Business idea I'd like to share for your input

[BUFFALOBT]

Hello everyone.

I have an idea to "bundle" monthly home services like landscaping, house cleaning, pest control, etc.

I personally pay $435/month to these along with a pool cleaner. I also have to deal with 4 separate invoices that come at different times each month, and cut 4 checks.

That's $5,220/year and 48 checks written...not a small amount of money. 10% off would save me $522, and a lot less hassle.

Goal for the customer is to eliminate multiple monthly invoices, checks, and to also save money.

Goal for the home service business is to have another way to market their business, get new customers, and have access to cross-referrals from the other service companies.

Each business would pay an small monthly fee for each customer they get thru the platform, and agree to discount their service...call that 10%.

I'm looking for your input...good idea...stupid idea...etc.

I'm also looking to collaborate with anyone who might want to dive in and help to bring this to market...thanks!

[vangogh]

A couple questions I'd ask about the business.

Are you sure people want to pay for all three services? You'd be targeting people who want all three services on a monthly basis. I have no idea how many people that is. It could certainly be enough to support a business, but it's possible it's not large enough. It's something to look into and think about.

How would you ensure the businesses pay you? You have no way of knowing if customers you send to them actually become customers and for how long. You'd be relying on the businesses for reporting and they have a business interest in not being entirely honest with you. While I can see businesses paying you 10% when they're new and have few or no customers, I don't know they would once they've built up a a steady stream of customers. Something else to think about.

[Gustav-Dam]

Good idea, it reduces hassle for both parties.
dealing with individual services providers can be messy for you, so you should prefer service companies (be careful as they can also become your competitors)

[BUFFALOBT]

A couple questions I'd ask about the business.

Are you sure people want to pay for all three services? You'd be targeting people who want all three services on a monthly basis. I have no idea how many people that is. It could certainly be enough to support a business, but it's possible it's not large enough. It's something to look into and think about.

How would ensure the businesses pay you? You have no way of knowing if customers you send to them actually become customers and for how long. You'd be relying on the businesses for reporting and they have a business interest in not being entirely honest with you. While I can see businesses paying you 10% when they're new and have few or no customers, I don't know they would once they've built up a a steady stream of customers. Something else to think about.

Thanks for your input- I appreciate it!

To answer your questions, I'm not sure people would pay for actually 4 services, so my idea is to bundle at least 2 to start saving time and money. Where I live in AZ, we have dozens and dozens of these 4 monthly services in the neighborhood each month. I've gone from just using a landscaper and pest control to using all 4. I would charge each business $9.95/month per customer, and my market is only limited by my ability to market my service.

Since I do the monthly billing- I am in charge of the customer list. I would have each on monthly auto-pay, and would pay each business from there...so I control the $$$ as well.

Thanks again- please help me poke holes in this idea!

[BUFFALOBT]

Good idea, it reduces hassle for both parties.
dealing with individual services providers can be messy for you, so you should prefer service companies (be careful as they can also become your competitors)

Thanks for your input!

[BUFFALOBT]

Another point...there are companies out there that already to this- mostly for part-time residents, rental properties, etc.

So this isn't a new concept, just one that I would tweak to offer it to everyone.

[BUFFALOBT]

NEW spin on this idea:

I thought about it, and I don't think many businesses will want someone else to have control over billing and their customers.

So I have a tweak to this model again for your input...

I find 4 home services in each market of 5,000 homes...one pest control, one pool cleaner, one landscaper, and one house cleaner.

I charge them $499/month each to be on a high quality large postcard that gets mailed each month to their target market of 5,000 homes.

The pitch to customers is that they will save 10% on each service they sign up for...as long as they choose at least 2. The concept is still "bundle and save". They would go to a simple website to choose which services and enter their contact info- which I will pass along. OR- they can contact each business directly, and mention the postcard to get their 10% off. The businesses won't care, so long as they are getting a new customer, and getting value for the money they will spend with me.

The main difference is that each company still does their own billing, but pays nothing above the ongoing $499 advertising fee. If they choose to stop for whatever reason, I find another pool company for example to take their place.

I would make ~$500 for each postcard I send, and can do this to unlimited areas of 5,000 ongoing.

So it's basically co-op advertising with a twist of the bundled saving idea.

Your thoughts are appreciated as always- thanks again for your help!

[nicolehackett]

I totally get your concept and I think your on to something with the spin to your original idea. What if you did the following:

1. Create a Automated Referral/Affiliate Program with the businesses that will be offering the services to customers.
2. Offer a monthly membership for your business owners to pay you each month to help run the program and market their services
3. Create a website for customers that would include daily/weekly/monthly deals, coupons, discounts, etc based on what the business owners set up
4. Because the Automated Referral/Affiliate Program is "Automated" , each time a customer pays for a discounted service, everyone is paid (you, the business owners and anyone else you have marketing for you) and the customer is happy with their monthly savings.

Just a thought......

[Harold Mansfield]

Interesting that you should mention all Home Services. You can already do this through Angie's List. It's a one stop shop now for all home services. You request, they recommend a contractor, you pay Angie's List, they pay the contractor minus a cut.

Also, I don't see the check thing as a nagging issue since checks aren't always necessary. I personally haven't written a check for anything in over 5 years, and there are very few services that I can't pay for online.

Not being Devil's advocate just for the hell of it, but how do you make someone like me need your services? What benefit is there for me? How does it make my life easier that beats the way I currently am able to do things?

This is how I think of my ideas. Worse case. Not best. If they can withstand worse case and still sound like a good idea, I know it's worth investigating.

[Clarity14]

Have you considered complexes / estates where there might be numerous people in close proximity wanting similar services?
that may enable you to offer competitive rates that get you talked about. Servicing a locality gets you over a threshold where people have you in common when talking about related things.
Hopes this helps
C