Public scorecards

15 ideas, one scale, ranked

Each card carries what it costs to open, the break-even figures and the three grades behind the score. Same scale as every board here, so the ranking below means something.

Idea

Pft

Dif

Capital

Score

Bookkeeping for trades, remote

Online

$3,000–$7,000A

Turnover cleaning for short-term rentals

Nashville, TN

$2,500–$7,000A

House cleaning service

Tampa, FL

$4,000–$12,000B

Pressure washing driveways and houses

Lawn care and landscaping crew

Denver, CO

$15,000–$42,000C

Mobile dog grooming van

Phoenix, AZ

$28,000–$52,000C

Licensed home daycare

Seattle, WA

$12,000–$34,000C

Three-chair barbershop

Food truck parked at breweries

Retail bakery with a small counter

Toronto, ON

$120,000–$225,000E

Coffee shop with seating

Austin, TX

$145,000–$240,000E

Estimates for the city named, on the published scale. Your own row is graded for your own city.

Your ideas are not on this list

Put them on a board and they get the same treatment: one line each, your city, the capital range free in seconds. $9 scores 5 and ranks them against each other.