I live near a suburban city that has turned into a restaurant row. If I did a site with reviews of all the restaurants would that be profitable? I know there are already reviiews online for most cities, but I could do it with a more personal style. Anyone else here doing this?
It could be if you get the restaurants in yoru area to join in and hang little signs in their windows and maybe a small mention of your site in their menus after you review them. Otherwise, in my honest opinion, i don't think it would work very well unless you advertise in yoru local area.
You are asking would it be profitable.... if you are not sure... then probably not. You are the only one who knows your vision and can execute it. A rule of thumb you should apply to any project/business is how are you going to sell the product or service. That is why need some type of business plan. If the project doesn't look feasible or have the ability to be profitable then don't do it. Walk away! Also profitable is relative term.... what profitable means to you, might not mean the same to the person you are asking. Again goes back to planning... doing some type of cost/benefit and sales forecast anaylsis. You have startup cost, maintenance cost, sales & marketing cost.... how much $$ will be left over after this? After considering that, is it really worth taking on? How much will it really add to your monthly cash flow.
Work. I have seen in other forums where this formula has worked for others in this particular niche. Build a nice website first. Then go to each restaurant, talk to the owner about your website and why you would want this particular restaurant on your site. Create a page just for this restaurant, with directions, owner names, phone numbers, menus, etc. Be prepared to update at least weekly. Charge the restaurant a fee for this service. In other words, do not rely on visitors to create your income. But rely on the restaurants to create your income. Then promote your website heavily in the local area.
THANKS Iowa Dawg, I hadn't even thought of charging the restaurants. Velocity, my costs will be the domain name price and my time. I already have a hosting account that allows addon domains. I appreciate your feedback, but saying "if I have to ask, the answer is no" seems a bit negative to me. I agree, I need a plan, I'll plan more comprehensively if & when I decide to go forward. Today I'm having second thoughts. Even though I am familiar with the majority of these restaurants, I'll have to go & eat in them all again. Could be fun, but it will cost me some money and time. Or maybe I could get my friends to share in this part of the project.
There you go....personal reviews (take a hint from the food section of your local newspaper) and reviews from others will help a lot to get the business from these restaurants. Again, build the site, put in those restaurants with reviews, etc. Then go back to the restaurants and sell them on having their own page on your site, a spot on the main page as featured restaurant of the week, things like that. Have coupons where people can go to these restaurants and get a special price or free drinks, etc. Restaurants are always looking for a way to get more customers. Don't give up your dream on this one!
I have seen entire websites built around these type of reviews go very very well. Pull in lots of traffic once word gets around. Especially if you allow users to add their comments also. Then you have updating content too Brad
Your time is worth money... how much could you be earning putting that time into something else? Would this project be more profitable than another? You said you already have a hosting account. Hosting account is an expense too... whether you host yourself or pay for any account. I actually said, "You are asking would it be profitable.... if you are not sure... then probably not. You are the only one who knows your vision and can execute it." To me that isn't negative... it is simple the truth. You should put together some simple plan on paper to see if it will work financially.... unless you have a lot of free time on your hands and just want to do it for an accomplishment. If it is something you really are passionate about then do it... you can always partner with someone to do the sales. If you really want to cut your risk... do some simple market analysis. You could print up a simple survey and drop them off to the managers, and introduce your self while you are at it. That in itself could open many doors now and in the future, whether you choose to do this project or not. It may open your eyes to a different market. And to end on a motivation note.... think about the story of Colonel Sanders and Kentucky Fried Chicken.... for those who don't know it: "Out of work and retired on an pittance Social Security check, he decided he'd have to make some extra income. A jack-of-all-trades ne'r do well out on his own at 65. He'd had a small restaurant once, but had to auction it off when the Interstate bypassed the little town where it was located. Living in his car, he cold-called on restaurants all over Dixie. He'd walk in and offer the manager the recipe. His cut would only be a nickel a plate of his chicken sold. He got laughed out of the restaurant the first time he made his silly proposition. And the second time. And the hundredth time. He'd just drive to a new town and try again. I think I would have quit after 500 times of being turned down. He didn't. I might have lasted to 750 times. But no further. But he didn't even quit after 900 times of having his dream shot down. It wasn't until the 1009th cold-call before an owner took him up on his scheme. Nickel a chicken. Sanders cooked it himself in the back."
How are you going to make money with the site? This is one of the first questions you want answered when thinking about starting a new online business venture.
Any site can be viable if done correctly. It's all about what consumers want... if you can create your own niche market, then you can make anything successful. For example, there are a million coffee shops in Seattle... but if your coffee shop offered something that others didn't, then you could very well bring in your own niche customer base. It's not about whether or not it exists... it depends on how you create it and how you can make it better than what exists.
It might work, depending on how you are looking at making your money. I am currently working on a new site and the site will contain restaurant and bar reviews as well for a niche market. Good luck with yours!