Category Archives: Business

Food Court – My Restaurant Rules meets Shark Tank

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This is a reality TV concept that ticks a lot of boxes!

  • Find a struggling food court, one that has at least two vacancies. Buy it. Buy the property.
  • But only if you manage to buy out the leases of existing tenants. Stagger their exits.
  • Contestants can have experience, even in food courts, but their brand and menu must be substantially new
  • The free rent is genuine and will continue after the show has ended, after a winner is found

You can imagine the TV part – see their stories, watch their problems, have some clock ticking, have mentors. That part is easy.

The mentors though are industry business folk, with money. They (and the show, lines could be blurred about percentages) front up money for fit-out. A strong focus will be on repeatable standardised components. For example, everyone has the same till and ordering system (so sales can be tracked). Equipment like fryers, griddles, bain maries, microwaves and whatever will be the same for each contestant, and remain the property of the food court. The contestants get to spend money on uniforms, menus, initial ingredient stock and so on.

The reality aspect alone will have the food court bursting with customers. So every player will make money, you’d think.

At the end (of the show), the food court continues. The players can carry on and keep running their business, if they choose, or sell it, or shut up shop.

Oh yeah, the mentors and the TV show get a percentage of ongoing turnover during and after the show, and a percentage of the business, should it ever expand or franchise.

From then on, on a two-year cycle, the group with the least turnover in the food court lose their spot, and get no compensation for it. They lose any food court owned equipment. A new group is chosen to replace them and the clock starts again.

Here’s the cool part – after the show ends the food court is gifted to a trust that manages it. Each business keeps on being rent free (but pays their share of overheads), meaning they will always have a price advantage that should keep the food court flourishing.

Better Foods – Supermarket of the Future

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There are a variety of supermarket formats that serve various niches:

  • Standard large – sells everything
  • Mini mart
  • Speciality Deli
  • Whole Foods
  • Gourmet

I’m thinking of a new type, which is very focussed on health, food trends, sources and independence + information. Somewhere I would shop, as an older person who is very aware and conscious of the many aspects of food shopping.

I’m thinking like a specialty wine store or library where there are little signs in front of products telling us something special about them. To make our choices easier via the thoughts of like-minded people.

Labelling can tell us about:

  • Origin (country, region, nearby)
  • Nutrition
  • Low fat / sugar
  • Super-food ingredients
  • Minimal packaging
  • Ethical parent company

As opposed to the cheating and lying that mass-producers of food put on their packaging. Ideally, if there are alternatives, the bad brands simply aren’t stocked. A little dangling pamphlet can explain why.

No fresh meat, baked goods or veg – we would encourage people to go to a butcher, baker or greengrocer. Well, some amount of bread would be good. But otherwise, nothing is going off any time soon.

A focus on staples and whole foods, especially where you can fill your own container. While the store might have regular discounts (I’m thinking monthly cycles, not weekly), the big point of difference is savings on staples that are never discounted, like generic tins of beans or bags of flour. 50% off sometimes, with limits on how many. This will be funded from being a non-profit business. We will also hire staff who are disabled, autistic or whatever. And 1% of all revenue goes to the charity of the month.

We want to also serve the poorest of people. Every main product type will have the cheapest version that we can source that isn’t truly terrible, with signage pointing out why it is cheap, the trade-off. For example tinned tuna might be from Thailand and not Canada, with different ethical considerations.

We look at, and share, consumer reviews, especially from the non-profit advisors like Choice in Australia.

The key, what makes this extra-shiny and modern, is we do not sell anything, not a thing, that is ultra-processed. There are exceptions to this… But basically you can trust that nothing we sell will be terribly unhealthy for you.

We will promote products with

  • no artificial colours
  • minimal packaging
  • locally made
  • fewest ingredients
  • lack of fillers

And finally, where possible, we will support small business over corporations. We will show on signage if multiple washing powder brands are made by the same company.

State-Controlled Tech

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It used to be the dictatorships and communist lands where high technology wasn’t purely a capitalist thing. But as time has gone by, and the power of cheap technology grows rapidly the direction is clear – all tech will end up being state-run. Everywhere. One way or another.

