Startup Idea # 2
Last week, I described one of the two ideas that struck me while I was in Bangalore. Here’s idea # 2.
How about starting an affordable conceirge service for everyday, household services ?
For instance, my friend was having a plumbing problem at his place. The plumber agreed to drop by the day after around 2 pm. My friend decided towork from home so that he would be around when the plumber showed up. The plumber, of course, failed to show up. Repeated calls to the plumber’s mobile were in vain. The same thing repeated itself the next day. Finally, on the 4th day of the ordeal, the plumber showed up for the job, much to my friends relief.
Towards the end, my friend was so exasperated that I dont think he would have hesitated to pay a bit extra for some prompt service. His gripe was - “Kaash ek call mein kaam khatam ho jaata”.
And just like him, I dont think there’s a dearth of other folks (who’re strapped for time and super stressed) who’ll shell up a bit extra for added convenience.
I wont be surprised if such conceirge services already exist for the super rich and elite. But such a service could be pretty successful amongst the IT demographic as well. And the service can be made affordable, considering that it can make up for the cost in volume.
February 18th, 2008 at 1:03 am
Hi Pranav,
Interesting idea. In fact Kishore Biyani promoted Future Group has already started it and they call it Mr. Right.
A friend ran a similar service in Delhi with limited success and had to eventually shut down. Lets see if Kishore Biyani can crack the magic formula.
Warm Regards,
SG
February 18th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
thanks for providing the info saurabh..as you said, it’d be interesting to see how the retail czar cracks this market. what were some of the problems that you friend ran into ?
February 19th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
hey Pranav, nice idea. I think this one is already in implementation in few IT companies in Chennai (I am sure it is in other cities as well). We have something called ServiceSquare where they do some free services like (check dropping, booking movie tickets) and some paid services (like rly ticket booking, deposits, plumbing, house shifting, looking for maid / electrician etc.) The charges are reasonable and once competition comes in I think the prices should subside.
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Dear friends,
We are offering Plumbimg, Electrical maintenance, House painting / Car-Rentals / Courier / Electricity Bill payments / Property tax payments / BSNL / Mobile Bill payments etc., (Paid services) and cheque drop in Drop Boxes / ATMs (free of cost). We have House-keeping & Security Service Departments to take cae of all related services in Hyderabad.
Please contact us at admin@vishnu-consultants.com.
February 25th, 2008 at 7:10 am
You could also use this website http://www.homecrayons.com Its anew one I cam across while trying to buy some used furniture. They have a section where you could list your expert services or find one. hope this helps
February 27th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
You may like http://www.justdial.com too. If you search for plumber and give a locality, they’ll give you the contact numbers of all plumbers around that locality. And moreover they have a presence in several cities all over India.
June 17th, 2008 at 5:39 am
good idea but it is good if we offer and treat all types of help at decent rates and as if they are professional workers in their fields of work..
perhaps the helpers will also be motivated to get on the bandwagon..
otherwise what’s in it for them ?
we pay $100/time for a 2000 sq ft home for cleaning..and are just
average IT folks in the US. Our home is not fancy either.
it is’nt about money really but they work hard so we treat them well
and they don’t let us down.
thanx
salonika