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Brilliant Business Ideas: Turn Useless By-Products Into Cash

Anybody who is looking for brilliant business ideas needs to study the life of a man called Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Corporation.

In case you don’t know who this man is, Henry Ford was the inventor of the Ford Model T – the first mass-produced automobile in the world. The man literally invented the assembly line which is used in industries all over the world today. The assembly line invention was significant because it enabled Ford to increase production and produce many more cars than before.

But what I want to focus this post on was another business he was involved in which very few people took interest in. This business genius took the wood scraps that were left over from the production of his Model T’s and turned them into charcoal briquettes (used in cooking and heating).

This “side venture” (built off of by-products) became so profitable that he built a separate charcoal plant and founded the Ford Charcoal Company, which was later renamed Kingsford.

There are obvious by-products or waste that are generated by many enterprises. To give an example, there is saw dust which is generated by sawmills. This can be put to a lot of profitable use. For instance it can manufacture particleboard and even fireplace logs.

It is said that every art of creation has a byproduct which means that whatever business you are doing or want to do is sure to generate “waste” which is actually a byproduct that you can turn into huge profits.

A few of the brilliant business start-up ideas in my book involve making huge profits from byproducts and they don’t have to be your own byproducts. I hope that gets you thinking in the right direction.

But let me tell you another true story from right here in Kenya about a company that made huge profits from the waste it was generating.

Everybody knows about Nation newspapers. The company publishes the highest circulating daily newspaper in the region. A few years ago they had a serious problem. The price of oil, as always was on the rise and the cost of distributing their newspapers was growing alarmingly. The waste they generated was the extra space in the huge pick up vans that remained when the newspapers were packed to be delivered to various towns and destinations. There was even more “waste” when the van came back from delivering the newspapers virtually empty. What a waste.

And so they devised a way to turn the “waste” or by-product into huge sums of money. They launched a courier service to deliver letters and packages all over the country. They called the company Nation couriers. Immediately they had a huge advantage because newspapers are delivered daily and they usually have a very tight delivery schedule because daily newspapers are perishable products that must be delivered on time. Today’s newspaper cannot be sold tomorrow. It has to be sold today and preferably early in the day. And so Nation courier could promise it’s customers that the package will reach it’s destination without fail the next morning.

This brand new overnight courier service created from a “waste product” has made huge profits for the Nation media group and also makes their newspaper delivery very efficient.

Take a closer look around you.

What is being wasted?

Can you turn it into profits?

10 Key Steps to Turn Your Mobile App Idea Into Reality

Many people and companies are coming up with new mobile app ideas to make it big in their field. They either want to reach a new audience or better serve their existing customers.However, people are relatively unaware of the steps or process needed to turn a mobile app idea into reality. Due to lack of ability and information among startups and established companies, most of them don’t know how to go about shaping the app idea.

I have helped several companies build their mobile app. Here are the 10 key steps I have followed in my 6 years of experience. I believe that my list can help anyone from any industry get their mobile app idea turned into reality.

Step 1: Write down your feature list

Conceptualize your idea begins by taking some notes. Before doing anything, you should write whatever comes to your mind. Writing down the feature list on a piece of paper helps you focus on your idea and expand on it. I recommend writing your idea several times and in many ways. This list also will be helpful when you are discussing with your co-founders, designers, investors or developers; they all are going to ask for it. Note that you should have them sign an NDA before you share your feature list. Your feature list should be clean and easy to understand. Also make sure it has popular and unique features, which will play the major role in success of your product.

Step 2: Do the market research

After writing your strong list of features, you want to do market research to find the competition, trends and market needs. Make sure there are no similar apps in the market. If there are, find out their reviews, ratings, feedback, and what is missing in them. Add features in your app that would make it unique and more attractive to the audience. After doing market research, you should update your feature list.

Step 3: Identify the users/audience

It is very important to find who would use your app and who the audience would be for your product. Your users are from a particular industry, gender, region, age group, existing customers, income group, specific profession, or any other group. Once you identify some demographics about the audience, you can find out what people from these demographics prefer or like. Knowing your audience helps you re-engineer your app and the features in it to cater to them. Your whole project moves around user engagement. You can also conduct focus group studies to find out what your audience may like or dislike. Your audience will decide your product’s success, and this insight from focus study can go a long way in defining product success.

Step 4: Identify the monetization strategy

Making money is the biggest reward and energizes for your idea. You can make money from your app idea in several ways: subscription fee, in-app buy, in-app ads, user data, sponsorship. You want to know which one works for your app, audience and market. Launching a paid app does not work these days, but you can make the app free with in-app purchase option for more functions. In-app ads are also losing their shine these days due to user experience. Having user data is becoming a big monetization technique, as you can use it to make indirect money. You can find sponsorship for the app; this works for an app with a social mission. It is important for you to select 1 or 2 techniques that would give you good return on investment.

Step 5: Create a rough sketch/wire frame

You may not have done it before, or may not know how to do it. However, the rough sketch or wire frame helps you define the concept and refine the requirements of your product. You can draw a rough sketch using paper and pencil, while a wire frame can be created using online tools. When you start doing the sketch/wire frame, you will be able to polish your app idea and features list further. Also, this helps you decide the proper navigation of the application. You don’t need technical skills for this step, but you need to have a common-sense understanding of how navigation works. Your wire frames, along with your feature list, will create very good specifications for you to build the mobile app.

