50 Business Ideas For Those Who Want To Get Started
Certain periods prove to be conducive to awakening the vocation of the business creator that lies dormant in some of us. The arrival of an economic crisis and its share of uncertainties, the stories of friends left behind after years of loyalty to an employer, or simply the loss of the feeling of belonging to one’s company.
From one day to the next, the need to take control of one’s destiny resonates as obvious. For some future bosses, taking the step is all the easier when they have been mulling over an idea for months or even years. But for others, if the desire is there, the good idea is always waiting. It is for them that we have listed 50 innovative concepts unearthed abroad which are still not very widespread in our regions. It’s up to you to inspire yourself to become a successful entrepreneur!
But beware, from dream to reality, there is often a world. Leaving the comfort of a salaried position for the uncertainty of independence is no picnic. For Philippe Gaemperle, head of Genilem, the support association for new entrepreneurs, it is above all necessary to mature your decision before launching. A good project needs to be prepared well in advance when you can still take advantage of your employment status to work the evenings and weekends in this new company. At Genilem, only one file out of forty on average benefits from the monitoring and support of the association for half a day per month. “We reject a lot of projects, badly put together, badly thought out, and doomed to failure. Besides, the
In addition to a great idea, you have to think about the added value of your product, know how it is different from what exists on the market, and how the company will make money. Then, you need a good dose of realism and anticipation, remembering, for example, that the production of a mass-produced product will have consequences other than the manufacture of a prototype. “In the end, the companies we agree to support have a survival rate of 93% after three years, which is quite an exceptional percentage in the sector of new companies.”
Here is the model to follow, now it’s up to you!
- Sale
- The luxury thrift store
- Second-hand sporting goods
- Free sample store
- The costume irons itself!
- INTERNET
- Sale of razor blades by subscription
- The party shop
- The low-cost garden center
- Make the crowd a sales force
- Buy and sell information
- A safe for digital data
- Rent your parking space
- E-commerce to subsidize software
- MOBILITY
- Stylish cycling helmet
- Electric bike repair
- Sell cargo bikes
- CHILDREN AND ELDERLY PEOPLE
- The children's birthday industry
- The job site for young mothers or young retirees
- Baby luggage delivery
- Video games for senior drivers
- The slide saviors
- FINANCE AND CONSULTING
- Completely independent financial analysis
- The IKEA consulting
- Platform to host hedge funds
- MARKETING AND ADVERTISING
- The great publicity cleanup
- The graffiti wall!
- Turn any surface into an interactive screen
- Multisensory spaces for companies
- Free coffee cups paid for by the pub
- Advertising ashtrays
- TOURISM
- Take a blind city tour
- Develop applications for your region thanks to geolocation
- FOOD, BEVERAGE, HOSPITALITY
- Draft beer at each table
- Treat yourself to chocolate without taking a gram
- The sommelier for dummies
- The grocer cafeteria
- The hotel of broke executives
- The orange juice maker
- The antithesis of energy drinks
- GREEN TREND
- The solar panel champion
- The green wall specialists
- Checklist Library
- Keeping the unemployed fit
- FRANCHISE
- Fast food and French tradition
- The correct calculation
- The Art of Success
- The fisherman's restaurant
- Take advantage of the environmental asset
- Refill your ink cartridges
- Photography in all its states
- With rose water
- "It's time to get started"
- The franchise: a good safety net
Sale
The luxury thrift store
The idea: The wardrobes of city dwellers are full of treasures: almost new classy shoes, a suit bought in a small shop, worn only once for a big occasion, designer bags or belts. But with the economic crisis, the purchasing power of consumers is decreasing. Hence the idea of connecting those who wish to part with part of their wardrobe with potential buyers.
How it works: All you have to do is rent a shop somewhere in town to get into second-hand clothing. But with an expert eye, you do not compromise on quality: only pieces of real interest find their place in the showcase. The clothes are taken on consignment for a maximum of one month and you collect a solid percentage of the sales.
