

If you're looking for startup ideas this might help - samh
http://www.querycell.com/Business_Forum_Discussion.html

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acgourley
This thread caught my eye:
<http://www.mechanicslounge.com/showthread.php?t=4982>

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iamcalledrob
If this (screenshot of UI) is what people are paying $250/m for, and it's the
best thing around then it looks like room for a simpler web based solution.

<http://www.m1products.net/sms/manager/images/orderscreen.jpg>

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nopassrecover
The market is the biggest problem - mechanics probably don't have a decent
internet connection at work to start with, don't want to learn new software,
and wouldn't even think to look for new software.

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samh
Im not sure about that. How many mechanics in the world are there ? A lot. So
even if a small percentage have internet and are willing to try new stuff it
could well be a market that is worth tens or hundreds of millions. Maybe.

How many mechanics have email ? I think a large percentage.

How many people starting up new mechanic businesses are in their 30s or even
20s and reasonably net savvy ? I imagine quite a few.

Course these questions are best answered with some research and discussion
with mechanics.

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nopassrecover
Definitely, it just reminds me of PG's musings on "Art Museums Online" because
of my own past (but limited) research into this market.

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avk
Another great technique that I read about recently: be the opposite of
secretive <http://cdixon.org/2010/03/14/developing-new-startup-ideas/>

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SlyShy
If you are looking for startup ideas, start talking to customers, basically.

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samh
Well yeah, I mean you don't necessarily have customers per se but get out and
talk to people with real problems.

People who have money at stake in some way is probably best.

My 2 cents anyway.

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samh
Also I like the idea of non-glamorous businesses. There is an English saying
"Where there's muck there's brass".

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akshaybhat
This link is a perfect example of how a tangential article is being used to
boost page rank of his website.

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samh
Do you think it is spammy ? I think it adds value. What happened was It
occured to me as a useful thing to post and then I considered which of my
websites to put it on.

I think google does a pretty good job of providing good incentives. I mean
there are a lot of people competing to create content that other people are
interested in. That's a lot better than many of the alternatives.

My 2 cents.

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akshaybhat
I never complained its spammy! It is one of the useful ways of boosting your
page rank and getting it linked.

