Unique Product Ideas

• LEGO Promotional Kits

  TechCrunch had an interesting post on Boston Dynamic promotional LEGO kits. I think this is a great idea for a business where companies could have you design their own promo LEGO kit to give to potential customers.

  Just imagine if you went to build a custom home and someone hands you a business card and the other one hands you a custom lego kit of a house they made. Or a masseuse who gave you a LEGO kit with a little massage table and character.

• Combination Shower and Sauna

  Sauna’s are becoming more and more popular as the health benefits have become a popular topic, but everyone doesn’t have a spot for a barrel sauna in their backyard. I think a great product would be a combination shower and sauna.

• Ice Bath Ice Machine

  Cold therapy is hot right now (did that on purpose). There’s cold plunges and chillers like the one below. But over $4,000 for a chiller seems a bit much for most. And don’t we already have bath tubs?

  I think a great idea would be an ice machine that is targeted to cold plungers. It could be higher capacity, have a detailed guide on how much to put in for what temperature and maybe even make larger cubes to differentiate itself.

  I think the cubes landing in a carrier that could easily be transported to the bath is a key feature.

• Custom Microphone Covers

  One thing popped out when I was watching the below YouTube video, the microphone. With all of the podcasts and YouTube going on I can’t believe I haven’t seen this before. I think there’s a market for custom covers on high end microphones. It could be branded, different colors, different shapes, etc.

  Personalization matters and it’s just another way to keep your viewers entertained in an attention economy.

Unique Website Ideas

• AppSumo For Courses

  Appsumo is a daily deals site for mostly software as a service offerings. Instead of paying full price the company offers deals to customers and takes a large percentage of the revenue, some report up to 70%.

  With the proliferation of all the online courses out there I think there’s an opportunity to start a similar site, but selling discounted courses. The value proposition would be a cheaper course to the consumer and distribution to the teacher.

• Podcast for Niche Local Businesses

  There’s an interesting tweet from a podcast where they talk about a show completely dedicated to helping lawn care professionals run their business. They get 150,000 downloads a month and have all of the hardware stores lining up for ads. This shows the power of a niche, but it also opens up a ton of opportunities for other local businesses.

  Are you a plumber? Smart home installer? Painter? Then why not start a site detailing how you do it and then start a podcast to share your experience.

• Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MSBR)

  A recent study covered in Jama Psychiatry found that MSBR could be at least as effective as several drugs in treating anxiety disorder. The MSBR course included:

• eight weeks of classes around two and a half hours

• one day long retreat around the fifth or sixth week

• daily practices of 45 minutes

  I think a website and an app that are dedicated to this same methodology and pointing to the science backing it could be an amazing business. One strategy to start it could be an app that has a few free tips and calming meditations with an upsell for the entire program.
  
  
  

Other Unique Businesses

• Sound Dampening For Restaurants

Nick Huber had an interesting tweet mentioning that he knew someone that had a business installing sound dampening in restaurants, theaters, music halls and sport venues. He was making $3 million in EBITDA (earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortization).

He also mentioned that only 20% of the restaurnts he’s been to since hearing about this business has the sound dampening installed.

Now as a 41 year old with poor hearing this is a brilliant idea. I actually don’t go back to restaurants that are too loud. This business would help restaurants get more business, customers hear each other and it’s local so everyone in the world can’t compete with you.

• Pet Health Retreats

  Apparently over 50% of dogs are now overweight. People think of their dogs as part of their family and I think there could be a market for a health retreat where dogs are fed properly and exercised daily. It could be marketed through local vets and even marketed as an annual health holiday for your pet.