Matt Baril

Idea #25 Take pictures of tourists that can be purchased later on in a following-up email

This idea is not mine. As we were at science world today, selling chocolate bars for a project for an entrepreneurship class and taking a picture of our latest customer as a proof of our work, a bystander said: "You guys should take peoples' email and sell them the pictures." That reminded me different places in Europe where I've had the chance to go and where you can have your picture taken by a professional photograph and you can buy it on the spot. Most of them used polaroid and the quality was not the best, but people would still pay up to 5€. These photographs might exist in Vancouver, but I've never seen any in 3 years leading me to believe there is still room available in the market. All the material required would be a good digital camera you can buy for about $1000 and a license to do business on the street.

Once you find the perfect spot to work (e.g. Steam Clock, Capilano Bridge, Stanley Park, etc.) then you offer people to take a picture of them for free with no engagement required. They could then simply write their email address on a sheet of paper so the picture with a watermark across it can be sent to them. This is direct marketing and people expect your email, you've got the permission to connect with them when they wrote their email address. This opportunity should be fully tapped into. The email should contain a link to a website were other pictures of Vancouver landmarks could be purchased. Frames and even souvenirs could be sold through the website.

In order to attract peoples' attention, a small flat tv screen displaying some of the best shot ever taken could be set on a table close by. If a picture is sold for an average of $5 without a frame, and the cost is about $1 then not many pictures need to be sold per day in order to cover cost and salary. If the website is set properly and the marketing targeted enough, customers could even buy more than the simple $5 picture increasing average spent per customer.

Related posts:

1. February 7th – Business Idea #7
2. February 5th – Business Idea #5
3. February 15th – Business Idea #15