Help: Ideas, Ideas, Ideas....

[Walter Fuller]

I am open to ANY IDEAS or SUGGESTIONS regarding this situation. I value the quality of the members of this forum and your vast personal and professional backgrounds.

I recently acquired a business office suite that can be utilized 1st, 2nd. or 3rd shifts or any combination thereof, it is complete with phones, high-speed internet access, computers, printers, copiers, credit card processing abilities, and a wonderful 6-person staff (It can accommodate up to a 15 person staff) . The office is located in California, and formerly handled phone calls and paperwork for a company that is now defunct.

I am looking for an idea that will effectively and profitably utilize this space and staff. Something that I can research, set-up, and launch relatively quickly.

I am open to original or existing ideas that I can easily "duplicate" or "tweak".

Thanks again everyone, I am open to ANY and ALL suggestions!

Walter

[funchy]

If you've never run a business before, I would suggest just leasing this office out instead. Usually you lease a space that fits the business' needs, not create a business that fits the size of an existing office.

The existing office staff may not be much of an asset unless you're doing something similar to what they were doing. There's going to be an issue of re-training and losing some people who aren't cut out for the new job.

Some suggestions, taking into account this economy:
- collections agency
- credit counseling or anything relating to helping people avoid foreclosure, bankruptcy, or massive loan debt
- bail bonds is very profitable, if you know what you're doing
- repossession work
- possibly answering service, if you have the money to invest in the phone/computer system

Or if you have connections, you can search for the next big thing being produced in Asia and run TV ads: for example, Sham-wow

[Walter Fuller]

Thanks for the reply. I have business experience, I'm just looking for something profitable that I can get up and running quickly out of this office suite.

[freddy]

How about selling other people stuff on ebay or a set up for getting order for other company product through 800 numbers.

[RRR]

What path has a heart for you? Your success will depend wildly on your passion for success. Do whatever it is your are passionate about, your solutions will be more accurate and you will be more likely to succeed.

[teatree]

There is a glut of office space out there at the moment, not sure you will be able to lease it.

Have you considered turning it temporarily into studios that you can lease to say writers or other self-employed people on a piecemeal basis? Say, put an ad in the paper saying that you will lease a desk for a certain rate, create a writers room so people have somewhere to go that is quiet and is set up with all the stuff you need.

I'm pretty sure there is something similar in New York (writers room I mean, where people hire desks).

Or you could rent on a desk-by-desk basis to other self-employed people who want facilities but don't want to rent a whole office.

[FutureTimeTraveler]

Hi, building on Teatree's message, this is called "coworking". Check the Wikipedia entry at Coworking - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I think it will be a big thing in the near future. I am already wishing to co-work but there is no such space in my area.

[dwixi]

Originally Posted by Walter Fuller

I am open to ANY IDEAS or SUGGESTIONS regarding this situation. I value the quality of the members of this forum and your vast personal and professional backgrounds.

I recently acquired a business office suite that can be utilized 1st, 2nd. or 3rd shifts or any combination thereof, it is complete with phones, high-speed internet access, computers, printers, copiers, credit card processing abilities, and a wonderful 6-person staff (It can accommodate up to a 15 person staff) . The office is located in California, and formerly handled phone calls and paperwork for a company that is now defunct.

I am looking for an idea that will effectively and profitably utilize this space and staff. Something that I can research, set-up, and launch relatively quickly.

I am open to original or existing ideas that I can easily "duplicate" or "tweak".

Thanks again everyone, I am open to ANY and ALL suggestions!

Walter

So you got an office and staff without any idea of what you want to do with it.....