Venture Concept No. 1

1. Opportunity
• People, in general, rarely clean their ceiling fan blades which enables dust accumulation and could potentially cause health risks. 
• Everyone who owns a ceiling fan at home or in a business has the need to ensure cleanliness. 
• Dust becomes manifest after a prolonged time period of not being addressed. Different areas in the home or business are usually of a higher concern and get cleaned more frequently such as floors, tables and surfaces whereas ceiling fans are often neglected. This creates the need for a solution to a problem most people do not realize they have until much later.
• Dust is the main driving force for this opportunity. People do not think of dust until it becomes visible and their ceiling fans are high up so people adopt the "out of sight, out of mind" mentality towards them.
• There is a market for this opportunity among all cultures, locations and ethnic backgrounds. The only prerequisite is the ownership of a ceiling fan. 
• People currently use products such as a Swiffer duster to clean their fan blades and usually there are no specific time parameters to clean fan blades as with other areas of the home. They tend to only clean their fan blades when they become noticeable and "gross." Potential customers do not seem to be loyal to any particular product at this point as they do not give much attention to their ceiling fans until the dust becomes visible.
• This opportunity has the capability of becoming huge as everyone who owns a ceiling fan would have the need for a product to alleviate the arduous task of cleaning the blades. However it would have to be marketed correctly as people tend to forget about their ceiling fans until there is a problem which makes any product not necessarily at the forefront of people's minds.
• I do not think the "window of opportunity" will be open for very long as there are always people looking to come up with new ideas to market and make a profit. With the increase in internet capabilities, people are quickly finding new ways to invent or innovate products to sell for any problem that exists in the world today.
2. Innovation
• Covades
• Become a Fan of your ceiling fan!
• Ceiling fan blade covers made of a fabric such as spandex, silk, nylon, polyester, cotton, etc. which can easily be slipped over your existing fan blades with a Velcro enclosure at the end to keep the covers securely fastened to your fan blades.
• They are machine washable and can be easily placed on or removed from the fan blade.
• They are fashionable and come in a variety of colors and designs as well as fabrics to suit the needs of different customers and their existing room themes.
• They come in sets of five.
• They come in different lengths to fit the most common fan blade lengths. Special orders will be available for uncommon lengths.
• I am selling this product for $30 for a set of five.
• Special order blades will increase to $50 for a set of five.
• Licensed trademarked products would sell for $60.
3. Venture Concept 
• Covades will provide a fashionable alternative to the traditional ceiling fan blades while keeping them dust free.
• They will enhance the aesthetics of the current home or business atmosphere by adding an innovative, creative layer to an item which is often overlooked.
• Customers will switch to this product because the only alternative would be to clean their ceiling fan blades using traditional products such as a Swiffer duster or a cloth rag. My product will allow customers to truly adopt an 'out of sight, out of mind' attitude towards their ceiling fans when it comes to maintaining cleanliness while enhancing the atmosphere of the room by adding a new customization layer of effect.
  
• The current competitors are products which help to clean dust from surface areas. Since ceiling fans are suspended in the air, it makes cleaning the blades more cumbersome which is one of the reasons they do not get cleaned very often.
• Price points will play the biggest role in my concept as it will have to be affordable. People do not often think of their fan blades so they may not want to pay a lot for this product. Making it relatively inexpensive for the benefits will persuade people to buy this product and word of mouth will increase sales volume.
4. Minor Elements
• Important Resource
• My most important resource would be my own human capital and my determination to make this product a success. I do not stop at failure but rather welcome it as I feel that is the best way to improve. My own efforts is what would make it hard for any competitor to copy as well as the excellent customer service I intend to create which would also help with word of mouth sales.
• Next Venture?
• I would like to experiment with different materials such as wicker or wood to create a more contemporary feel to the product. I would also like to create different designs for the actual ceiling fan blades as opposed to the mundane rectangular fan blade. Afterwards, I would create Covades which would fit the new designs.
• Next For Me?
• I would like to have created and made moderate to great returns with this venture in the next five years. As an entrepreneur, I would like to solve several other unmet needs in various different areas especially ones concerning the health of individuals. I think this venture has helped to instill confidence that I am capable of finding an opportunity and cultivating it. By reapplying the methodology I've learned in this course, I will be able to innovate in different areas which would be beneficial to many people.