Five Business Ideas

After much thought, I have managed to think up five business ideas, most of which involve a web service. Mind you, this was not easy for me as well, as I'm not a creative person by any means. Before I go further, consider the following:

In statistics taken from Nielson Online, it was reported that over 1.73 billion people were using the Internet by the end of the past decade--that's nearly a quarter of the world's population. In America alone, nearly 228 million people were online by the end of the decade (~74%).

So what does this all mean, you may ask? That answer is obvious--we are an online society, and there is no denying it.

So without further ado, here are my business ideas:

1) This is the idea that I'm most excited about. As I was sitting in in my mechanic's shop, waiting on my car, I began to wonder...

I began to think of the airlines and how they have online status updates for all of their flights. Well, if that is the case, why could my car not have an online status update? As I continuously keep my cell phone on vibrate, I'm horrible about answering it. However, if there is one thing I religiously, it's surf the web; I'm on my computer constantly.

This first business idea would be for a web service that would allow you to view the status of your car's repairs online, as well as the ability to authorize additional repairs.

Have to pick up your car after hours, because you're stuck at work? No problem! Just enter your credit card information in an online form and submit. Your car will be waiting for you whenever you are ready to pick it up, so you'll never have to wait until the next day to pick up your car.

Better yet, wouldn't it be great if you could do this all on your smart phone?

2) Having my car stolen lately, I was devastated. However, this was not necessarily just because of my car; it was what my car contained.

I've been flying since I was fifteen years old, and every flight that I have ever taken has been logged in my pilot's logbook. It contains the hours that I flew for and what I did on that flight. This is all essential information for an FAA examiner whenever you go to get a new rating. This was all taken from me when my car was stolen; I did not have a backup.

My second idea involves just that--a piece of software that you could install on your computer that would act as an "electronic logbook." However, this information would be backed-up to an online server, every time you updated information in your e-Logbook (for a fee). This would save a pilot considerable time and effort in having to call all of the FBOs where they did flights to recover all of their flight information.

3) My third idea involves an online virtual tour site for real estate. Specifically, when a home owner was ready to sell their home, the company would come and create a virtual tour of their house, and then post it online for greater market exposure. Buyers wouldn't even have to get dressed to go house shopping. If the house sold, a percentage of the sale would go to the virtual tour company.

4) My fourth idea is for an online custom high performance computer retailer. This company would use the latest high-end components to build the computers that gamers crave. The company would offer up base models, where customers would have the option of adding to the base model, with their own custom parts that they wish to include.

5) My fifth idea is the only idea of mine that does not involve a web service. Simply put, this idea involves a bar or restaurant that uses Microsoft's new "Surface" (http://www.microsoft.com/surface) as a unique way of ordering food or drinks. It would also double as the customers' entertainment; they would be able to choose from music, movies, or even games to play, all right there on the very table that they're dining at.