There’s no doubt that ordinary folk are prepared to challenge themselves physically like never before, but not everyone want to run a marathon or complete an iron man challenge. The Great Urban Race is designed for people who want a fun physical challenge, combined with a bit of brain exercise.

The race was created by Joe Reynolds, a former cross-country athlete. Teams of racers travel somewhere between four to eight miles, solve twelve clues and complete exciting mental and physical challenges. Racers are allowed to travel only on foot or by public transit. Teams may not use any form of private transportation.

Take a look at the race website if this interests you. This is a US based company with races taking place in many cities. It looks like something which could work equally well here.

www.greaturbanrace.com

So you’re looking for the perfect business idea for you. Here are three places to start your search:

1. Frustrations – What frustrations or problems do you have? If you are suffering, the chances are that others are too. Develop a solution and you have a business with a ready-made market.

2. Passions – What are you passionate about? If you’re passionate you’re probably enthusiastic and knowledgeable too. That’s a great start to any business venture.

3. Possessions – What do you own? The things you already own could form the basis of a successful business, whether that’s by using them as tools, selling them and re-stocking or renting them out.

So what business ideas are lurking within your frustrations, passions and possessions? The great thing is that you will have a unique combination of these three factors to work with.

I’m old enough to remember when air tickets were a single price, irrespective of when you booked. More recently, it became the ‘done thing’ to wait until the last minute to grab a bargain. But that’s all changed gain now, and the economics of it became subject of an academic study recently.

Professor Claudio Piga, an economics expert from Keele University, claims the best time to book seats is 10 days before take-off. He looked at fares offered by Ryanair at different times of the year and whether making last-minute bookings meant customers were more likely to get better deals. The study showed Ryanair tends to increase prices by 50 to 75 per cent a few days before a flight. Ten days prior to departure is the optimum time to book in most cases.

We’ve talked about this here before, but if you’re serious about making some money in a business, you could do an awful lot worse than pay attention to the needs and wants of the ‘grey’ market. It’s a demographic group which is growing, relatively affluent, and not prepared to accept the sort of products and services which have traditionally been offered to their age group in the past.

I recently read about Marie Kolstad, who became the oldest recipient of breast implants at 83. And she’s far from alone. Over 65’s now account for 10% of the clientele of cosmetic surgery clinics in the US, with over 700,000 procedures a year being performed. Cosmetic surgery is just one of many markets where the older generation are now spending serious money.

Don’t ignore the older generation. You could build an entire business around the ‘grey’ market or develop a version of your product of service which suits their needs and tastes. Either way, they have money to spend, and are happy to do so if they like what you have to offer.

If you have young children, you’ll know that they’re always on the look-out for the next cool party venue or theme. This one that we found in the United States, seems to fit the bill perfectly, and we haven’t seen anything like it here in the UK.

Make-A-Movie- Birthday Parties is a self-explanatory concept. The company arrive at the party with a pre-written script, costumes and camera equipment. Roles are allocated, the film is shot and then edited over the next week or so when it is delivered to the person holding the party. Revenue comes from both the booking fee and sales of the movie to party guests.

This seems like something you could copy anywhere. I’d imagine it would be incredibly popular. Equipment is cheap these days and the editing technology is at the hands of anyone with a PC. If you fancy yourself as the next Speilberg, but lack the budget, this could be something for you.