For quite some time now, I’ve had a theory about the role of film and literature in suppressing ambition, and it seems I could have been right. Because a recent piece of research by proper academics (rather than a bloke from Rotherham making it all up in his head) arrived at a very similar conclusion, albeit with a very different intention. Continue reading
Have you ever considered the extent to which Google controls what you’re exposed to? Tap a search into the search engine and there are typically millions of results, but Google puts them in order (based on goodness knows what) so there’s very little prospect of you discovering stuff which Google places well down the list. Million short is a new search engine that attempts to address this. It enables users to remove up to the first 1,000,000 most popular results in order to make browsing the web more surprising and give the underdog a fighting chance.
After installing Million Short, users can simply select how many of the top results – anything from 100 to 1,000,000 – they want to discount, and then search as usual. Search results will then be displayed, along with details about which sites have been excluded. If the user spots a link they want to see, they can still access it.
Perhaps you might to give this a try, or maybe it will give you a little inspiration and encouragement. If there’s a desirable alternative to something as big as Google, there have to be viable alternatives to the ‘big boys’ in your market.
Website: https://millionshort.com/
Poverty Porn seems to be very popular on TV at the moment. No, I’m not talking about transvestite tramps cavorting under the railway arches (now there’s a mental image you’ll struggle to shake off) but rather the proliferation of programmes featuring benefit claimants and the so-called poor. The latest one is called The Big Benefits Handout, and started on Channel 5 this week. Continue reading
As we’ve said many times here before, the great thing about a subscription based business is that it provides continuity of income. The box subscription concept is becoming increasingly popular, and can be applied to many markets. Customers pay a monthly subscription, and in return receive a box of ‘goodies’ each month, specially selected for them on the basis of either their regular usage patterns or their stated preferences.
We’ve seen this business model applied to tea, coffee, chocolates, beauty supplies, specialist foods, dog treats, vitamins and razor blades to name but a few. So what else could you try? The key points to bear in mind are that suitable products should be consumable, relatively low priced and cheap and easy to deliver.
There’s nothing new about providing a decorating service, so what do you do to stand out from the crowd. You might not be able to paint better than everyone else, but perhaps you can do it quicker. That’s the premise behind WOW 1 DAY Painting which promises to deliver quality work by skilled painters – all in one day.
The appeal of this is obvious. One of the main downsides of having decorators in the house is the upheaval. This company promise to have it all done and dusted in a single day. And in a technological world where people are becoming increasingly used to instant gratification – getting it now – this is a big selling point.
WOW 1 DAY Painting is a US based company. Could you bring the concept to the UK? Thinking more widely, are there other traditional, mature businesses that could benefit from a one day style make over?