Next time you have an idea... act on it

C

CLKeenan

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Jun 24, 2006
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Boston, MA
So back in May 2007 when I was searching around for a shop to replace the clutch on my 330xi I came up with an idea to create a business where auto owners could request bids from auto shops for different services.

More details here:
Bimmerforums - The Ultimate BMW Forum (you might need to log in so i posted it below)

So I had an idea for a new business when I was calling around the different transmission shops in my area asking for estimates on a clutch replacement for my car. I was hoping you wouldn't mind if I ran it by you.

Have you heard of LendingTree.com? Its a website where consumers will request loans and banks will compete with each other to earn the customers business by providing the lowest rate. I would like to apply this same concept to the auto repair industry.

It can be a very time consuming process for a person in need of work done on their car to pull out the yellow pages and start going down the list calling different companies looking for the lowest quote. However, is the lowest quote really the best quote? How is a customer supposed to know the quality of the work done based on a directory listing. Any company can look good on paper.

The idea behind my website is that a customer can fill out a short form, giving the auto repair shop the exact same information over the phone and have it sent to all of the repair shops that offer the services requested within a 10, 15, 30, 50 mile radius (user determined). The auto shops will then reply back to the potential customer with additional questions and or an estimate for the work requested. The customer could then make an
educated selection based on the previous customers ratings (such as quality of work, customer service, timeliness, etc) and personal reviews of that shop.

There would also be additional statistics to ensure the best experience for the customer and the honest repair shops. For example, if a repair shop tries to manipulate the system by providing a well below average price estimate in order to get customers in the door without telling the customers about hidden fees, then this would be shown in the shops profile with an estimate accuracy statistic. This statistic would display the percentage difference between the original estimate and the final quote.

The benefit to the auto repair shops is that they would have access to a stream of targeted, local customers who are interested in the services their shop offers. Shop owners would have the ability to customize their profile on the website so it would give them many of the benefits of having their own website without worrying about any of the technical
complications. I find it extremely reassuring as a customer when a repair shop has a website with information/pictures of the shop. It would even be possible me to integrate a project management system into the website so that shops could offer their customer real time progress reports via the website.

I'd love to hear some feedback from other people, especially people who own their own car repair shop. Do you think this idea is feasible? What would be some of the hardest issues to tackle?

Thanks so much for your time!
-Chris
Click to expand...

Was reading TechCrunch earlier today and realized a startup just raised a million in venture capital for practically the exact same idea.

Lightbank, OCA Put $1M In Auto Repair Marketplace BodyShopBids | TechCrunch

So with that said, here's a friendly reminder to act on your ideas.
 


How to get venture capital:

Step 1: Go to ivy league college
Step 2: Graduate
Step 3: Have shitty idea backed by wealthy alumni
 
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I think there's even more important ingredient than just idea+execution.

I've experienced this quite a few times so here's my theory on it.

It's NOT that hard to develop an idea. Most people don't have any good ideas, so if you have one you're already ahead of the curve. However that alone isn't worth anything if you don't develop your idea.

So when you're in a position where you have a good idea and you developed it...now you're getting somewhere. However even that is still like only 5% of the success formula if such a thing existed.

Execution is still worth basically nothing if you don't hit the right buttons with it.

Your product, site or whatever has to elicit a positive response in your visitors. So if your site sucks, who cares if you had a good idea and you executed it - no one will use your piece of crap site.

Also, even if you had a good idea, and you executed it, and it's the best website in the world, if your marketing plan isn't tight it won't ever take off.

Bottom line, execution isn't the holy grail of successful projects, the whole process is.
 
At the end of the day it's important to take action. I think worrying too much about the whole process can be detrimental and can stop you from getting shit done. Point, shoot, aim :)
 
I once had an idea for pressure sensitive break lights. I never took action, but talked about it a lot. About five years later, someone at the college I was at got the patent. Dunno if they've raked it in yet, but fucking hell.
 
JoseArmando said:
I think there's even more important ingredient than just idea+execution.

I've experienced this quite a few times so here's my theory on it.

It's NOT that hard to develop an idea. Most people don't have any good ideas, so if you have one you're already ahead of the curve. However that alone isn't worth anything if you don't develop your idea.

So when you're in a position where you have a good idea and you developed it...now you're getting somewhere. However even that is still like only 5% of the success formula if such a thing existed.

Execution is still worth basically nothing if you don't hit the right buttons with it.

Your product, site or whatever has to elicit a positive response in your visitors. So if your site sucks, who cares if you had a good idea and you executed it - no one will use your piece of crap site.

Also, even if you had a good idea, and you executed it, and it's the best website in the world, if your marketing plan isn't tight it won't ever take off.

Bottom line, execution isn't the holy grail of successful projects, the whole process is.
Click to expand...

Isn't everything you talked about here the execution?
 
I am careful who I speak to about ideas or even things that just pop out of my head... I can say something, then someone can think more intently about that thing I said, and then come up with this wacky money making idea -- a spin-off of my original idea...

That being said, if you do have an idea, don't tell anyone, I don't care if its your uncle that you spent all your summers with, people steal shit all the time, especially when it has the potential to make money... Keep that shit tightly sealed, try to raise the funds and then launch the fuck out of the product/idea/potential early ass retirement item.

On a different note, how do patents work? For instance, we all see a lot of (ill just use a random example) ipod headphones. Now everyone in their mother in chinese factories are making ipod style headphones (that look like them, sound like shit, but none-the-less look like them)... Doesn't the iPod patent protect them from replicas? Maybe thats not a good example, I think that people from China don't give a shit about US patents...

But anyways, does my question make sense? I've never really thought about patents until I read this thread...

Anyways, sorry for my ranting...
 
JoseArmando said:
I think there's even more important ingredient than just idea+execution.

I've experienced this quite a few times so here's my theory on it.

It's NOT that hard to develop an idea. Most people don't have any good ideas, so if you have one you're already ahead of the curve. However that alone isn't worth anything if you don't develop your idea.

So when you're in a position where you have a good idea and you developed it...now you're getting somewhere. However even that is still like only 5% of the success formula if such a thing existed.

Execution is still worth basically nothing if you don't hit the right buttons with it.

Your product, site or whatever has to elicit a positive response in your visitors. So if your site sucks, who cares if you had a good idea and you executed it - no one will use your piece of crap site.

Also, even if you had a good idea, and you executed it, and it's the best website in the world, if your marketing plan isn't tight it won't ever take off.

Bottom line, execution isn't the holy grail of successful projects, the whole process is.
Click to expand...

good idea + thorough execution + slick marketing = epic win.
 
adionline said:
I think worrying too much about the whole process can be detrimental and can stop you from getting shit done.:)
Click to expand...
Hah - And there lies in my current problem getting this SAAS app completed. Spending too much time thinking process and not enough doing :P.
 
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