Russia and India can switch of communications (mobile phones and internet) and one day countries like the US will make an argument for such a kill switch, for emergency security reasons.

Countries who are not long-term peaceful partners are distrusting each other’s operating systems, productivity suites, data centers, cloud storage, drones and surveillance devices. Soon that will include cars.

Military is becoming more electronic and less mechanical. Expect missiles encrypted so only those with permission can use them.

Every country making their own versions of everything isn’t feasible. So we will have Asia and Africa having Russian and Chinese tech, Europe AU/NZ/Canada and the rest of the Americas having theirs, and the US all by themselves.

Governments will have at least partial control of every tech business, from TVs and phones to toys and robots, to cars and drones. Anything on the spectrum that starts with certification and ends with complete ownership.

Within 5 years – the change will be rapid. A new cold war in terms of not wanting to be spied on.

An Alternative to the 5% Billionaire Tax in California

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The proposal might be on the ballot in the state elections of November 2026; a one-time 5% tax on the wealth of billionaires, including any illiquid wealth.

Illiquid is the bug-bear. It isn’t necessarily easy to cash out on such things. I would argue that they can easily get a cash loan, but I appreciate that this factor makes the tax a harder sell.

Instead, I propose something far more pre-emptive and socialist. Give 5% of your unrealised wealth to the state. The state becomes a passive investor in the business that made the billionaire rich.

To lessen the potential shock of that, when giving great wealth to someone, it should include 5% that is held in escrow, for the state to take, if and when the person meets the wealth threshold (which might of course vary in the future). But also, the rich person and take it out of escrow at any time, but they must acknowledge that the state can potentially take it from them one day.

Trump is already being very socialist and taking a share of some major companies. We just need to make sure that having such a stake doesn’t lead to governmental nepotism.

Slob Maids

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Having a maid or housekeeper is quite common these days, for wealthier people. I once had cleaners, the pair of them spent two hours every Thursday basically cleaning surfaces and vacuuming. It wasn’t really necessary but my wife was a clean-freak and we could afford it.

I am currently your typical bachelor slob. I vacuum maybe twice a year, sheets get changed monthly, the bath and sink have never been scrubbed. That is because those tasks are not important to me.

What is important is dishes and washing clothes. They have to be done, and I tend to put them off as long as possible. With a dishwasher in the mix, this pretty much comes down to some quite simple tasks

  • Put clothes in washing machine
  • Put clothes in dryer
  • Clean the kitchen surfaces
  • Scrub a few pots

In an apartment complex with many slobs, that work can be done very efficiently. Set clothes to wash, spray surfaces, soak pots. Return a few hours later, finish the kitchen, put clothes in the dryer.

The slob can take the clothes out of the dryer. Therefore the work might take as little as half an hour total. Pay them $50. They can do 10 apartments in a day.

Universal ID QR Code Phone Numbers

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It is a mouthful, for sure.

I have noticed a trend in Australia. First we had loyalty cards, then we had loyalty apps, and now people just tell the sales clerk their phone number. It saves keep things and remembering things. I expect this to be happening everywhere soon.

However, it is inefficient and tedious. We can make this happen faster. People wear a badge with a QR code on it, containing your phone number. It could be on an actual badge, or on the back of your phone (physically). To indicate to the checkout chick that you want them to know it (because it identifies you for their loyalty scheme), you simply hold it up or point to it – and they scan it.

Another trend is being emailed receipts and warranties instead of paper ones. That can automated in the same movement. If you want a paper receipt, you ask. Otherwise it is emailed.

Before long emails will have some kind of code in the subject line identifying them as a receipt or warranty, from any of your loyalty apps, and will be stored somewhere convenient and backed up elsewhere.

Luxury Tax on Travel

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Australia has a luxury car tax. Once a car (not a truck or commercial vehicle) costs over $80K (or $90K if they are fuel efficient), then a 33% tax applies. So you can’t really buy a car for $100K or $110K, there is a big gap.

