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- Slightly Toasted #18: Can we Build It?
Slightly Toasted #18: Can we Build It?
Or how I learned to love swimming pools and hammers
Welcome to Slightly Toasted, where we dish out daily business ideas, weird ventures, quick hacks, and success stories—minus the corporate BS.
Built by Entreprenuers for Entreprenuers.
Today’s Menu:
The Main Dish 🍽️: Check my Skills
Strange Brew 🫙: Float into Profits
Hustle Hack 💹: Tick Tock I want my Time Back
The Big Score 💰️: The $20M Teen
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Ok…Lets get cooking.
The Main Dish | Business Ideas
Skilled On Demand 🔨
🔦 The Pitch: An “Uber for tradespeople”. Skilled On Demand is a rapid-response freelance marketplace connecting electricians, welders, HVAC techs, and more to businesses that need immediate, short-term, or niche expertise. Fast, vetted, and hyper-practical.
What’s Cooking? (The Opportunity) 🍪
Across industries, skilled labor shortages are hitting hard. From manufacturing plants to commercial construction sites, businesses are scrambling to fill short-term gaps or find help for specialty tasks. Traditional staffing is too slow. Craigslist is too risky (do people still use Craigslis?). Enter Skilled On Demand, a B2B platform that connects verified tradesmen with urgent or specialized jobs,often within hours.
You’re not just building a hiring board; you’re creating a live talent network in an industry that is dying for skilled labor. Companies post emergency jobs or project-based work, and tradesmen opt in when available, creating a simple way to match real-world labor needs with real world people and their real-time availability.
Recipe (The Solution) 🧾
Ingredients:
Skilled tradesmen with credentials (electricians, welders, HVAC techs, machine operators, etc.) They are bonafide (for any O Brother fans out there!)
Businesses with urgent or niche job needs
A reliable platform (web + app) with location-based job matching, credentials, scheduling, and payment integration
Steps to Cook It Up:
Build the Platform
Partner with devs to create a clean, mobile-first platform with smart filters: location, trade, availability, certifications. Or DIY 🫡
Integrate secure payments, dispute resolution, and a two-sided review system.
Recruit Workers
Partner with trade schools, unions, or regional job centers to onboard tradesmen. Offer free early access or promo rates toget traction fast.
Find the Buyers
Direct outreach to construction firms, maintenance teams, property managers, and manufacturing plants. Target those who rely on contract labor. All of them are in need…
Launch Regionally
Pick one metro area with high industrial activity. Focus on density before expanding meaning load up on skilled tradesmen before exanding to fast.
Startup Costs (Estimated if you outsource it all)
MVP Development: $15K–$25K
Marketing & Outreach: $3K–$5K
Legal/Insurance Partnerships: $2K
Operations (support, screening): $3K/month
➤ Total: $20K–$35K to launch lean. Make sure you get insurance and licensing
Check, Please (Monetizing) 💲
Commission per Job: 10–20% of every completed contract
Worker Subscriptions: Premium placement for tradesmen who pay monthly
Corporate Accounts: Retainer-based plans for companies needing consistent coverage
Affiliate Income: Earn from referrals to training programs, insurance providers, or equipment rentals
Emergency Pricing: Add rush fees for 24-hour or same-day placement
Domain Name Ideas 🖥️
Strange Brew | Lets Get Wierd
Float and Fanfare
Float & Fanfare is a mobile, on-demand service (and subscription model)concept delivering outrageous pool float kits, party games, and summer ready accessories to neighborhood pools, private events, or clubs. Customers get rotating themed inflatable bundles from massive pizza slices and flamingo flotillas to splash dodgeball and glow-in-the-dark party packs dropped off and picked up without lifting a finger. It’s like a bounce house rental... but for water fun. You could probably start a quick hustle with summer birthday parties alone!
Why It Could Work
Novelty sells: Giant inflatable dinosaurs, rideable tacos, and LED unicorns practically market themselves on Instagram and in the minds of party planners.
Low overhead, high margin: Once you’ve got your inflatable inventory, it’s all about logistics and seasonal marketing…and patch kits. Don’t forget the patch kits.
Repeat revenue: Subscriptions for community pools and Clubs provide consistent income during swim season.
Social goldmine: It’s ridiculously shareable…user-generated content (and envy) fuels free advertising. Who does’t love a taco float?
Custom party magic: Families, birthday hosts, and even brands love a turnkey “wow” factor for their summer bash.
Hustle Hack
RescueTime: Track. Focus. Crush Distractions
RescueTime helps entrepreneurs stay laser-focused by automatically tracking where your time goes across websites, apps, and tasks then giving you real-time nudges when you're drifting off course. Whether you're juggling client work, building your next product, or deep in strategy mode, it shows you what’s stealing your productivity and helps you reclaim your day. It’s like having a personal time coach living in your desktop.
The Big Score
A high schooler making $20M a year? Yep. This episode of My First Million breaks down how one teen built a wildly successful ecommerce empire before graduating. It's a masterclass in speed, strategy, and skipping college debt.
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