Hello Reddit-ers. I've been a "lurker" for a long time, enjoying other people's posts but this is my first post! I'm an entrepreneur who has started & led a number of businesses (a successful non-profit working in Nepal, a growth-consulting business in U.S., and a landscaping business) and I'm looking for my next business idea to run with.
I don't have any experience in this space, but I'd like to run this past you.
Here's what I'm thinking about (just at the beginning of exploring the idea). I'd love to get your initial feedback on the idea, though it is far from fully fleshed out:
IDEA: Design & print shop for quick on demand projects.
FIRST PAIN POINT: Most small businesses don't have a good graphic designer on staff, and most mom and pop small businesses aren't savvy enough to sort through Fiverr and 99Designs and such. They often either (a) go to a full-service agency or (b) hire their cousin who is a "designer". This means they often end up with poor design or have to over-pay, or they have to wait forever to design something, even simple things like a 2 page brochure, a flyer, etc.
SECOND PAIN POINT: I've been frustrated for a long time with the print shop options that are available.Print shops are still operating in the 1990's. They have poor customer service, they don't take advantage of great modern technology for making the process seamless, and as a result it's a terrible experience as a buyer.
Whether I go to Minuteman Press (a franchise), Staples, Kinkos, or my local print shop, the problems are all the same. You have to email over a file that gets lost in their inbox. You have to wait forever while you explain to them what they want. Customer service is awful. They can't convert your file to PDF so you have to go do that for them, and so on and so on you get the idea.
WHAT I IMAGINE: I imagine a super simple design/print on demand shop where you walk in and are seated comfortably in front of someone who helps walk through your options.
Need to design a one-pager to promote your business, a flyer for your 5k charity run, the program for your wedding or church service? No problem, we'll choose a designer for you from our network of vetted freelance designers who is available immediately, put them on a virtual video call and you can hold a little imagination session with them to explain what you are looking for and get their expert input on what would work best. Then they go to the drawing board and design it for you within 1-2 hours and let you make 1-2 rounds of revisions.
This could all even be done virtually, without you having to step foot in the shop.
This would mainly be for "quick and dirty" projects, not super fancy branding or big design projects.
You would pay a pre-determined price, say $40-150 depending on the design. This would be intended mainly for fairly straightforward design projects, not super complicated design projects.
Then you "press go" and it goes to print and you're good to go.
WHO THIS IS FOR: I foresee the market primarily being brick and mortar, mom and pop small businesses or non-profits. Think: independent florists, dentists, doctors offices, law firms, CPAs, Eye Doctors, corner markets, home service businesses, restaurants, etc.
HERE'S WHAT I'D LIKE TO KNOW FROM YOU:
A) Have you seen or experienced other services like this in the wild? If so, what was your experience?
B) If you are a small business owner, could you see yourself using a service like this? What do you love about it? What do you hate about it?
C) If not, why not?
D) If you would use the service, what would kinds of projects would you likely use it for? What kind of budget would you typically have for projects like this, including design and printing costs?
Thank you kindly, in advance, for any feedback you may be able to provide (whether positive or negative).
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