Initial investment: low
Risks: low
Potential return: $$$
Second-hand sporting goods
The idea: Many athletes equip themselves from head to toe before realizing that this equipment does not suit them or changing sports. Sports Junkies has turned this observation into a business by guaranteeing the quality of second-hand sports items, unlike Internet sites.
How it works: The first two Sport Junkies stores in Canada have thousands of consignment items. The principle is that each article presented decreases in price by 10% each week. The original owner receives 70% of the final sale price.
Initial investment: low
Risks: medium
Potential return: $$$
Free sample store
The idea: The Chinese have just created Sampleplaza, a showroom filled with new products not yet distributed on the market. Products that consumers can test. For their part, the manufacturers have a large test sales area.
Operation: Consumers pay a fixed annual subscription which allows them to come as often as they wish. Each time, they can leave with five products, provided they complete a form on each of them.
Investment: High
Potential return: $$$$
www.design-studio.cn/case/sampleplaza/html/
The costume irons itself!
The idea: Bringing your suit to the dry cleaners takes time and is expensive. Why not create a costume that cleans itself?
How it works: Thanks to merino wool, a company has managed to develop this revolutionary suit that rinses off a hanger in the shower and, once dry, is impeccable, without the need to be ironed.
Basic investment: low
Risks: low
Potential return: $$$$
INTERNET
Sale of razor blades by subscription
The idea: Some are already a hit by selling socks by subscription. Why not copy the concept for other equally useful items like razor blades?
Operation: To avoid the creation of a large distribution network, everything was bet on the Internet and the subscription. As a result, its prices are much lower than in supermarkets.
Initial investment: average
Potential return: $$$$
The party shop
The idea: The big-box retailers killed off the trick-and-treating stores, but the Party Fiesta franchise is resurrecting them in a modernized form with stores where you can find everything you need to throw a party.
How it works: Located in malls and city centers, Party Fiesta shops contain 10,000 different items ranging from fancy dresses to paper plates. Sales margins are over 60% and the company promises a return on investment in less than three years.
Initial investment: average
Risks: low to medium
Potential return: $$$$$
The low-cost garden center
The idea: At a time of low cost, Garden Price applies the recipes of hard discounters to the garden center. A buoyant concept with an overall gardening market up 3% annually, while consumers are ever more attentive to price.
Operation: Modest premises on the outskirts, limited staff, and margins under pressure. Result: prices 20% to 30% lower than those of the competition.
Initial investment: average
Risks: medium
Potential return: $$
Make the crowd a sales force
The idea: In the crowdsourcing movement, some have imagined the use of Internet users to sell a product or give an opinion on something.
How it works: Site users specify the type of sale they are looking for and the fees they are willing to pay. Interested Internet users can then sell outside the site but return to the latter to collect their salary via PayPal.
Initial investment: low
Potential return: $$
Buy and sell information
The idea: Womzone.com is the first paying platform for exchanging information between individuals. It is intended for both supply and demand.
How it works: You have good information, a good plan, and a tip, and you put them up for sale on Womzone for the price that suits you. If you are looking for information, you publish an ad. Womzone is remunerated by taking a 30% commission on transactions. In France, Womzone launched in 2008 now has 30,000 members and has raised 600,000 euros so far.
Initial investment: low to medium
Risks: low
Potential return: $$
A safe for digital data
The idea: Photos, documents, data… the digitization of information explodes the memory capacities of our computers. Why not create virtual safes for digital values? Wells Fargo has been doing this for a year in Silicon Valley.
How it works: For $4.95 per month, Wells Fargo safe rents the user space of one gigabyte (10,000 Word documents). In addition to the very high level of access security inherited from banking IT, the institution backs up the information and guarantees its durability. The price seems decisive because ABN Amro, which launched a similar but more expensive service, will stop it.
Initial investment: high
Risks: medium
Potential return: $$$$$
www.wellsfargo.com/wfonline/wellsfargovsafe/index
Rent your parking space
The idea: With two million underground parking spaces for rent, Parkopedia has become a benchmark in this area. But why not also rent your private parking space when you are away, whether for a day at work or a holiday period?
