This thread caught my eye: http://www.mechanicslounge.com/showthread.php?t=4982

If this (screenshot of UI) is what people are paying $250/m for, and it's the best thing around then it looks like room for a simpler web based solution.

http://www.m1products.net/sms/manager/images/orderscreen.jpg

The market is the biggest problem - mechanics probably don't have a decent internet connection at work to start with, don't want to learn new software, and wouldn't even think to look for new software.

Im not sure about that. How many mechanics in the world are there ? A lot. So even if a small percentage have internet and are willing to try new stuff it could well be a market that is worth tens or hundreds of millions. Maybe.

How many mechanics have email ? I think a large percentage.

How many people starting up new mechanic businesses are in their 30s or even 20s and reasonably net savvy ? I imagine quite a few.

Course these questions are best answered with some research and discussion with mechanics.

Definitely, it just reminds me of PG's musings on "Art Museums Online" because of my own past (but limited) research into this market.

Nice find

Another great technique that I read about recently: be the opposite of secretive http://cdixon.org/2010/03/14/developing-new-startup-ideas/

If you are looking for startup ideas, start talking to customers, basically.

Well yeah, I mean you don't necessarily have customers per se but get out and talk to people with real problems.

People who have money at stake in some way is probably best.

My 2 cents anyway.

Also I like the idea of non-glamorous businesses. There is an English saying "Where there's muck there's brass".

Chicken/Egg? Or should you treat everyone as your customer? If you do that too obviously, you come off as a prick, I think.

This link is a perfect example of how a tangential article is being used to boost page rank of his website.

Do you think it is spammy ? I think it adds value. What happened was It occured to me as a useful thing to post and then I considered which of my websites to put it on.

I think google does a pretty good job of providing good incentives. I mean there are a lot of people competing to create content that other people are interested in. That's a lot better than many of the alternatives.

My 2 cents.

I never complained its spammy! It is one of the useful ways of boosting your page rank and getting it linked.