Hi Jerry,
This should be self-explanatory. If he agrees, it will provide some funding for a few months and then revenue share beyond. Talking with him later today. Any thoughts?
Thanks!
Robert
Hi Peter,
You have periodically asked me to keep you in mind when I find small, profitable deals that do not require much capital.
I have one. It uses a lot of the expertise I have developed in recent years; it does not require much capital; we can get to positive cash flow very quickly; it has great operating margins; and it will be something we can both be proud of. It will also be fun.
Background
“Some grocery stores create 'elderly hours' to protect older shoppers during coronavirus”
The Need
The challenge for the elderly is finding the grocery stores and pharmacies near them that offer elderly hours.
Market Size (all are U.S. only):
People over age 65: 50M
Number of grocery stores: 40k
Number of pharmacies: 67k
Other stores that might offer elderly hours: unknown
Our Solution
We can very quickly build a site that makes it easy for them to find nearby groceries and pharmacies that offer elderly hours. Here is the general way the store locator tool would look. Instead of “An excellent spot for shopping,” as you see here, each store would show their elderly hours. Visitor can search by city, state, or zip code, and they can filter by hours and by type of store. See the image at the bottom of the page.
Operation
Timing:
We can launch the site in one week. We can start marketing it to retailers even before we are done.
Tech:
We have extensive experience with the software and hosting we would use. It allows virtually unlimited traffic at a modest fixed cost. (See footnote below my signature).
Marketing
To Stores:
Mutual friends (for instance, the founder of Horizon Dairy) can introduce us to the largest chains. We will also get the industry associations and publications to complement our efforts to reach the others.
Store Registration:
We can totally automate the process for retailers to submit their data and pay for their listings.
To Public
We can easily get massive media exposure, including AARP, local newspapers, radio and television. Google this to see the interest:
corona elderly shopping hours
Network Effect
The first mover (that’s us) has a tremendous advantage.
Revenue
Listing Fees:
We will charge the groceries and pharmacies a modest amount. They get both customers and goodwill.
If just 50% of them pay $1 a month (paid annually), that is $642k a year. They should be willing to pay more than that.
Premium Listings:
Some groceries and pharmacies are likely to pay more for premium listings.
Newsletters:
Visitors to the site can request info on hours and special deals for the elderly. Stores will pay for that.
Expenses
Capital Expenses
Incorporation, etc. $1,000
Legal $0 (we can use docs Goodwin created for GfH)
Graphics $1,000
Data and developer $5,000
Total $7,500
Monthly Expenses
People
Books & Acctg $100
Tech $1k
RST $5k
Data person $1k
PR intern $900
Total $8k
Net Operating Margin
Revenue (conservative case) $642k
Expenses $96k
Profit $546k
Net Operating Margin 85%
Funding
Initial expenses $7.5k
Three months of monthly expenses $21k
Contingency $1.5k
Total $30k
Well before the end of the third month, we should have revenue well in excess of the $7k in monthly operating expenses. (Just 7% of stores, each paying just $1 per month, would cover our operating expenses).
Deal
Operating Income
Distribution of operating income:
Robert 66.6%
Investor 33.3%
Distribution of capital proceeds
Return of investor capital, then:
Robert 66.6%
Investor 33.3%
Return to Investor (first year operating income, only)
Most conservative assumptions:
REVENUE
Listing Fees $642k (assumes just $1 per month for 50% of stores)
Premium Listings $0 (neglects this)
Newsletters $0 (neglects this)
Total $642k
EXPENSES
Annual $96k
NOI $546k
Investor share $172k
Return on capital 5.7X (first year only)
Timing
Because of the timeliness of the opportunity and the small amount needed, I want to do a deal and launch very quickly.
You get the first look, because you know me well enough that I am not worried about the appearance of sending this at around midnight—and because it would be fun to do this with you.
If you are interested and can move quickly, let’s talk. If it is not for you, then just let me know, and I will reach out to others right away.
Want to schedule a time to talk? This makes it easy: http://robert.YouCanBook.me
Thanks!
All my best,
Robert
- The one program that is not a fixed price is one for collecting info via forms (stores or visitors). It costs $0.0005 to $0.002 to per submission, depending on the volume.