Recently in a coaching session I was asked by my client to evaluate a couple of business ideas and, although he presented some very interesting ideas, they needed more due diligence to see if they met the criteria in what I like to call my “Right Formula.” We discussed other ideas I had been seeing as trends and possibilities which might prove viable for him.

As I began to explain these ideas, I felt I needed to be specific about why I liked them. I told him that first and foremost, I like to look at businesses that have the Right Formula.It is also important that they are already being done, but lack a sophisticated approach; that’s really they key. I love businesses that have good margins but lack professionalism.

A poorly managed business always leaves room for someone who does it right to make it succeed. This fact is true for all businesses, but especially true for the ones with huge obvious gaps between a sophisticated approach and a haphazard, lackadaisical one. When this kind of a gap is present, bringing a professional, well-funded business plan to the table is essentially all you need. Plug that into a proven, profitable, and duplicatible business, and the whole process becomes easier and less risky.

In conclusion, look at Merry Maids as an example of an industry that went from a small business which had a proven market but lacked sophistication to a national corporation that is hugely profitable. I wonder when someone is going to put together a national lawn mowing service. Hint. Hint.