How it works: Parkatmyhouse.com offers individual owners of parking spaces to rent them online. It’s free for private renters and owners of private car parks. Professional car park operators pay 15% to the site if they rent a space in this way.
Initial investment: low
Risks: low
Potential return: $
www.parkatmyhouse.com
E-commerce to subsidize software
The idea: When they access a document written with software they don’t have, users most often refuse to download it because they have to pay. To dispose of this software, TrialPay offers them free of charge subject to another purchase in a partner online store.
How it works: TrialPay has agreements with software publishers and e-commerce sites. When the user is offered the software, he has the option of purchasing another item (a Gap sweater, a subscription to The Economist, a DVD rental, etc.). If he does, he receives the free trial software as a bonus for his purchase. The trial is sponsored by the e-merchant at the cost of a successful advertisement (resulting in a purchase) on the Internet.
Origin: Founded in the United States three years ago, TrialPay has 7,500 online merchant partners in America. They have completed over 30 million business transactions through this channel.
Initial investment: average
Risks: low
Potential return: $$$$$
MOBILITY
Stylish cycling helmet
The idea: It’s a safe bet that the bicycle helmet will soon be mandatory. But, for the moment, the helmets available on the market are mostly functional rather than fashionable. So make this utility a fashion item.
How it works: The Yakkay company has developed a helmet cover that makes it downright fashionable and conceals it. Very pleasant to wear.
Initial investment: average
Potential return: $$$$$
Electric bike repair
The idea: We come across more and more electric bikes on the streets. If these are available from traditional bicycle dealers, they are also available in supermarkets. How do fix them quickly?
Operation: a passion for cycling and DIY is essential to embark on this repair activity. To put butter in the spinach, it will be necessary to think of selling used bicycles in parallel. Electric cycles but also traditional bicycles, because the demand for the latter remains enormous.
Initial investment: low
Risks: low
Potential return: $$
Sell cargo bikes
The Idea: Most delivery vehicles are oversized or too heavy for city centers. A cargo bike weighs 100 kilos, it is propelled by the calves of the delivery man helped by an electric motor with a range of 30 kilometers and its load capacity reaches 180 kilos.
How it works: This new means of urban delivery sneaks everywhere and is ecological. Offering delivery services in this mode could be very successful, as could the rental and sale of this type of vehicle.
Initial investment: average
Risks: low
Potential return: $$$
CHILDREN AND ELDERLY PEOPLE
The children’s birthday industry
The idea: To relieve parents of the organization of birthdays, to reduce the costs of entertainment and snacks, game arcades merged with restaurants and franchised the concept.
How it works: The leisure center organizes everything from birthdays and invitations to snack menus, shows, and games. The price is fixed. Generally present in shopping centers, the place is also open to other children whose parents go shopping.
Origin: It was Nolan Bushnell, the founder of Atari, who created the leader Chuck E. Cheese’s in 1977 as an arcade game. There are more than 500 brands in the United States and the company, listed on the stock exchange since 1989, has begun its expansion in Latin America and the Middle East.
Initial investment: average
Risks: medium
Potential return: $$$$$
The job site for young mothers or young retirees
The idea: They are not 100% available but they offer a very interesting helping hand for part-time or short-term missions. And it’s a pool full of talent!
How it works: For each job provided, www.careetmums.com charges a small commission. A real win-win situation.
Initial investment: low
Risks: low
Potential return: $$$$
Baby luggage delivery
The idea: Some families give up going on vacation in the sun, discouraged by the need to take on a plane all the equipment necessary for the daily life of a newborn. Hence the principle of delivering to their holiday residence the pushchair, the travel cot, and all that is useful.
How it works: Two weeks before your departure, all you need to do is register on a website and you will receive a baby care plan. Your luggage is taken care of at your home and delivered to your destination on the day of your arrival on vacation.
Initial investment: low
Risks: low
Potential return: $$
Video games for senior drivers
The idea: The American insurer Allstate recently launched a study program aimed at senior drivers. The goal, reduce accidents and premiums through video games.