People still buy those cars.

It should be consider for more items, in countries around the world. Luxury, by definition, in an unnecessary splurge. It is hard to argue that those people are being treated unfairly, as they already pay way more for the product that its functional value. They are paying for exclusivity.

So:

  • handbags
  • clothing + shoes
  • furniture
  • art
  • whisky + wine
  • and travel!

We have many cities now trying to reduce the number of tourists that are visiting. Tax can help that easily. We leave alone public transport and regular hotels. We tax 1st class, business class, tours costing more than $x per night, and expensive hotels. At the least, the rich keep spending and the state or local government gets income. Or better still, we get fewer travellers and a saner and greener world.

Too Big To Fail – A Rule of Thirds

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A recent tech outage – Crowdstrike bringing down Windows systems – showed us yet again how fragile we are with important infrastructure. Because of just-in-time processes and finely optimised systems, some failure that is truly tragic will only be noticed afterwards. To mitigate this, and improve redundancy greatly, and save society from monopolies and provide jobs and lessen inequality… we only need one rule.

In nominated critical industries (there will be many), no business and no system can have more than one-third market share.

An easy example is computer operating systems. They need to make sure they never have more than 33% share in any industry, for example airline booking systems. Neither can computer manufacturers, RAM makers, microchip makers, hard drive makers. At least 3 software companies must make the booking systems, and they cannot share code.

Bananas are mostly Cavendish in Australia – that needs to change.

Achieving this rule is actually very easy. Dominant players charge more, degrade quality or remove features until they lose appeal enough for some other to have inroads.

The problem we have today is industries are like a game of chicken, and the less resilient you are, the more potential upsides and downsides. It is risk for profits, and sometimes a race to the bottom. Recently some emerging car companies failed because interest rates went up. They were too finely leveraged.

There are industries controlled by a few (meat-packers in the US, supermarkets in Australia) which only has one advantage – market efficiency to enrich their owners. Every else about their duopolies (or whatever three players is called) is a negative to the rest of society.

With the rise of the machines/AI, we will need more jobs, and some inefficiencies will be good for us.

Back to the computer example – we can easily have Windows/Mac/Linux. Having multiple sources of microprocessors would be great! Instead of 90% coming from Taiwan. Having spaceships going to the space station using different computer systems will mean those astronauts have two ways to get home. When the airline booking systems go down, it only affects a third of airlines (per country). Or supermarket checkouts.

We could even perhaps extend it to money – as in state currencies cost enough of a premium that crypto alternatives become appealing.

5figz – Amazon Bestsellers Go Rogue

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Every merchant wants to go off on Amazon. But when they do, Amazon probably makes more profit from the success than they do.

I’m imagining a platform where you can buy the verified hits of Amazon – products that have sold 10K+

  • Amazon hits are rarely rip-offs, the review system (mostly) looks after that.
  • People trust a successful Amazon product
  • Amazon cannot stop you stating a fact about your success on their platform

While Amazon has put superhuman effort into getting products to people quicker, price tends to trump speed. So the 5figz fulfilment system doesn’t need absolute speed. However, the nature of the products – high-volume – lends itself to efficiency.

I figure that the game plan is to out-Amazon Amazon. Run at a loss with their most successful products, until the public learn that 5figz is where to get the best products without Amazon taking a crazy cut of proceeds.

And it scales scarily well. Start with the most expensive products with 10K sales. And as the business grows, fold in lower price items. Obviously selling 10K execycles is better all round than selling 10K hairbands.

Drone drug delivery

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Illicit drugs are physical and require delivery, so al sorts of means have been deployed over the years. Most recently tunnels, submarines and drones.

Getting 1kg across the border in a retail drone is quite easy, and presumably it is done a lot.

But what about the last mile? How long before the end user gets their delivery by drone? We all know that drugs are often sold by the ounce, and a drone that can carry an ounce might be too small to notice.

A network of such drones could network drug delivery across a city. The transfer of the payload is what is needed, automation, no humans.

And less likely to get caught by the feds, if you start each drone journey and end it at a random place.