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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Entrepreneurship => Topic started by: HipGnosis on March 04, 2019, 11:23:22 AM

Title: Anyone done or doing a 'fad' business?
Post by: HipGnosis on March 04, 2019, 11:23:22 AM
Over the years, there have been businesses that were highly profitable - for a while.
Waterbeds, video arcades, earth shoes, etc.
'fads'
Cannabis shops are taking home cash in wheel barrels (where it's legal).
My state just legalized CBD oil.  I think it's going to be quite profitable, at least for a while...
Has anyone done a fad business??  Talk to me.


Title: Re: Anyone done or doing a 'fad' business?
Post by: chialvin39 on May 22, 2019, 04:52:03 PM
It does not appear as if cannabis dispensaries are going to be a "fad" business, since 65% of Americans expressed support for cannabis legalization in an April 2019 CBS News poll.
Title: Re: Anyone done or doing a 'fad' business?
Post by: pdxbator on May 22, 2019, 06:42:01 PM
It does not appear as if cannabis dispensaries are going to be a "fad" business, since 65% of Americans expressed support for cannabis legalization in an April 2019 CBS News poll.

A ton of cannabis dispensaries opened here in Oregon. Too many. Some have gone out of business, losing their investments in the process. While fad businesses might sound immediately profitable, many many other investors are also thinking the same. How many Glamour Shot studios remain? Just 5.
Title: Re: Anyone done or doing a 'fad' business?
Post by: MonkeyJenga on May 22, 2019, 07:06:27 PM
It does not appear as if cannabis dispensaries are going to be a "fad" business, since 65% of Americans expressed support for cannabis legalization in an April 2019 CBS News poll.

A ton of cannabis dispensaries opened here in Oregon. Too many. Some have gone out of business, losing their investments in the process. While fad businesses might sound immediately profitable, many many other investors are also thinking the same. How many Glamour Shot studios remain? Just 5.

Yeah but how many Americans actually want Glamour Shots to be legal? :P
Title: Re: Anyone done or doing a 'fad' business?
Post by: dragoncar on May 22, 2019, 07:09:56 PM
(https://i.redd.it/6ca6wfbsbnn01.jpg)
Title: Re: Anyone done or doing a 'fad' business?
Post by: sol on May 22, 2019, 10:25:29 PM
I did see a post somewhere about a guy who bought $10,000 worth of fidget spinners wholesale from China because he saw them for sale everywhere at a 300% markup, but by then the fad was past and he was stuck with them.  No thanks.

The whole idea of a "fad business" just seems like a dangerous recipe, doesn't it?  I mean your business plan needs to have estimated revenues and costs and profit margins all planned out ahead of time, so that you know what you have to sell each month to break even, and if your sales are entirely based on something that's popular right now but the rest of your costs are fixed, aren't you pretty much guaranteeing that you're going to lose money eventually?

Whether or not cannabis shops fall into this category remains to be seen.  Liquor stores are still operating profitably decades later, right?  Are they really that different?
Title: Re: Anyone done or doing a 'fad' business?
Post by: thd7t on May 23, 2019, 07:18:51 AM
There was a big discussion of escape rooms a little while back.  Feels like the definition of a fad business.
Title: Re: Anyone done or doing a 'fad' business?
Post by: Samuel on May 29, 2019, 02:12:24 PM
I always assume by the time I've passively heard of a fad it's too late to realistically capitalize on it.


Title: Re: Anyone done or doing a 'fad' business?
Post by: Cromacster on May 29, 2019, 02:46:48 PM
I always assume by the time I've passively heard of a fad it's too late to realistically capitalize on it.

Part of it also depends on if your current situation allows you to capitalize on a fad.  If a person/business is in a adjacent market it might be easy for them to refocus some resources.  Whereas someone starting from complete scratch is going to have a much tougher time.

I think the only way dispensaries are fads is if the fed does something about it.  I think they are here to stay.  But kinda like when MN finally changed it's draconian liquor laws, anyone who knew how to ferment barley with yeast was starting a brewery.  Just as I'm sure there were a bunch of marijuana enthusiasts who tried starting a growop or dispensary.  Overtime the ones who can't get their act together for whatever reason will fall off.
Title: Re: Anyone done or doing a 'fad' business?
Post by: Missy B on June 03, 2019, 09:35:31 PM

My state just legalized CBD oil.  I think it's going to be quite profitable, at least for a while...


As others have said, MJ is here to stay. CBD oil is interesting because has so many applications... and all I hear are people complaining that the CBD oil they bought wasn`t effective. Seems like there are issues with getting good consistent expression of CBD in the strains they`re growing... and the manufacturer`s aren`t testing properly. I`m in Canada`s pot heartland, it`s legal and everywhere, and I think every person I`ve talked to who has tried CBD oil or gummies has been disappointed at least once.
I think each batch of leaf and oil needs to be assayed at an analytic chem lab so you know what you`ve got. If you put out a consistent product you`ll sell gobs.
Title: Re: Anyone done or doing a 'fad' business?
Post by: Drole on June 03, 2019, 11:34:32 PM
It does not appear as if cannabis dispensaries are going to be a "fad" business, since 65% of Americans expressed support for cannabis legalization in an April 2019 CBS News poll.

A ton of cannabis dispensaries opened here in Oregon. Too many. Some have gone out of business, losing their investments in the process. While fad businesses might sound immediately profitable, many many other investors are also thinking the same. How many Glamour Shot studios remain? Just 5.

Yeah but how many Americans actually want Glamour Shots to be legal? :P

But support for making it legal does mean they plan to buy. 
Title: Re: Anyone done or doing a 'fad' business?
Post by: Metalcat on June 04, 2019, 04:34:08 AM
I always assume by the time I've passively heard of a fad it's too late to realistically capitalize on it.

Or it becomes the new status quo.

It's easy to think of fads restrospectively once they've already passed and identify them as fads, but a lot of what people assume are "fads" actually stick around.

As someone raised in the art community, I thought cameras on cell phones would be a short lived fad because I assumed that no one would want to look at other people's shitty photography. Now it's the cornerstone of youth culture.

Malcolm Gladwell talks about the example of a small group of New York hipster kids making Hush Puppy shoes ironically trendy, which is the very definition of a fad, and yet it massively blew up the company.

Sometimes a "fad" is actually a "next big thing", but yes, usually by the time you've heard of it, it's very difficult to cash in because either it's over or already been discovered by the big guys and you will have a hard time competing. 

The challenge in capitalizing on trends at the right time is that sometimes they don't pop.