First idea:

Homemade brownies or cookie bars in baskets, which I would take
to area real estate offices and car dealerships. They would buy them from me to give as gifts to those who just purchased a new home or car with them. Kind of a "thank you", "remember us for future business" kind of thing.

Second idea:

Advertising in local papers to serve as an "answering service" to those who moonlight with a second job such as electricians, plumbers, etc. People who work during the day and aren't available to take calls during that time, but have their own business and don't want to have people get a machine when they call. I would take messages for them, make appointments, etc.


What do you think?
Please give me your opinions, advice, etc.

Thanks so much!!

:-) :-)

I like the first one if you changed it to gourmet dog treats instead of brownies and locations would be pet stores and vet offices. I think you would have a higher profit margin and less health department restrictions for pet treats than you would have baking brownies at home which from what I understand is expensive, because you have the components of a commercial kitchen. It may be the same for the dog treats, I'm not sure - but might be worth checking out.

It seems like you need to work at home and this would allow you to do so. It would also allow you to be creative if that is what you like to do.

Good Luck -

Here are some names I thought of:

Bark Ave. Baked Treats
Central Bark Gourmet

Good Luck!

I agree with the person who said brownies for dogs (and for the same reason). That's a great idea and I'm sure you can find recipes on the Internet! You can also sell them on the Web. With Christmas coming up, this might be the perfect time to dive right into it, as pet stores will be looking for unique merchandise for the holiday season. Here are just a few name suggestions, since I have pet treats on my mind now:

Animalbasket.com (company name Animal Basket)
Animalpit.com (company name Animal Pit)
Animalcrackers.com (company name Animal Crackers)
Animalcandy.com (company name Animal Candy)

I'm not sure if these names are taken, but I thought they were catchy. :)

You can check a domain name site like GoDaddy.com (that's the only one I'm familiar with) to see if the name is available, or up for auction, or being sold outright. Just type the name you want in the search bar and it will tell you if it's taken or not. If it's taken, and you really want it, GoDaddy will talk to the buyer for you. If you do find a name you want, my advice would be to make sure you choose a .COM (rather than .BIZ or .ORG -- people don't remember those).

This sounds like a business you can start almost overnight -- choose a business name, get your domain/Website name, and get cracking baking those brownies for Christmas sales!

I wish you great luck! Let us know what happens.

I like the dog treat idea twist most. You can even make the treats with creative cookie cutters to go with the next holiday season. Many pet people like to get treats for their fur-babies at each holiday.

With regards to the name of your company/brand, make sure to check the USPTO.gov site to see if it's trademarked by another company offering the same kind of product/business. You don't want to grow a business and then receive a "cease and desist" letter or lawsuit for trademark infringement sometime down the road.


-Sonia Apodaca-Harms
Owner/Designer
Vista Latina
http://www.vistalatina.com
Unique jewelry, stationery,clothing, home goods and more. Most handcrafted and many can be customized. Free gift with every website order!

Thanks so much for your feedback everyone, you've given me some great advice and ideas!!

I'll tune in to let you know what I decided and how it's going!:-)