ConMan I hope you don't take the feedback you are getting from members on here personally or negatively. It is necessary to look at your business idea critically and take on board any potential pitfalls you may have overlooked or not considered. I worked in a few banks and time and time again I had business proposals/plans on my desk that I had to throw in the bin. I have met many people that gave me the sense that they were passionate about their business, lovely people to know but when it came to a critical analysis of their business many factors were lacking that confirmed that they had not done their research properly. A business plan should be your first step for your business idea. It will answer the burning questions you have and even highlight ones you never thought of. A business plan is not just about borrowing money for a business it is also a tool for measuring the progression of your business to see how far/near you are on targets and expectations for business performances, market conditions etc. You mentioned some points so let me ask you some more critical questions even though you still haven't said what service(s) in particular you are targeting - suffice to say your business plan would reveal which service(s) if at all are viable.

Again this highlights the burning question of what type of service you're targeting because some services could take weeks some months. The time gap between providing the service and giving feed back to other consumers would take a longer time than a tangible sale & delivery scenario. The internet is perceived to be a click of a button and answers are readily available so look into ways to reduce the potential gaps


By having pictures and qualifications is one thing but that still doesn't verify the claims from bidders. I know of a few web site owners who had pictures of their work hijacked by unscrupulous folks who pretended the pictured work were their own. How would consumers verify that before a bid is accepted that joe bloggs has the qualifications, experiences and the pictures/videos provided are his own. Think of ways to reduce these risks to your consumers.

How would the consumer initially arrive at the maximum price. Through experience/knowledge of the particular service industry? Reading and researching? What if the maximum price falls below what any bidder is prepared to accept? These questions would mean your web site looking into providing guideline of prices for consumers possibly by also encouraging bidders across the board to give an estimated guideline. Again an estimate is exactly what it is even in the bidding process so your web site should also prepare consumers to be flexible when deciding a maximum price. After bids are accepted and work begins other issues not present at the initial stage may arise that effect a price increase. Look at the London Olympic stadium as as example which is true to any trade or construction services including legal services etc; prices at the outset can rise dramatically as work progresses due to unforeseen elements. Another question... What type of consumers are you targeting (apart from the services you are targeting). For example companies, the public or both.

Remember that site like ebay are required to have indemnity guarantee and merchant account which are in themselves under the FSA Financial Services Authority because you will be "processing" transactions. Look into whether your web site will need to satisfy any regulatory requirements. Setting the site up under a limited company is another must.


An idea is only as brilliant as a critical analysis says it is.