Online Factory Direct

Startup Costs: $10,000 - $50,000
Home Based: Can be operated from home.
Franchises Available? No
Online Operation? Yes

In North America there are thousands of homebased manufacturing businesses. Two of the largest challenges facing these entrepreneurs are marketing and competing against much larger and better-financed competitors. Herein lies the business opportunity. Develop an online 'factory direct' Web site that features products for sale manufactured by these homebased entrepreneurs. Not only will you be giving these small manufacturing businesses a fantastic marketing and distribution channel, but you will also be giving them a chance to compete for business without having to blow a bundle on developing and marketing their own Web site. Products sold via the site can be shipped to purchasers directly from the manufacturer, thus eliminating the need for warehousing inventory. In exchange for providing manufacturers with a marketing channel, you can retain a portion of the sales that the site generates; in the range of 10 to 15 percent would be fair. This type of cyberventure could really prove to be successful, as 'factory direct' pricing attracts consumers and securing manufactured goods to be featured on the site would be very easy.