weeks no clients at all so not reliable enough for me to justify say maintaining a stuff nor is it economical. 

[Anders]

I run a isp and I feel offended by this.

 

 

 

[Coburn]

4 hours ago, Anders said:

I run a isp and I feel offended by this.

 

 

 

As a person who runs a pest control company, I'm also offended by this.

[Anders]

12 minutes ago, Coburn said:

As a person who runs a pest control company, I'm also offended by this.

It's easy to make any kind of businesses in this community proven by many niche stuff like pest  control, ISP, lawn working, general laborer and cleaning etc.

 

The only problem is that people do not want to bother about it cuz its not script items you get. It's RP. For a heavy roleplay "realism" server, we sure hate roleplay. 

 

It dosn't add any script benefits in the end, just rp benefits.

[Mahitto]

2 hours ago, Anders said:

The only problem is that people do not want to bother about it cuz its not script items you get. It's RP. For a heavy roleplay "realism" server, we sure hate roleplay. 

 

Yup, but the bigger problem is with employees, and it extends to all business, not just the niche/RP-only ones. It's extremely hard if not straight up impossible to find long-term employees. No one wants to come back after an 8-hour shift or classes to idle behind a counter for 4-5 hours, out of which 90% is AFKing and the rest is boring RP. It's impossible to find someone to stick around and put in the time. Even the ones who do look promising will only stick around until they can open their own business, make enough money, or get bored after 1-2 weeks.

 

This makes it pointless to role-play any meaningful training or interactions, when you know for a fact they'll be gone by the end of the week.

 

Ultimately, this isn't really anyone's fault. Can't blame management or the staff team for this, it's just the way it is. We have to deal with it, I guess. We can come up with all of the ideas, but having no one to RP with and for is almost always the biggest dealbreaker there is.