Sounding Board for a business idea

[xkosmox]

Hello everyone, just wanted feedback for a business idea I've been thinking about over the past 2 months.

The concept is that I can provide heart-to-heart talks or/and neutral, grounded conversations, with paid compensation for the time booked.

These are for people who simply have no one that they can trust to chat with about certain topics; who need a neutral and open person with good listening skills, empathy, as well as some degree of worldly experience to be able to understand what they're talking about.
Considering two likely audiences so far: High-earners/High Network Individuals and Middle-aged ladies

I understand that some of them are open to the concept of Tarot/Oracle cards; which I can use as an add-on service as well.

I can do these conversations either via text, Zoom sessions or even physical meetups.

Pricing-wise; to allow them to suggest their initial rates instead of setting a fixed rate; to test the market.

This can start from myself and if it proves successful, to recruit similar people to have a larger team.

Any thoughts?

[Triplethought]

Hello everyone, just wanted feedback for a business idea I've been thinking about over the past 2 months.

The concept is that I can provide heart-to-heart talks or/and neutral, grounded conversations, with paid compensation for the time booked.

These are for people who simply have no one that they can trust to chat with about certain topics; who need a neutral and open person with good listening skills, empathy, as well as some degree of worldly experience to be able to understand what they're talking about.
Considering two likely audiences so far: High-earners/High Network Individuals and Middle-aged ladies

I understand that some of them are open to the concept of Tarot/Oracle cards; which I can use as an add-on service as well.

I can do these conversations either via text, Zoom sessions or even physical meetups.

Pricing-wise; to allow them to suggest their initial rates instead of setting a fixed rate; to test the market.

This can start from myself and if it proves successful, to recruit similar people to have a larger team.

Any thoughts?

Keep in mind that I'm known as "Dr. No" around my companies regarding new business ideas. BUT I've done this for many years so I have a feel for what works and what doesn't. Anyway take what I say with a grain of salt and try not to have hurt feelings. The role you are suggesting is filled currently by 1) Religious figures such as priests or rabbis, mormon "bishops", etc 2) Professional psychologists, psychiatrists, and counselors 3) Business Coaches and similar gurus. 4) Business groups such as Vistage, Entrepreneurs Org etc. 5) Probably some others I'm forgetting. Each of these has rules around keeping ones mouth shut about what they hear (expectation of no pillow talk).

I'm an atheist. Therefore I don't go to a priest. I'm cheapskate. I don't like spending money at $170/hr for counseling. Plus I haven't had great experience with counselors and don't respect them. Having said that "telemed" has become more common during Covid so counselors and business coaches of all stripes are available via zoom.
I'm a CEO. People like talking to people of like mind and background. I chose to join EO for discussing private topics in a "forum" and looking for experience share (although that's not cheap either at $4200 per year) it means I'm discussing stuff with "peers" who I respect and who also run companies. By the way these discussions are often family or personal topics "that keep you up at night"

The minute you trotted out Tarot/Oracle cards you lost ALL credibility with me. I think many CEOs would say the same. Are there "High earners" who buy into that stuff? Probably. But high earners are looking to respect the abilities of the person they are talking to so you have to have a resume they can respect. My guess is Tarot card reader ain't going to cut it. Your customer will ask "who is this guy and why should I listen to him (or pour my guts out to him).

Letting the customer set their own rate is a bad idea. No balls, no vision, just floundering around in a sea of mediocrity like everyone else. If you have a vision define it, sell the value proposition, be specific. Keep in mind the "cheap, good, fast" triangle. Are you cheap? Are you good? Are you fast? Pick 2. The customer doesn't get all 3 ever. So you have to decide which 2 you are offering.

You can't build a team if you don't have a "moat" or a way of protecting your intellectual property.

I personally think this is a relatively bad idea (unless you have credentials or accomplishments I don't know about) But finally, if you have passion around it, ignore me and go for it. "The meek shall inherit the Dearth". Everyone who wants to start a business is looking for "a sure thing" and there is no such thing. It takes many years to be an overnight success.

[SOL]

passion plays a big role, but as TTH pointed out you have to find a way to market the concept properly and more importantly you have to have skills that set you apart from the pack if you are starting from nowhere. we live in a dog eat dog world and most people won't give you a second chance when you are a nobody, When you are somebody you get a whole bunch of chances.

While TTH gets straight to the point and some might not like his straight-shooting style, he often presents a logical basis for his reasoning. I generally prefer to deal with individuals that get straight to the point. In a way, you have to respect them, for they are taking a chance when they do this, so I tend to take the contrarian perspective and view such exchanges through a positive lens.

[ultramartian]

I am not here to discourage you, but my feeling is that this kind of work could soon be replaced by AI. People has been speaking to Siri out of boredom. As Siri becomes more intelligent Apple will very soon capitalize on this.

[AstuteShift]

The world of business is a jungle full of predators and you’re sort of all over the place.

