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Ask HN: what lifestyle business could I help to create for my mom?

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Re: Ask HN: what lifestyle business could I help to create for my mom?

#21

Post by monk-e-boy »

geekfactor wrote: post #5
vaksel wrote: post #2

She should just stick with what she knows, since she has some expertise in that. A few possibilities there: 1. a business that organizes all these business nomads out there. Does all the necessary research, finds out all the services that are needed etc. Instead of 1 person moving at a time, it'd be a group of 200. Instead of arriving and knowing noone in the area, you arrive with 200 people you know. Instead of gett…

I really like idea #2. Call it something like WorkTheWorld.com. Work out all the details for folks who just want to live and work someplace else for a while. It's something I think a lot of people want to do but it seems too hard for most. This service could make it easier. For independents, pre-screen living situations with fast internet, find the best language courses, identify meetups and other groups that they mi…

My SO just went to Uganda to volunteer in a primary school. It was a right faf to organise and was completely chaotic. I'd pay a few hundred just for the peace of mind that someone who isn't a complete moron was working out all the details.

Re: Ask HN: what lifestyle business could I help to create for my mom?

#23

Post by anamax »

> My mom is a travel agent working in a physical travel agency.

How about an on-line travel agency?

Of course, she'll be competing with the other online travel agencies, so she might need to zig where they zag.

For example, they invest heavily in adsense/adwords. I wonder if she could find enough customers by being a participant in on-line conversations. (Yes, they also run blogs, and they probably will ban her from their blogs, but there are lots of other conversations.)

Re: Ask HN: what lifestyle business could I help to create for my mom?

#24

Post by sambeau »

I would go with an online niche/specialist version of what she knows best: travel.

I have a friend who has made a living arranging & supplying tours for cyclists: arranging the route, supplying the bicycles, booking the hotels, printing maps etc.

What other specialist knowledge is there to call upon in family and friends?: her hobbies, your hobbies etc. Is there any two things you could combine?

Obviously you would know your local area better than a foreigner and the web is wonderfully accessible to travellers.

There are many interesting possibilities for automated web services, online mapping software, GPS etc, but it is more important to present a human touch. I would sooner get a hand-drawn map that imparted real expert human knowledge than a Google map.

I think that Square opens up all sorts of interesting possibilities for small businesses and sole traders, too.

Re: Ask HN: what lifestyle business could I help to create for my mom?

#25

Post by blender »

How about an Avon rep?

As a travel agent I'm guessing she liked interacting with people and she probably can contact those same people she serviced as a travel agent for her home-based Avon business.

My wife has been with Avon for years. It does take some time to build up a clientèle and team but you can make okay money at it. It depends how extensive of a network you have and how much time and effort you're willing to put into it.

Cheers

Re: Ask HN: what lifestyle business could I help to create for my mom?

#26

Post by joshuaheard »

Combine travel with another one of her interests and make a DVD (a la "4 Hour Work Week"). For instance, if your mom is into wine, make a DVD of all the wineries in a certain region. It could include reference statistics that she could research. People that are going to travel there could use the DVD as a guide or load it into their cell phones as an app.

Re: Ask HN: what lifestyle business could I help to create for my mom?

#27

Post by migpwr »

I didn't do it for my mom, but helped my ex-wife launch a small business on Etsy. I would recommend looking into some hobbies she has and stuff she is familiar with.

My ex-wife orders cute buttons for clothes from japan/korea, repackages them individually, and sells them on Etsy. It works pretty well and makes her some nice extra money...

If your mom does it, make sure she pushes through to the christmas holiday... sales are practically guaranteed then, and even though its gross rev, the sales can be very motivating!

Good luck!

Re: Ask HN: what lifestyle business could I help to create for my mom?

#29

Post by jdminhbg »

Can your mom write?

I've found when travelling that there are a lot of destinations that are underserved by travel guides. I've noticed some small self-published stuff popping up for Kindle -- if she has expertise in different places, maybe she could start publishing niche guides?

Re: Ask HN: what lifestyle business could I help to create for my mom?

#30

Post by Mizza »

geekfactor wrote: post #5
vaksel wrote: post #2

She should just stick with what she knows, since she has some expertise in that. A few possibilities there: 1. a business that organizes all these business nomads out there. Does all the necessary research, finds out all the services that are needed etc. Instead of 1 person moving at a time, it'd be a group of 200. Instead of arriving and knowing noone in the area, you arrive with 200 people you know. Instead of gett…

I really like idea #2. Call it something like WorkTheWorld.com. Work out all the details for folks who just want to live and work someplace else for a while. It's something I think a lot of people want to do but it seems too hard for most. This service could make it easier. For independents, pre-screen living situations with fast internet, find the best language courses, identify meetups and other groups that they mi…

I'd use this.
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