How it works: the “Insight” game aims to compensate for age-related cognitive alterations and to improve visual reflexes. According to the first results, accidents would drop by 50% among those who follow the program. Why not offer to the market this software, once the final adjustments have been made, in Switzerland?
Initial investment: low
Potential return: $$$$
www.allstate.com
The slide saviors
The idea: The slides and films of our childhood are condemned to sink into oblivion… unless they are digitized in a format compatible with the Internet.
How it works: Video Forever’s services are available from 500 partner sales outlets and counters. The customer brings his equipment and leaves with images available on DVD and posted on the Internet.
Initial investment: low
Risks: medium
Potential return: $$$
FINANCE AND CONSULTING
Completely independent financial analysis
The idea: Since the Enron affair, the recommendations of the financial analysts of the banks are no longer systematically “buy”. The financial crisis has shaken confidence, however, and the “neutral” recommendation does little to help investors. With either buys or sell recommendations, Alpha Value’s 22 analysts cover 500 European stocks. Financially independent, they no longer have any ties with investment banking, portfolio performance, or brokerage.
How it works: Alpha Value for large caps and IDMidCap for small caps operate on a subscription basis. For professionals, Alpha Value charges 23,000 francs per year for its services. A lighter version at less than 500 francs per year will be launched this fall.
Origin: France. Independent financial analysts are nothing new, but they usually operated alone. Alpha Value has transformed an idea that appeared in the United States with Value Line into a European company.
Initial investment: high
Risks: medium
Potential return: $$$$$$
The IKEA consulting
The idea: By bringing together, once a month, business leaders and SME executives, Vistage has created the management do-it-yourself. Instead of submitting their problems to consultants, the members of the network expose them to their peers. They respond to it for much less and can even play the role of coach.
How it works: Vistage International is a network of 16,000 business leaders and executives who meet in groups of 15 people from companies that are not competitors. Each exposes their problems and the others offer solutions and follow-up based on their experiences.
Origin: Vistage International was founded in 1957 in the United States. Since 2005, thanks to the Internet, it has experienced growth of more than 10% per year and surveys its members to produce a barometer of the confidence of business leaders.
Initial investment: low
Risks: low
Potential return: $$$
Platform to host hedge funds
The idea: Switzerland has a good card to play in the field of alternative management. Traditionally, hedge fund managers are based in London, which has long offered the most attractive conditions. But there, taxes on high earners have recently risen from 40% to 50% and the British authorities are considering raising the tax burden on service companies from 13% to 20%. An exodus of these financiers to more clement skies is then possible.
Operation: To start, you have to find a nice surface of about 600 square meters in a modern building. This surface is likely to accommodate five hedge funds which would work from three to ten traders. These premises must be at the cutting edge of technology (air conditioning, Internet connection, powerful computer system). In addition to the provision of offices, administrative management (back-office, etc.) is provided. In return, a substantial rent or a possible equity investment in alternative funds is required.
Initial investment: high
Risks: high
Potential return: $$$$$
MARKETING AND ADVERTISING
The great publicity cleanup
The idea: At a time of guerrilla marketing where advertisers are always more fond of new ways to talk about themselves and their products, GreenGraffiti, a company based in the Netherlands had the idea to create advertisements in the streets of cities using the power of water alone.
How it works: Armed with a jig and a high-pressure sprayer, the company cleans squares of sidewalks or the surface of walls and the result is a magnificent monochrome advertisement! Neither paper, ink, nor even authorization, this process makes it possible to “print” these messages on the road, sometimes for more than six months.
Origin: Netherlands. The system was created in 2006 by the design company Hemshaven and the guerrilla marketing office GreenGraffiti. Their clients include advertisers Elle, Telfort, Universal Music, and Smart.
Initial investment: low
Risks: low
Potential return: $$
The graffiti wall!
The idea: To offer Street Art fans support to express their talent outside the city walls! Thanks to a screen, artists can now legally use their sprays to create virtual graffiti with paintless sprays.
