The City of Chicago is hosting a business plan pitch competition with $30,000 in total prizes for the giveaway. The web site is https://app.pitchburner.com/s1/site//chicagotbpc and the deadline for submission is June 30th. Me and the 3rd Strategic Institute cannot enter because of a potential conflict-of-interest and we got other stuff on our plate right now in Asia. But you on the other hand, you been a reader of Dream and Hustle and should already know we created several business models designed specifically for Chicago and in the hood over the years and we straight solid.
So with that said, here are the top 5 hood-based business plans you may want to submit to this pitch contest and see how it works out for you. It don't have to be exactly what we describe but it gives you insight on how to create solutions for the hood by using existing resources in Chicago and also use the latest technology that does not cost a lot of money to get it started and make things happen.
Subscription Laundromat Business Model
Some people consider this one of Dream and Hustle best business model ever written. I thought the West Side Kittens Facebook game app was the best article on business models but I'll keep moving. By moving the Laundromat from a coin-operated business model to a subscription business model like a gym membership, you can scale this hustle throughout the city of Chicago with pre-WWII neighborhoods and you can also arrange deals with huge apartment and condo buildings to manage their laundry facilities and use online billing for recurring income.
This also have a safety benefit for the city of Chicago where only members can enter a Laundromat, reducing property crime and vandalism like they do coin-operated boxes. There is no marketing budget, when a person sign a lease, the manager inform them their laundry machines are outsourced to your firm and you have a signup form with the lease packet or they can include the fees in the rent.
Food Truck Park Business Model
The food truck park model take advantage of empty lot areas in the hood that can a person can offer food trucks and also fresh food and vegetable farmers market vendors a place to setup shop in food deserts around Chicago. Mobile wireless can be setup for EBT card processing if necessary. This model benefits Chicago by using an empty lot to create tax revenue – who going to complain about that?
In the article, I talked about setting up sitting areas and making it an enjoyable place in the hood for urban families to find a place to enjoy themselves in their own community. It does not cost much to get an empty lot just call the alderman and use technology for food trucks and other vendors to reserve space. Now here is a Chicago secret – these food truck parks can be designed to work during the winter – that's on you to study modern urban architecture and realize how it is done.
Micro-Mall Cube Shop Business Model
We talked about micro-mall extensively and we even used Chicago as a template. The cube shop or checker-box store will work seriously in an urban area on commercial centers as a start-up boost because it allow local and citywide entrepreneurs to create micro-stores similar to the miniature exhibits you see at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. People look at an exhibit, take pictures with their mobile phone and connect with local vendors or they can sell items on co-signment.
The City of Chicago can pay for exhibits such as a miniature train station to show off the Chicago Ventra card in one of the cube display. These shops can be setup on each commercial corner and there is another benefit – people who visit commercial centers like Madison and Pulaski can approach the micro-mall cube shop store and get information on local merchants as a vistor point. So that means the City of Chicago Economic Development Department can help fund micro-malls or provide discount space. Another factor to consider is what we spoke of here in the hood – this cube shop model is already popular in China and Hong Kong and can attract Chinese tourists to shop locally in Chicago using a retail model they already familiar with as Chinese tourists are the biggest boost to a local economy in terms of outside spending. Make sure you put all of that in your business plan, homey.
Revolving Pop-Up Store
Notice we featured an image of Madison and Pulaski on the West Side of Chicago for this circular economic business model. We spoke about the problem with commercial real estate in the hood with businesses opening and shutting down. This is a build-take-decline lifecycle and when a retailer goes out of business, blight happens. One of the solutions is to transform the commercial district in the hood where retailers can lease out for a short period of time to try the community.
For example, UNIQLO can open a quick shop on Madison and Pulaski or Toys R Us can open a temp shop where a Woolworth building used to be at in the hood, creating temp jobs. The City of Chicago Economic Development department can help an entrepreneur buy and refurbish these buildings to encourage pop-up retailing culture in local communities to keep a commercial district fresh and solve the problem of business shutting down leaving blight with circular economics.
Furniture Service Model
The furniture service model is also another circular economic model we spoke of that many people thought it was a great idea. There is too much old furniture laying around Chicago apartments by senior people creating clutter. The thought in circular economic thinking is to have the seniors "lease out" their old furniture to young couples moving into Chicago and create steady income for seniors and other families who have generational furniture in their residence they don't need anymore.
This is similar to ridesharing and photo buying apps like Foap where you create a virtual marketplace. This cleans out the City of Chicago furniture dumpster, create income for people with assets like old furniture and help new and young people starting out in Chicago get furniture for cheap.
Hey, Does Black Enterprise Have Any Good Pitch Ideas for the Hood?
No, Black Enterprise Magazine do not have any good ideas to share with brothas and sistas on how to pitch business models or how to do a hack-a-thon because they some straight morons. See, when you about it like Ed Dunn and the 3rd Strategic Institute who does our thing worldwide, we are experts in this and we go hard for brothas and sistas and spent several years at Dream and Hustle with the goal of empowering the Black community and our brothas and sistas, we got stuff to show and tell to help brothas.
See, I ain't even named all the stuff we can pitch in this contest if we were in it. We didn't even talk about the grocery pick-up model did we? Did we talk about the rent-a-suit-for-court business model? Did we talk about the Groupon store model they have over there in Hong Kong to adopt in Chicago - next to Groupon HQ? Did we talk about the IPTV business model using local WLAN setup with relays? Did we talk about the crowdfunding coupon model where cats fund a discounting campaign for a local retailer? We have that crowdfunding discount model coming out and it is called Stoney|Ellis and the south side of Chicago can figure out that name. Or how about steampunk business models like the kettle potato chip store in the hood? Or how about a geo-airport virtual vending with a contract for both Chicago airports?
Damn, it's sad some of the haters mad because the 3rd Strategic Institute been about this on the real for years while Black Enterprise and the rest of these cornballs like the Root try to show you smiling faces of Black entrepreneurs about how they arrived but ain't willing to teach you brothas and sistas how to go and get it yourself. Hell, I just written up an article showing you cats how to pitch for some money with stuff we written and I'm giving it to you brothas and sistas to go and try and make money for yourself with the information we providing to yall. Now, keep walking around pretending someone else is realer than the 3rd Strategic Institute when it comes to being about black business and the hood and economic empowerment. Where the f*ck is Dr. Claud Anderson pitch contest ideas for the hood? Yeah, thought so....
Damn it feels good to be on your grind and top of your game and can put it in these haters face and show them you about it...
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