Julianne Dowling | June 9, 2009

 

Featured: Sydney Morning Herald (Click Here to See the Original Article) 

 

It was Ben Stiller as Dave the night guard in Night at the Museum 2 who recently demonstrated how a wacky idea can become big business.

But in reality, unusual ideas need a lot of luck and work to hit the jackpot, while inventers need an entrepreneurial flair to turn them into a sustainable business.

Money matters too. Darrell Nicholls, executive officer at the Industry Development Centre, says initial or start-up funding most often comes from friends, family or personal credit lines. 

While there may be limited access to micro-loans or small government grants, these will depend on you being able to demonstrate a commercially viable business case with a clear market opportunity and  a sustainable model to take the product or service to that market, he says.

To protect your idea you may also need to consider patents, which take time and are costly to obtain.  

Rather than market it yourself, you may decide to license the intellectual property to someone else for a royalty payment, Nicholls said. It's a personal decision and revolves around what funding you have and your skills to develop your idea further. State government programs may offer advice on these choices. 

Whatever you choose, to be a success, you will needs lots of hard work and a passion for what you want to achieve. 

Here's our list of the top ten wacky business ideas that have traction:

1. The bedbug barrier

Tony Abrahams was running a private backpacker hostels and managing apartments around St Kilda for years, and found that bed bugs were widespread.  He says once you had them, it was very hard to get rid of them. So he invented a bed bug barrier, which clips onto the legs of the bed and act as a barrier to access with a sticky resin that traps bugs which crawl up into the bed and bite the occupant. Abrahams won his episode on the New Inventors last month for this entry, and is now developing a mould for mass manufacture. bedbugbarrier.com.au 

2. Rent-a-chook

While minding a friend's chickens for a week, I found these girls to be a lot of work despite the daily reward of eggs. Frankly, after feeding them, cleaning their coop, and filling in holes dug up for their great escape, I was happy to hand them back! Well, with rentachook, you can! You pay $100 for two chooks, a coop and feed, and for six weeks, they're yours. Co-founder Dave Ingham, who grew up with hens in the backyard, says chooks are champion little recyclers, and many urban farming families are catching onto the idea but want to try before they buy…this idea began in Germany with rent-a-duck and is becoming quite popular. rentachook.com.au

3. Doggie accessories

This idea is a goldmine. Take www.doggles.com.au which sells eyewear for dogs; some of it is for fun, some is protective, says owner Jill Doyle. Doyle bought the distribution business three years ago, and while she says consumers are price sensitive, pet owners love the practical benefits. 

With goggles, you're stopping dust and dirt getting into the animal's eyes, she explains, as well as getting UV protection.  

Farmers with working dogs are interested in doggie eyewear;  owners with dogs on utes like them for the dust protection; and owners with breeds, such as German Shepherds, which are vulnerable to eye disease relating to UV light, also find them handy. 

If your dog has had eye surgery, then goggles are also helpful. Jill Doyle, who owns a foxy chihuahua cross, says it's a full-time business, but you need a wider range so she has reflective travel vests, eco-friendly bowls made out of recycled plastic bottles, apparel, such as sweatshirts and jumpers ("Elderly people like to put a warm jumper on their dog,"), and monster toys and baby bears all made out of cotton.

Pets are children so they get treated in the same way. I haven't got into pet prams yet, that's a niche market for older women, who may have trouble walking, or for arthritic dogs. Doyle says the downturn hasn't really hit the pet industry hard: I wouldn't say we're recession proof, but it's a bit like your child, you don't deny your pet. 

4. Smashing plates for fun

The Venting Place in Tokyo emerged last year where stressed-out Japanese shoppers and businesspeople buy porcelain china plates and cups and smash them up, after donning protective gear.

5. Pet toilet

Developed in Australia by social worker Simone Iglicki-Skovron and featured on New Inventors in 2006, Pet Loos are rapidly becoming a global fad.

 

 

Living in an apartment with dogs, Simone realised the need for a portable pet toilet for an emergency or use at night. The idea also has application for elderly dog owners who found it hard to jump up and open doors whenever their pooch wanted out. Pet loos, and its extension for puppies, is now being exported into the US and elsewhere. www.thepetloo.com

6. Biodegradable burial shrouds

The 'bio-pod' or bio-degradable shroud recently appeared on the New Inventors, and should appeal to those wanting an eco-burial because not much separates you from the earth…you're the compost! 

There are five designs, and inventor Kevin Hartley said he's had constant calls and interest. Funeral Director by day, Hartley has been offering shroud burials in Adelaide since January 2008, and has just bought 20 acres of land dedicated to natural burials. 

''We're currently looking for land to site burial grounds in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne and far North Queensland. It's really finding its feet. The cost of a funeral comes down to services,'' he says.

The most elaborate shroud is $1300, which is cheaper than the least expensive coffin. Kevin has been lobbying for crown land for non-profit sites for green burials at the same cost of cremation. 

''Cremation pollutes and uses fossil fuel to destroy an organic body, and is a fairly violent process. It's not nice,'' Hartley says.

As a member of Natural Burial Society, he says choosing your own funeral is a powerfully personal issue.naturalshroudburial.com

7. Green hangers

Green Hangers are recycled cardboard hangers (retailing $5.95 for pack of ten), and Christian Ferrante, one of three founding partners, says that while the concept seems obvious, nobody else made it happen.

Now, the group manufactures in China, runs logistics in Australia, and creates global sales. In Australia, Green Hangers are distributed through Bunnings Warehouse and now Howards Storage with supply into QuikSilver and some hotels and drycleaners.  

''Everyone loves the idea,'' Ferrante says, ''but we still had to drive it, and it's a little more expensive than a wire hanger.  It's living up to our expectations and more,'' he said.

''Our difference is that other models rely on advertising on the hanger while we believe in keeping it simple.'' 

A coat hanger amnesty in September will allow you to dispose of your wire hangers at a drop-off point in Melbourne for recycling!  For details, see greenhanger.com.au

8. Gourmet doggy treats

Hand-made gourmet pet biscuits and cakes were developed by Milly Parker and her chef partner Tony, after a car accident led Milly to find a new source of income. The couple are now in a commercial kitchen and out of their own house, and have sold into several countries, including Harrods in London.happyyappers.com.au

9. Rose petals

Sarah Benjamin and mother Jan Slater developed a business based on rose petals after their family farm's crop of roses failed. Sarah was determined to find a new use which led her to weddings and now, they export and retail the largest colour range in the world. The pair won a finalist award for innovation at the Telstra Businesswoman's awards in 2006 and Sarah says she couldn't be happier. simplyrosepetals.com

10. Genuinely weird stuff

Uncommongoods.com is a funky little online gift store of truly weird stuff (so wrong it's right!), such as recycled necktie wallets, paper made out of elephant pooh or books with titles, such as What's your Poo telling you? Maybe it's for the kids or the big kid in your family but it works! Based in New York since 1999, the store has had been praised for its bizarre and crafty approach. uncommongoods.com

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