Operation: These rented screens also make it possible to create animations during various events and could even be of interest to schools and other leisure centers.
Initial investment: average
Potential return: $$
Turn any surface into an interactive screen
The idea: Thanks to software, transform your passive customers into active participants and boast about your strengths in an original and fun way.
How it works: In concrete terms, software projects content onto a given surface, and your bar or a wall that has become a screen can follow the customer’s movements to allow them to get information, play with other people, and surf the Internet. Not new but growing.
Initial investment: low (if one wins a contract with Mindstorm)
Risks: low
Potential return: $$$$
Multisensory spaces for companies
The idea: To offer a much more pleasant place than an austere conference room to sign a contract with a client or host a meeting with collaborators.
How it works: A Canadian company has designed a multisensory space that can be set up anywhere to create an oasis of relaxation and calm where colorful graphics, accompanied by sounds and scents, offer a completely new world of work.
Initial investment: low
Risks: low
Potential return: $$$$$
Free coffee cups paid for by the pub
The idea: Allow companies to offer good cups for drinking hot coffee while saving money since these cups will be free.
How it works: By finding advertisers who want to put an ad on these cups, you pay the price of the cup, the impression as well as your margin and you just have to deliver them to companies wishing to save money. A win-win situation for everyone.
Initial investment: low
Potential return: $$$
Advertising ashtrays
The idea: How to take advantage of the increasingly widespread ban on smoking in restaurants and public places? A Belgian company decided to create an ashtray placed outside buildings with a screen to pass advertisements or any other message.
How it works: Smokers grouped in smoking rooms are captive and attentive to advertising messages projected on the screen. Nestlé, Mars, and Vodafone are already advertisers on this medium.
Initial investment: average
Risks: medium
Potential return: $$$
TOURISM
Take a blind city tour
The idea: Cities compete with ideas to attract tourists throughout the year. To expand the activities offered, hire blind people and create a tour of the city with them according to their perception.
How it works: Tourists, blindfolded, will discover the smells, noises, and textures of this city in a very original way and will keep wonderful memories of it.
Initial investment: low
Potential return: $$
Develop applications for your region thanks to geolocation
The idea: GPS will soon be fitted to all cell phones. Why not develop applications that allow people passing through to discover your region?
How it works: Guide tourists step by step to the best walks in the city, the best restaurants normally inaccessible to tourists, introduce them to unexpected points of view on the city and negotiate commissions with the partners you talk about on the route.
Initial investment: high
Risks: medium
Potential return: $$$
FOOD, BEVERAGE, HOSPITALITY
Draft beer at each table
The idea: In bars, while waiting for the server to take an interest in them, customers do not consume. And servers are expensive. So one company created a draft beer system that could be installed on every table.
Operation: A tap placed on each table coupled with a system for counting the beers served, allows restaurateurs to limit their staff costs and facilitate consumption by their customers.
Initial investment: low
Risks: medium
Potential return: $$
Treat yourself to chocolate without taking a gram
The idea: Chocolate addicts often have to stop their consumption altogether for health and overweight reasons. The principle is to offer them the same sensations, without the sugar and calories.
How it works: The whif allows you to “eat” chocolate by inhalation. As you inhale, a delicious chocolate sensation settles on your tongue and palate.
Initial investment: low
Risks: low
Potential return: $$$$$
The sommelier for dummies
The idea: White with fish, red with cheese, etc. Amazing Wine Food Company has taken wine and food pairing one step further to sell wine paired with a specific dish.
How it works: The company called on great sommeliers for the choice of wines. His intervention focuses on the packaging. Instead of an appellation or a grape variety, the label highlights the everyday dish that goes best with table wine.
Origin: United States. Leaving California last spring, the “Wine that loves” brand offers ten different wines to accompany roast chicken, pizza, and tomato pasta. It is present at retailers in ten states.
