Question

Topic: Strategy

!! What Should We Do? ***

Posted by Anonymous on 10/17/2009 at 6:16 PM ET 200 Points
Hi there,

My wife and I are moving to Oudtshoorn in South Africa within a few weeks. We are both working in the ministry, but would like to start our own business.

We had a boutique before, but that didn't work too well in our area, but we are willing to give it another go in a new and larger town such as Oudtshoorn. I am also a web developer, offering web hosting and web design services to clients and then I am also a photographer.

I wanted to know whether or not you have any ideas what business opportunities I should think about, whilst we are still brain storming...The plan is to start off small and later work full-time.

There are already a few boutiques and many IT companies, so I am not sure whether or not to persue these "business opportunities"...

Oudtshoorn has many many tourists, so our first thoughts were to "cater" for them, especially tourists from Europe and the US...What would people from the US or Europe (such as yourselves) want, like, need etc?

Any info on starting a new business, including business plans, strategies, SWOT analysis, case studies etc. would be appreciated.

More info on Oudtshoorn can be found on www.oudtshoorninfo.com
To continue reading this question and the solution, sign up ... it's free!
SUBSCRIBE
Or, SIGN IN

RESPONSES

  • Posted on 10/17/2009 at 7:08 PM Accepted
    I'm willing to bet that very few of us have ever been to Oudtshoorn, so we probably don't really understand what's important to residents of, or visitors to, that location. And a successful business -- anywhere -- needs to anticipate and satisfy an important need of its primary target audience.

    I think your best course of action would be to talk to the people in Oudtshoorn -- perhaps in a structured, market-researchy way -- and see if you can identify opportunities based on what they tell you. Talk with locals and visitors. And take lots of notes. After you've completed 15-20 interviews, I'm guessing you'll have a very good idea of what kinds of needs they have and what kind of business you can start to satisfy their needs.

    Trying to figure something like that out from 30,000 feet is not likely to yield a good answer. Good luck on the move, by the way. Hope it works out for you. Keep us posted.
  • Posted by Chris Blackman on 10/17/2009 at 7:41 PM Accepted
    ..."We are both working in the ministry"...

    What do you mean - Christian Ministry, or a Government Department?

    How does this affect the question?

    What are your main interests and passions?

    What is the area crying out for?
  • Posted by cookmarketing@gmail. on 10/17/2009 at 7:55 PM Accepted
    Looked at your suggested site.

    Being in Orlando I know the importance of tourism. That business would be strictly related to number of people passing through, so make sure the numbers a large enough. Assuming Ostrich niche belongs to established players, you may have some opportunities in T Shirts, baseball caps, visors etc.

    Seems the town is more a large village which limits the amount of "discretionary" income for gift boutique.

    If your are establishing a ministry, any opportunities in that arena?

    From what I observed from your recommended site, seems limited in a number of areas, you just may want to wait 6 months to 12 months to see how the seasons run and discover a niche as you settle.
  • Posted on 10/17/2009 at 10:38 PM Accepted
    Hopefully, you can build a business that is entirely web based...

    Was having dinner in Paris with a couple from SA not too long ago. A lawyer and his wife. They were complaining about the currency conversion from the Rand to Euros. We compared notes and found that their dinner was costing them three times as much as ours due to the Rand v. USD.

    You will want a credit card processor on your website that offers dynamic currency conversion...

    Just something to keep in mind.

    You may find a lot of opportunity when you get there based on taking advantage of this factor.

    Good luck !
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 10/18/2009 at 8:55 AM Accepted
    Talk to the people who provide accommodations (start with hotels) and ask them, "What product/service are your guests asking for that you have no (or few) recommendations?".
  • Posted on 10/18/2009 at 10:49 AM Author
    Hi,

    I would like to thank each and everyone for their suggestions so far - I deeply appreciate it.

    I would like to clarify some issues and give some more insight:

    My wife and I are working for a Christian ministry. I am a pastor and next year I hope to write my marriage officer license, so I can legally marry couples.

    I would love to then offer couples an all-in-one service:

    I will marry them, my wife could be the wedding planner and make-up artist (she has already planned many stunning weddings and did a beauty course), I could be the wedding photographer and I could arrange deals with guest houses, lodges etc. for stunning and affordable honeymoon deals.

    But this is still about 2 years away - and I would like to start a business pretty soon...

    The reason I pointed out that I work in the Christian ministry, is because it is a non-profit organization and salaries aren't always available, therefore I would like to have a business so I can at least have a salary each month.

    As someone mentioned, a boutique will not be able to survive too long, as the town is rather small and there are many clothing stores already.

    The IT industry is extremely difficult as there are already so many companies to choose from, therefore I am not sure if I should really persue this in a large scale.

    But I believe that the tourism-industry is something to look at. But what should we do?
  • Posted on 10/18/2009 at 11:04 AM Member
    Here's a hint... Back in the seventies, you couldn't get a good old fashioned "American" hamburger in London. They had a chain of "Wimpy Burgers" which were Pi-Ti-Ful.

    The "Hard Rock Cafe" came in arond the corner from the London Hilton and had people WAITING IN LINE to get in on the strength of their hamburgers.

    Perhaps you can pull off something similar in SA.

    Marketing abroad requires a whole 'nother toolkit.

    Godspeed !
  • Posted by matthewmnex on 10/19/2009 at 8:45 PM Accepted
    You have already answered your own question :) Follow your passion - follow your heart.

    I would love to then offer couples an all-in-one service:

    I will marry them, my wife could be the wedding planner and make-up artist (she has already planned many stunning weddings and did a beauty course), I could be the wedding photographer and I could arrange deals with guest houses, lodges etc. for stunning and affordable honeymoon deals.

    Don't wait 2 years, you can plan weddings and take photographs right now withour a licesnse :)

    Here you have the perfect business.

    Plan the wedding
    take the piucturea dn video
    THEN -
    Build a buitiful online weddoing album with the stroy fo the wedding day, the pics videos and testimonials - messages from the family and guests.

    Of course you will still present the old fashioned printed picture album but an online wedding album personalised with their own url https://mrandmrssmith.com (or .sa :)

    Don't try to do something you don't know - stay with what you already know and combine your talents and knowledge.

    :))

    I just thought of that idea :) hey wait, I think I will do it myself here in Asia :)

    Good luck and god bless,

    Matthew
BACK TO TOP

Post a Comment

Related Discussions

Community Info

Top 25 Experts
(Strategy)