This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Oh, hey there. What's up? Thanks for tuning in today. This is Chris Guillebeau, your host of Side Hustle School. Every single day, a new episode all about helping you make extra money without quitting your job.
One of the things we've been doing here is answering listener questions with different business ideas and just trying to figure out, is this a feasible idea? Is it a profitable idea of all the ideas that you could consider, you know, might this one be the one for you or might something else be better, right? So with that in mind, today's caller has just come from an airline lounge and one of the better ones, it sounds like. Not all airline lounges are created equal for sure, but there are some that are nice. And he has an idea to take the concept and introduce it in his local shopping mall.
Is this a winning idea or should it be retired? Like Radio Shack, Pier One, Sam Goodies, Toys R Us and Sharper Image. Those are just a few of the stores I found on a list of failed retailers that are no longer in business. So the goal is to not be one of those. In this episode, you're gonna hear a bit more about the idea from Peter.
And of course, my response. [Music]
Hi, this is Peter calling in from Chicago. I got to visit my first airline lounge recently and I thought it was really cool. They had free drinks and even some food that wasn't terrible. They even had a peloton that you could use for a quick workout between flights.
I get why airports are an ideal location for these kinds of spaces, but might they work elsewhere? If I wanted to open something like this, how would I proceed and how could I make it profitable? I'm thinking that a shopping mall could benefit from a lounge, maybe on a membership basis. But I also think maybe I'm better off doing something else. What would you do?
- Well, you know, Peter, well, first of all, I should say the lounge you went to, it sounds like it was the Capital One Venture Lounge in Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. I was just there recently 'cause there's not many lounges that have pelotons, that's why I know that. The thing is, many domestic lounges, in fact, almost all of them, are not nearly as good as that one. Lounges tend to have what's known as snack towers of shame, like this kind of Chex mix and pretzels that are bought in bulk and they're in these plastic towers where everybody can kind of refill from. Not so sanitary, not so attractive.
The lounges are also super crowded in the midst of peak travel that we're seeing these days. So they're not always like this wonderful respite that Peter experienced and good for him. But onto the question, well, Peter, I kind of alluded to it in my introduction, I don't want you to end up like Pier One or Toys R Us, or any of these brands that just don't exist anymore. Like there has to be a business model to an idea like this. And one of the reasons airline lounges work is because there's lots of captive traffic.
And in the case of those lounges, some of them sell day passes, but the real money for them is in premium credit cards and memberships. So the lounges are a benefit for those members, but still it works because lots of people passing through will gladly pay one way or another through the credit card membership fee or something else to find a place with peace and quiet, let alone good food and a Peloton workout room. So how does this actually work in a mall? I don't know. Who will pay for it?
I have no idea. So without any further info, like maybe there's something I'm not seeing here, but without knowing more, I'm gonna say enjoy that lounge the next time you pass through Dallas and let's keep looking for a better business idea. Ideas are everywhere. You want to find one that works for you. You want to find one that is feasible and profitable and also one that you're excited about.
So here it sounds like we've got some excitement, but I'm not sure how feasible or profitable it is. Well, that's what I think. Listeners, if you've got a question, www.scidelessschool.com/questions, let me know what you're working on or what you're thinking of working on. We've got a new episode going out every day. We have a global community of awesome people out there, all excited about making extra income without quitting their job, using the skills they already have, building security for themselves, designing their own future, all those good things.
And hopefully in less than 10 minutes a day, you're going to get an idea or a little bit of a motivation or a nudge forward. That's it for today. My name's Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
- From the Onward Project.