Initial investment: average
Risks: medium
Potential return: $$$$
The grocer cafeteria
The idea: Shopping for groceries, flowers, and newspapers, while taking a coffee break to check your e-mails thanks to the free Wi-Fi, is possible in Paris. The Chez Jean chain responds to the needs of an urban clientele who are angry with the opening hours of traditional shops.
How it works: Open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., the store offers a full range of services, ranging from the outlet for recharging cell phones to the cash dispenser. Croissants in the morning, sandwiches at lunchtime, and in the evening, an “SOS empty fridge” offer with vegetables and gratins.
Origin: France. The concept was launched in early 2009 by the Casino (mass distribution) and Relay (newsstands) groups, a subsidiary of the Hachette group.
Initial investment: average
Risks: low
Potential return: $$
The hotel of broke executives
The idea: Reduce travel costs for business executives.
Operation: The BB hotel chain offers the appropriate services: free Wi-Fi, Canal +, and a simple and functional room for 42 euros per night. And the hearty breakfast at 5.65 euros.
Origin: France. BB was founded in 1990 by a Breton hotelier, the brand was bought out by the French fund Eurazeo and has experienced a 10% increase in its turnover.
Initial investment: average
Risks: medium
Potential return: $$
The orange juice maker
The idea: From its launch, the concept has won over trendy addresses in Zurich. The range of products has been extended to exotic fruit juices and organic teas.
How it works: Shipments of fruit arrive daily at a small factory in the industrial district of Zurich to be pressed overnight. In the morning, they are delivered to restaurants, retailers, and hospitals in the region.
Origin: Switzerland. Founded in 2002 by a Zurich entrepreneur, Zamba now has more than 500 customers, including five-star establishments from the Swiss Deluxe Hotels label.
Initial investment: high
Risks: high
Potential return: $$$$
The antithesis of energy drinks
The idea: At a time when all young people swear by energy drinks, a company has decided to launch a calming drink.
How it works: Instead of giving you a boost, the Slow Cow drink contains theanine which encourages relaxation and promotes feelings of well-being. In addition, this substance is recognized as it increases mental acuity, induces relaxation without causing drowsiness, reduces stress, and improves concentration and quality of sleep. An entire program!
Initial investment: average
Risks: medium
Potential return: $$$$
GREEN TREND
The solar panel champion
The idea: Solairedirect installs solar panels on private roofs as well as in municipal parks.
How it works: The website provides a simulator that makes it possible to assess the savings potential thanks to solar power. The firm provides information on tax credits and subsidies. It also provides long-term maintenance.
Origin: France. A former investment banker created the firm that became a WWF partner three years ago. Between 2007 and 2009, turnover quadrupled to reach 100 million euros.
Initial investment: average
Risks: medium
Potential return: $$$
The green wall specialists
The idea: A wall from which plants grow. An increasingly popular decoration. Heliotrope in Anger provides solutions for indoors and outdoors.
How it works: In 2007, two landscapers developed modular panels that can accommodate the widest range of green plants.
Origin: France. The company has already reaped a harvest of corporate awards and is drowning in orders. She is looking for distributors on her website.
Initial investment: low
Risks: medium
Potential return: $$$
Checklist Library
The idea: How not to forget anything before going on vacation, how to organize your wedding, your divorce, a big party, or the start of the school year for the children?
Operation: A single website but thousands of solutions to all your problems since the designers think of everything for you. Just click on your current problem to find the checklist corresponding to your needs. You’ll get your money’s worth from advertising or by charging for more personalized advice.
Initial investment: low
Risks: low
Potential return: $$$
Keeping the unemployed fit
The idea: Depressed unemployed people tend to let go physically and go out less and less when contacts are very important to find a job. Why not suggest that they play sports and make contact at the same time?
How it works: Paid for by unemployment, badtime Bootcamp courses bring together unemployed people several times a week for a jog or another physical activity. As a result, they keep in shape while taking care of their network.
Initial investment: low
Risks: very low
Potential return: $$$
FRANCHISE
Fast food and French tradition
The idea: Brioche Dorée is the antithesis of McDonald’s and Starbucks.
