A few years ago I was hosting an event for about 40-50 people. It was going to be a nice dinner with real plates and silverware. The only problem was that the location we were renting didn’t have plates and silverware. What did we do?

First I priced renting plates, silverware, glasses, bowls, salad plates, tablecloths, etc. Then I went to Walmart to see what it would cost to buy these things. Turns out, if we ended up hosting two dinners for 50 people, we would pay the same at Walmart as we would for renting these things.

The Job Idea: Go buy 50 settings for a nice dinner and start your own business renting dishware.

Pros:

• Startup Cost – This is really low.
• Time Cost – Time spent will be low. You simply drop everything off and then pick it up when you are done.
• Profitability – After 3-4 events, you are making money.
• Turnover – This is a business that could easily be turned over to other family members (teenagers) at some point or sold to someone. The more clients, the more value.
• Storage – To start off, you probably only need a closet or part of your garage to store your supplies.

Cons/Sticky Areas:

• Advertising – I’m not sure how you advertise this. I would think word of mouth would be key. Social Media could be helpful. If you are particularly bold, you would go around to businesses letting them know what you are doing.
• Packing – You may want to plan on packing the dishes yourself. This will allow you to determine if they are cleaned (I’m assuming you wouldn’t wash them, but you could charge extra for this) and make sure nothing is broken (again an additional cost or something you could include in the price).
• Additional Costs – Not sure if you would include these in the original price or make them options. Some things to consider are you staying for the event to plate the food, and do clean up. Also, what if something gets broken?
• Nights/Weekends – Although it may not take much of your time, this would probably be a job that takes place mostly on nights and weekends. That could be good or bad for you.
• Storage – If you end up wanting to grow this business, a closet is not going to work for storage. You will need more space.

Even as a part-time gig, this could be quite profitable. What do you think? Share in the comments section.

PS: Why am I posting a job idea? I explain here.