Step 6: Approach local mobile app developers and get estimates

Once you have your first version of the feature list and wire frame, you want to start identifying vendors who can build your mobile app in a high-quality, cost-effective way. You should search for local vendors and some global vendors and reach out to them. Once you shortlist 5 to 6 good vendors, have them sign the NDA and send them the project details. A good vendor should check your details and ask you lots of questions. You should make sure to answer them in detail so that your idea is fully communicated. A good vendor should also be able to give you some suggestions to improve your idea. You should get proposals from multiple vendors, with time and cost for development, and compare them. You should check the vendors on past performance, process, price, time, testimonial and their eagerness to work for you. Finally, you should be able to select one vendor and start working with them.

Step 7: Complete the UI/UX

Once you have selected the company, you should work with them to create the UI/UX of the app. You should have them first create the detailed wire frame of the application so that you can visualize each screen, function and flow of the application. After review, you can decide to add or remove features. Once the wire frame is complete, you want them to create the visual design of the application. It should give the color, theme, fonts and visual appeal for your idea. This step will give you a near-final picture of what your mobile app would look like and how it would flow. After completing it, have your vendor reevaluate the development plan, time and cost. If the first estimate of time/cost has increased, get more funding or cut some of the features. You want to pay the right value to your mobile app developer.

Step 8: Get the app developed and tested

Have your app developer start building the app for you. They should be able to send you the app (in progress) every week and you should be able to test and give them feedback. It is very essential for you to QA the app as they develop it, as this helps you control the quality, cost and timeline, and learn whether the mobile app needs some tweaks. You can involve your friends in the testing as well. If you come up with new sets of features during the development, discuss those with your app developer and get the time and cost estimate. If it fits your budget, get it done right away. If not, wait for the next phase.

Step 9: Launch the app and market it

Once you are satisfied with the app, launch it in the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store. You should also start marketing the app. Get some consulting from experts on app marketing. You can also do self-marketing. Start on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as this is an easy way to spread the word about the app. You should also reach out to reporters and bloggers who may be interested in your app and write about it. A press release on free sites or a paid site can be very handy. If you have more in your budget, you can hire a PR or app marketing company.

Step 10: Gather market response and prepare for the next phase

After the first launch and marketing, you can collect user data, market response and demand. If you receive a good response, you can plan the next phase for the app. Repeat Step 1 through 9 for the next phase. This time, you should be able do them a lot faster and more efficiently. If the app is not received well in the market, find out what is hampering growth and have a plan of action.

New Energy Future – We Need to Turn More Green Business Ideas Into Action

The way forward lies in green investment. No, I’m not talking about dollars, though that too will follow inevitably. I’m talking about greening your small business. And the many successful entrepreneurs who have managed to build sustainable businesses without sacrificing ethics or the environment.

The Obama government has set apart billions of dollars to encourage green business ideas and initiatives. Various finance sources such as tax credits, loans and grants are available to fund green buildings and energy efficient ventures at national, state and local levels. Homeowners, businesses, non-profit organizations and government organizations can take advantage of these opportunities to convert their green ideas into action.

Alternative renewable energy sources harness natural resources. Solar energy, wind farms, biogas digestion, rain water, biomass briquettes, helioculture are some examples of alternative renewable energy. Solar panels and installers are being used by many businesses, schools and homes to generate heat and electricity.

Top companies of various industries are taking responsibility to reduce their ecological footprint by slashing greenhouse gas emissions. Though saving money and reducing risks are the main incentives driving these initiatives, every effort is crucial in combating climate change. Green consulting agencies help businesses green their premises and inculcate green business practices amongst its employees. Energy efficient products conserve energy and reduce bills for consumers.

Businesses should support green initiatives with the necessary infrastructure and processes. Energy-efficient computers, monitors, printers, fax machines, scanners, copiers and multi-function devices that automatically power down during extended inactivity save 50% energy or more. Laptops are much more energy efficient than desktops. Consider upgrading your employees to laptops.

Taking business operations online reduces usage of paper and printing ink. Sending customers online receipts of sales instead of paper is another step. Online operations also improve business efficiency as data can be managed in a better way. Businesses should use recycled products wherever possible – paper, packages, toilet paper, etc. Wastage of water should be minimized by installing water saving devices in bathrooms and cafeteria. Energy efficient vending machines are equipped with refrigeration and lighting controls and save up to 30% energy. The key is to save wherever and whenever possible.

Where there is a will, there is a way. Nothing rings truer when one sees the amazingly innovative small green businesses sprouting across the globe. Typical examples are BTTRventures – a 100% sustainable urban mushroom farm that utilizes recycled coffee grounds from Peet’s Coffee & Tea, founded in Berkeley, CA by two 2009 grads; Turning Point Brewery – Canada’s first sustainable brewery; GRID Alternatives – provides renewable energy and energy efficiency services to low-income homeowners and community members.

There is never a better time than now. While businesses are doing their part to conserve the ecological system, it is also every individual’s moral responsibility to build a safe and healthy future for the next generation. By respecting our environment and following green practices at home and office, we pass on the right education to our children. Reduce, reuse and recycle – this is the mantra we all need to incorporate into our lifestyles.