How it works: The company relies heavily on product quality and hospitality. Via a nine-year franchise contract, it undertakes to find a location, study the state of the local market, and train staff for eleven weeks.
Origin: France. Founded in 1976, Brioche Dorée has 335 restaurants, including 80 franchises in France and 104 abroad.
Initial investment: high. The entry fee into the franchise amounts to 30,000 euros and the total investment required is between 500,000 and 700,000 euros, of which 20% to 30% is borne by the franchisee. Risks: medium. The demand for fast food is high, but the supply is already substantial.
Potential return: $$$
The correct calculation
The idea: CityMath is a franchise specializing in math tutoring.
How it works: CityMath sets up course agencies in towns of 10,000 to 30,000 inhabitants.
Origin: For the moment, this franchise is not present outside of its country of origin, France.
Initial investment: low. With only a 5000 euros entry fee, CityMath is one of the most affordable franchises. The minimum personal contribution is around 11,000 euros.
Risks: medium
Potential return: $$$
The Art of Success
The idea: Do you have an artistic and creative sense, and would you like to use this knowledge to earn a living? Staines Glass Overlay (SGO) is a glass decoration and design franchise.
How it works: Thanks to a patented glass design process, you create stained glass or work on glass intended for residential and commercial markets.
Origin: United States. SGO is also present in 37 countries.
Initial investment: high. The total investment is between 90,000 dollars and 120,000 dollars, including entrance fees, installation of premises, training, and the first marketing campaigns.
Risks: high
Potential return: $$$$
The fisherman’s restaurant
The idea: To offer a range of healthy meals, based on seafood products for fast-food prices, in a minimal but pleasant setting.
How it works: Fish waits on the ice, as if it were auctioned off after fishing.
Origin: Germany. Based in the port of Bremen, the company was founded in 1896 by fishing companies. The label, which operates 400 restaurants in four countries, issues franchises.
Initial investment: average
Risks: medium
Potential return: $$
Take advantage of the environmental asset
The idea: Manage the design, production, installation, and maintenance of equipment such as photovoltaic, thermal, heat pumps, or wind turbines.
Operation: Via its design office and its central purchasing office, Winsolar, Atout Soleil ensures the supply of its franchisees.
Origin: France, with a presence in several European countries.
Initial investment: high.
The minimum contribution is approximately 75,000 euros.
Risks: low
Potential return: $$$$
Refill your ink cartridges
The idea: Refill printer ink cartridges
How it works: Point d’encre offers refills for individuals as well as companies and administrations for more than 300 references, whether color, black, laser, or inkjet cartridges. Origin: France.
Initial investment: average. Point d’encre does not require entry fees from its franchisees, but a royalty of 5% of turnover. The minimum initial contribution is €20,000.
Risks: low
Potential return: $$$$
Photography in all its states
The idea: To bring originality to the photography market, Flash Dimension markets a multitude of products based on its customers’ silver or digital photos: puzzles, keyrings, statuettes, or photo sculptures.
Operation: Flash Dimension provides its franchisees with their know-how, training, and equipment. Origin: France
Initial investment: low. From 10,000 euros.
Risks: low
Potential return: $$$
With rose water
The idea: Selling self-service flowers has made Monceau Fleurs a successful franchise with more than 150 sites.
How it works: The brand has created a purchasing center that sources its supplies worldwide. Franchisees, therefore, benefit from a supply of flowers at competitive prices.
Origin: France, with a presence in Spain, Luxembourg, Portugal, Andorra, Italy, Belgium, Japan, and Germany
Initial investment: high. 80,000 euros minimum initial contribution, including 16,000 euros for entry fees.
Risks: medium
Potential return:$$
“It’s time to get started”
Raphaël Cohen as a business angel, CEO, and professor of entrepreneurship, is an excellent connoisseur of business creation. He gives us his advice.
Conclusion: Is it the right time to start a business in times of crisis?
