In my reading today I came across a very interesting scenario.
I’d like to pose the question to you all and see what we can come up with. To sweeten the deal, we’ll even be giving out a prize to some lucky commenter.
Here’s the Scenario:
You’re given $2,000,000 to open a store (can be a physical or virtual) and your only requirements are:
- You have to give your product/service away for free
- Your success is judged on how much you give away
What Would You Do?
How would you decide what to put in your store? What would it be, and why?
Win a Couple Bucks From Us
Let’s hear your idea in the comments section, and next Sunday (April 26, 2009) I’ll randomly select one of the commenter’s to win a $20 Amazon Gift Certificate.
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
I think that having a farm/garden supply store that could teach people how to create and maintain a community, family, or container garden. It would also supply them with the seeds, compost, tools, etc. This would be a way to give people a useful skill that would be able to create a sustainable food supply and perhaps translate into their own products (literally produce) to sell or barter.
For me personally I’ve always dreamed of operating a pet sanctuary and adoption center (Not a store but offers services and goods). If I had 2,000,000 to work with I would purchase large amounts of acreage in suburbs (more affordable) of large metropolitan areas that have significant issues with animal abuse/neglect. Considering the large amount of money available I would probably be able to open between 2 – 4 large scale sanctuaries depending on the cost of the land, labor, kennels, buildings, and supplies.
The beautiful thing about operating a sanctuary/adoption center is the benefit of huge tax breaks, public funding, and donation opportunities. All animal adoptions would be free of charge with an option to donate (no pressure to). There would also be a rather strict interview process to make sure the potential families could care for the animal in a humane and loving manor. A couple of scenarios that would disqualify a person from being able to adopt one of our rescued animals would be if they planned on leaving the animal chained up outside, outside without proper shelter from the weather, or the inability to provide veterinarian services.
I’m an animal lover if you couldn’t tell and far too many dogs are abused, abandoned, and neglected here in Tennessee. I don’t have two million dollars but if we (the wife and I) are ever financially capable of doing so, we’d love to make a small sanctuary a reality.
This being tax season, I would have to open a free tax preparation consulting company and help EVERYBODY with their returns (or as many as could be handled). I would hire a slew of accountants that specialize in tax, and pay them well to do a good job. There are too many that are scared of taxes, and this company’s job would be to educate those they consult.
Just a thought.
I would build an ice cream shop because eating ice cream makes people happy. An ice cream shop allows people to bring their family in for an affordable treat that puts smiles on all of the family members faces…which in fact is Priceless.
As a business consultant, the $2,000,000 will be a big extra for me to help more small business owners. Because I enjoy learning and passing on my marketing and business building skills to others, I actually don’t mind giving away this service for free. In fact, I am thinking of allocating part of the $2,000,000 fund to creative small business owners who just don’t have enough money to grow or to spend on small marketing campaigns.
I would start a high school mentoring program that would provide mentoring & coaching to help entrepreneurial-minded students figure out what they want to do. I know, I know, there’s the SBA, SCORE, SBDC, etc. But this niche is not tapped – that of focusing on the students (mostly those “at risk”) BEFORE they get out into the business world. And the majority of the $2,000,000 would to establish a grant for scholarships for these kids for education and/or start-up money, with the intent they pay it forward once they’re up and running.
Bottom line – I would invest in the future of this country and the small business community, which seems to be forgotten during these tough times.
I’d limit it to $30 a person and open up an Amazon portal to let folks order up books!
George
You know, Each and every man in this world are measured in the scale of the knowledge.So, if i get a chance to open a store with the capital amount you told, i should start a school with high educational facilities.it has no limits.so i give away a lot of knowledge, which you can’t even count.
So, I could proudly face the tomorrow’s society, who would be grateful to me in one way or another.They -who may have reached the highest positions of the society- would be thanking me and i would be a person getting the most respect and love.
I’d start a micro-funding store/company, not all unlike YCombinator. The whole idea behind this is that these days companies can do a LOT with just a little amount of money. Banks won’t often touch these companies, because they don’t have sufficient collateral or method of repayment. There have been some wildly successful companies started with 10-20K given to them, in exchange only for a small ownership share.
Do this with as many companies as possible to help stimulate the local economy. Not only are you giving money out there, but encouraging more and more business at the same time.
In my $2M store, I would have the same principles in giving away items that I had in order to open my shop. Someone would come in and select something – but they would get one and have to have the exact same thing delivered to someone else in another city or country.
I would give away: housing vouchers to pay 25% of annual housing costs, vegetable and flower seeds (and the dirt, fertilizer, etc. to grow them), handmade and homemade clothing and household items, food vouchers, and pets and farm animals.
I would give these things away because they are the basics: food, shelter, clothing, companionship – that started creation.
I’d open a resort for washed up moms. No men or kids would be allowed. Moms would come to dry out from parenting. It would have your usual assortment of spa stuff, plus classes on assertiveness, better sex, relaxation, and anything else that can allow them to eventually go home and not get burned out again. Lots of martinis will be served by eye candy boys in tarzan suits.
I think that opening a store that gives away both educational materials with regards to fitness, health, and weight-loss, as well as tangible products conducive to those themes, would have the greatest lasting impact on the consumer.
Obesity is an epidemic in America today. That, coupled with our lack of free public health care, leaves many Americans dead in the water with regards to their health — arguably the factor that will have the greatest impact on their lifespans and quality of life.
In-store we would educate, do free consultations and health panels, seminars, book giveaways, hold fitness classes, etc. The consumer would leave empowered with new tools to reach their now clearly defined health goals. Not only would we impart knowledge and know-how, but the customer would have (free) access to tangible tools: protein powder(s), meal preparation kits, scales, food scales, fish oil, multivitamins, dumbbells, heart-rate monitors, etc.
The store would serve as a distribution center for customers wanting access to larger-scale gym-equipment to open their own fitness facilities.
Finally, and most importantly, every customer would need to be converted into a “health advocate”, armed with knowledge and literature to disseminate amongst their peer group. The store would serve as the nexus of this vast networking web.
The overall impact of this could have far-reaching and life-changing effects on every person who is currently, will be, or has ever been associated with this store.
I would learn and teach. The money would go towards learning and providing high quality educators. Who doesn’t like learning and what could benefit our society more than free education. I would hold free seminars and host lecturers and professors. I would market them as phantom seminars to determine where the most interest is and then host topic based educators accordingly. I think education is something everyone is interested and a free opportunity to learn from revered educators and enthusiastic teachers is something very few people would pass up.
I think that I would start a business oriented library which would be accessible both online and off.
The effects such a library could have on society could literally extend forever. The $2 mil could be invested, with returns purchasing original books and resources, allowing for steady growth and long term sustainability.
I would use the store to provide books and computers to children. With my wife as a teacher, I see kids that do not know how to use a computer and borrow our books to take home and read.