By Aliyah Marr
Thinking of starting a new business? Any good business person knows that there are opportunities in every economic climate. It’s a matter of seeing trends and knowing how and when to act.
- See the trend under the news increased environmental awareness, people have less money to spend, people want real community experiences
- Know what people want and need save money, expect value, good customer service
- Time it right know when to start a business, and when to reform a business
- Location, location, location be sensitive to the local needs and traffic of your community
- Think simple sometimes this is the hardest of all, because we hear stories of fabulously successful businesses after they are big and complex, however, companies like Apple started in a garage.
Two of the following small businesses cash in on people’s need to save money and help the environment. All of these businesses address the needs of the local community which has a year-round athletic populace, and tourism in the summer. All three are known in the community; the surfing shop has offered surfing movies and live bands in their parking lot during hot summer nights.
Progression Surf co-exists very harmoniously with its many local competitors by specializing in used surfboards. They have the largest selection of used boards of any surf shop I have ever seen. They also have a good surfboard and wetsuit rental business, because they are only two blocks away from the ocean.
CBSis a bicycle shop near the ocean that rescues and restores old bikes, and offers rentals and repairs. Specialty: beach cruisers. Doesn’t compete with the two other bike shops in town which offer expensive new bikes and service the racing bikes of professional cyclists.
It’s a strange conundrum that while the surfer is often the most vocal environmentalist, he has to use non-environmental products for surfing, such as surfboards and wetsuits. Swell-stuff is a wetsuit-repair shop offering to keep your current wetsuit on you, and out of the landfill as long as possible.
Copyright Aliyah Marr
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