First make a business plan. Stick with one thing and execute it with perfection. Go for the best price, not too cheap but not too expensive. Don’t jumble with multiple things since it will make you seem inconsistent and incompetent with customers. A jack of all trades is a master of none

Second, once you have the foundation, either hire a marketer or learn it yourself how to. This part here all depends on your plan first so make sure it’s solid.

Third, patience and time. I don’t know how much time you have but most businesses don’t survive at first. However, passion and a solid plan can take you very far

[DOCLUC]

TTH's points are gold. .
May I suggest , as a starting point to make yourself clear, to use Canvas Business Model ? It is a basic but complete methodology to assess business ideas. It will help you with few, but key, points and let you think about your idea from a structured perspective. Check Strategizer website for more infos.

[asifmy]

Hello everyone, just wanted feedback for a business idea I've been thinking about over the past 2 months.

The concept is that I can provide heart-to-heart talks or/and neutral, grounded conversations, with paid compensation for the time booked.

These are for people who simply have no one that they can trust to chat with about certain topics; who need a neutral and open person with good listening skills, empathy, as well as some degree of worldly experience to be able to understand what they're talking about.
Considering two likely audiences so far: High-earners/High Network Individuals and Middle-aged ladies

I understand that some of them are open to the concept of Tarot/Oracle cards; which I can use as an add-on service as well.

I can do these conversations either via text, Zoom sessions or even physical meetups.

Pricing-wise; to allow them to suggest their initial rates instead of setting a fixed rate; to test the market.

This can start from myself and if it proves successful, to recruit similar people to have a larger team.

Any thoughts?

Keep in mind that I'm known as "Dr. No" around my companies regarding new business ideas. BUT I've done this for many years so I have a feel for what works and what doesn't. Anyway take what I say with a grain of salt and try not to have hurt feelings. The role you are suggesting is filled currently by 1) Religious figures such as priests or rabbis, mormon "bishops", etc 2) Professional psychologists, psychiatrists, and counselors 3) Business Coaches and similar gurus. 4) Business groups such as Vistage, Entrepreneurs Org etc. 5) Probably some others I'm forgetting. Each of these has rules around keeping ones mouth shut about what they hear (expectation of no pillow talk).

I'm an atheist. Therefore I don't go to a priest. I'm cheapskate. I don't like spending money at $170/hr for counseling. Plus I haven't had great experience with counselors and don't respect them. Having said that "telemed" has become more common during Covid so counselors and business coaches of all stripes are available via zoom.
I'm a CEO. People like talking to people of like mind and background. I chose to join EO for discussing private topics in a "forum" and looking for experience share (although that's not cheap either at $4200 per year) it means I'm discussing stuff with "peers" who I respect and who also run companies. By the way these discussions are often family or personal topics "that keep you up at night"

The minute you trotted out Tarot/Oracle cards you lost ALL credibility with me. I think many CEOs would say the same. Are there "High earners" who buy into that stuff? Probably. But high earners are looking to respect the abilities of the person they are talking to so you have to have a resume they can respect. My guess is Tarot card reader ain't going to cut it. Your customer will ask "who is this guy and why should I listen to him (or pour my guts out to him).

Letting the customer set their own rate is a bad idea. No balls, no vision, just floundering around in a sea of mediocrity like everyone else. If you have a vision define it, sell the value proposition, be specific. Keep in mind the "cheap, good, fast" triangle. Are you cheap? Are you good? Are you fast? Pick 2. The customer doesn't get all 3 ever. So you have to decide which 2 you are offering.

You can't build a team if you don't have a "moat" or a way of protecting your intellectual property.

I personally think this is a relatively bad idea (unless you have credentials or accomplishments I don't know about) But finally, if you have passion around it, ignore me and go for it. "The meek shall inherit the Dearth". Everyone who wants to start a business is looking for "a sure thing" and there is no such thing. It takes many years to be an overnight success.

Simply Awesome...

[xkosmox]

Thanks everyone! Busy week; taking Sunday night to read through.

-> Absolutely no hurt feelings TTH, appreciate all 496 of your words and the time taken. Considered the counselors and coaches, but forgot the religious figures and business groups; and possibly more.
This EO existence is also very interesting to me, I've experienced BNI but this appears to be such a big upgrade. Qualification isn't an issue too, worthy for further exploration.
Understood on the cards as well.
In this case I can never settle for "not good" so it'll either have to be expensive or slow; I get it.
And yes, it's going to be a passion-business.

-> SOL: Am an experienced digital marketer (no such thing as an expert marketer imo); so getting a proper business model, credentials and target audiences with sufficient research should be my first step. And yes, I definitely prefer straight-shooters, hit me as hard as you need to.

-> ultramartian: Hmm...whether humans will prefer to communicate with humans or AI in the future.

-> AstuteShift and DOCLUC: For sure; will take the Canvas Business Model into consideration. I prefer to create a key thing and make it great as you said...it is like how our neighbouring country's food stalls have just one item but its perfected and well-known in the area...whereas our own food stalls have a huge plethora of items but so many are mediocre.

Once again, thank you everyone, much gratitude.

[Eric]

I think I saw a commercial for this recently...
Are you old and all your friends are dead? Join AARP and we'll hook you up with people to chat with.