Raphaël Cohen: For me, there is no better time. During a crisis, balances change and so do the rules of the game. All of this creates opportunities, in particular, because new professions are born while others are disappearing. It’s time to get started.
B: Still need a good idea. How do we know?
RC: First of all, you have to ask yourself if your project meets a real need. As soon as you reduce frustration, you have a good idea. If so, do I have enough competitive advantages to offer over existing alternatives? Then, you have to know if the game is worth the candle. In other words, the efforts that we will deploy to carry out our project will result in an interesting return. Finally, you have to ask yourself if you can cope with factors that will directly influence the success or failure of your project, such as not earning money for a while or not seeing your family.
B: What are the most common mistakes made?
RC: In summary, new entrepreneurs overestimate the demand and underestimate the difficulties as well as the resources required. For example, some master the product they want to launch but they know neither their future customers nor the means of accessing them. Carried away by enthusiasm, they tend to forget the uncertainties linked to their project. This discredits them when they seek financial support.
B: Where do I get the funds?
RC: Relying on banks is illusory. There remain the three “Fs”: Family (family), Friends (friends), and Fools (unconscious). And outside of these three circles, there are still venture capitalists who seek huge and rapid returns on investment, as well as business angels who will invest in the success of the company in areas that they often know very well. good.
B: How do you convince business angels to follow you?
RC: You have to learn to speak their language by presenting them with an opportunity dossier in line with their aspirations. For them, the important thing is to gauge the quality of the entire process. If you are an engineer, show that you have thought about the marketing and distribution aspects of the product. Have an approach that integrates sales and technology. Show determination to succeed while knowing the limits of your project and recognizing your weaknesses. Train yourself in the tools of entrepreneurship so as not to stumble through ignorance, like 40% of start-ups.
B: If you had to give your key to success, what would it be?
RC: To build a successful business, you have to care about people. The product itself does not matter at all, the only interest linked to this product is to know what it can do to satisfy a need of the customer for which the latter is ready to pay. This is the whole point of any business.
The franchise: a good safety net
Ideal for your first steps as a freelancer: the brand owner knows the market and will give you the best advice.
The principle: “Franchising is a ‘business marriage’ between an existing company (the franchisor) and the owner of a new company (the franchisee)”, explains Marc Häsler, a lawyer for the firm MH Law Avocats, in Morges and specialist in franchise agreements.
The advantages: “When you start a business on your own, you inevitably make mistakes: you choose a site that is not conducive, your concept does not find its customers or you choose your products badly. With a franchise, you avoid all these pitfalls,” says Marc Häsler. In addition, the franchisee has the reputation of the brand and a concept that has proven itself. Sectors: Hospitality, clothing, hairdressing, security, gastronomy…, franchises are developing in many areas. “If the contracts are varied, they generally respect the same logic: the franchisee pays an entry fee, then a percentage of its turnover, generally 2% to 10%”, specifies Marc Häsler.
For example, in the Accor hotel group, which has 39 hotels in Switzerland, including 6 franchisees, “the entrance fee is between 400 and 2,500 francs per room. The franchisee must then pay between 5% and 8% of its turnover per month to the group, details Georges Schneider. In return, our franchises benefit from the prestige of our brand, the loyalty of our customers and our reservation system.”
Exemplary successes: The best and most frequently cited model remains McDonald’s. The restaurant chain has 147 establishments in Switzerland, but only 54 belong to the brand. The other 93 are held by 29 franchisees. “The interest for the franchisor is that this type of contract allows development without committing money,” explains Georges Schneider, CEO of Accoren Switzerland. Exactly what is currently pushing Luciano Luppi, director of Harmony Fitness centers, to turn to the franchise. “I created my five centers with my own funds. But today it is more difficult to borrow from banks. To continue to expand Harmony, I will look to the franchise. A first franchise center should see the light of day in 2010.”
Possible failures: Not all activities lend themselves to franchising. “The brand must have proven itself and the activity must not depend on one person,” says Marc Häsler. For example, a restaurant recognized for the quality of its chef does not lend itself to franchising. Without this leader and in another place, it will not work
