This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
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Are you looking to start a business, hustle or some other income generating project that combines your passion with the latest technology? Well, that is exactly what today's caller is hoping to do with his virtual reality arcade. Hey, what's up? Welcome to Side Hustle School. Chris Guillebeau here.
Love to look at different business ideas, side hustle plans, things that you're thinking about, and kind of deconstruct the process, maybe see what's feasible, what's most profitable. And in this case, we'll hear from John with his VR idea. He has already started putting together a one-page business plan. Now, I love that. I love simplifying and saying, how can we make this, well, as simple as possible?
You know, what is the offer? What's the service? How do people experience it? What's the price? How do they exchange money for the service and so on?
And you can do that very easily by answering a few questions. So I love that part. But he wants to get feedback before he goes too far, which I think is also good. So does his vision have its feet firmly planted in reality in this virtual reality arcade? Or is it a level too high in the game?
Not sure if that makes sense, but seem to kind of work with the analogy. Let's decode the idea and consider the possibilities and challenges of the VR world. Virtual reality arcade, virtual reality shared headsets. Let's talk about it. Detailed question in just 30 seconds.
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This is John calling from Southern California. I came across your podcast after reading the $100 startup. I like gaming and virtual reality. And I think there's a huge potential for virtual reality arcades. I started putting together a one page business plan.
And I think I'm going to go for it. What do you think? Is this a totally crazy idea or is there something to it? [Music]
Oh man, John, thanks for the question. I really want to like it.
Like I really want to like this idea. I respect the fascination with the virtual world, combining technology with the entrepreneurial mindset. As mentioned, the one page business plan, definitely the way to go. But the idea of launching a VR arcade, it's not totally far fetched. It's got some potential, but I definitely think you should look at the idea from some different angles before moving forward, just because it's going to require, as I'm sure you know, a substantial upfront investment, right?
Specific headsets like the Oculus Quest, the rumored Apple VR headset that's coming out at some point. Those are expensive. And then of course you've got to rent a suitable space. There's software, there's insurance. There's a lot of cost to it.
And so I always kind of have not skepticism, but let's just look really carefully when it's a business idea that involves a lot of costs, because there are so many ideas that don't have a lot of cost, right? Another factor to consider is the audience. So, you know, if somebody is a VR enthusiast, they probably already have their own headset. They want to own their own Oculus or whatever comes out from Apple or anything else. They want to do that in their home.
They want to do it as often as they want, not just go to an arcade, the way people used to go to video game arcades. I know they're still around, but not so common these days. Now you just want to play games in your house. So you really got to think about like, is there a broader interest in the local community or the target demographic that's really going to come out and keep coming out? You know, maybe they might come out one time and then decide if they like it or not.
And if they like it, they'll buy their own headset. I just think it's a big challenge in that regard. It's a difficult obstacle to overcome. Now, again, I respect the passion for VR and for gaming. It's just wise to start with a thorough understanding of the landscape.
So that's my quick perspective on that idea, John. Let me know if you agree or disagree. I don't think it's a totally crazy idea to use John's phrase here, but I just don't know that I would jump into it and spend a ton of money on it right now. My two cents to hopefully save tens of thousands of dollars. Listeners, if you have a question, sidehustleschool.com/questions.
We'll continue to feature them each week. New episode every single day. This is 2,432, be back again tomorrow, 2,433 and beyond. My name's Chris Guillebeau. You're listening to "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the "Onward Project."
