Need help with business ideas

[snowtech]

Hi guys!

I am a insteon dealer and Ive been playing a lot with the system... I didnt focus a lot in selling the system (ive sold a few solutions though).

Now my main job is getting really slow and I want to start this new automation business. My "problem" is that ive been digging so much the possibilities that I went too far with ideas, each "door/idea" I open, I find another 10 doors and I kept on going... So I would have to go back to the starting point and see how I can offer the system to customers.

 

Can anyone help me with that please?

 

I though of creating packages for people but once I think the Isy is better than the regular Insteon Hub (I never tried but Im assuming there is no variables and conditions) that makes my ideas of packages expensive just for a notification that a door is open or you left the house and the garage door was left open...

Because being honest, selling the idea that you can just control the lights with your phone doesnt even convince me...

 

So if there is a better approach I can use or ideas, I would be trully appreciated.

 

Thank you very much for taking your time to read and help.

And happy new year!

 

 

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[Michel Kohanim]

Hi snowtech,

 

First of all, thanks so very much for your interest in using ISY.

 

I cannot give you a business idea. This said, I can tell you what our business has been like for the past 10 years and, pretty much, you are pretty much correct:

"selling the idea that you can just control the lights with your phone doesnt even convince me..."

 

This is precisely what we experienced about 5 years ago and it got worse with the introduction of SmartThings and Wink. i.e. Remote Control but very little automation. This does not mean that there's no market for simple control and alert systems. It just means that we are not that type of company and I am not sure you will be making money if you were to offer those solutions (since they can do it themselves).

 

So, we shifted our focus to energy management and especially for commercial venues: tangible results of saving energy/money.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[kohai]

As someone new to messing with home automation (HA), I think the first challenge for people to is to understand the "why" of doing HA.  For me, at first, I would look at some of the products in the market and be unexcited.  Turning on lights from my phone doesn't excite me.  So, I think each person has to find the "why" of HA for them.

 

The other day I set up our entry light to come on when the door opens.  I got that working and while my wife knew I was playing with it, she didn't get the "ah ha" moment until she came in one evening and the light came one automatically and she was happy to not trip over the kids shoes on the floor in the dark.  She has asked me to change a few things with the lighting system to add ease-of-use.  For example, she was always complaining my kids would leave the lights on in their rooms when they went to school and she would have to go upstairs and check all the lights.  Now I have one button downstairs she can push to turn off all of the lights upstairs and she is happy every time she doesn't have to climb the stairs.  (I've been thinking I could probably put a sensor up there to detect when the kids are gone.)

 

Once someone starts to understand the advantages of HA and what can be done, they start to come up with all sorts of new ideas.  

 

I think HA is kind of like one of those things you didn't know you wanted or needed until you had it and then you wouldn't give it up.  Like heated seats in the car in the winter, a Tivo, Netflix, a bidet, etc.    So the implementation must be something of value.

 

I like the automated side of things.  Like knowing in advance when something is wrong.

 

Things I'm playing with:

 

- Lighting system control/scenes

- using my alarm system sensors to trigger the lighting system based on door/motion sensors

- measuring temperature of freezer and door open alerts (lost 1/2 a pig when the door didn't get closed)

- I've got some sump pumps I need to figure out how to monitor nicely.  Had two die but caught it in time.

- having my doorbell queue a message over my whole-house sound system (via sonos)

- need to get around to figuring out some window blind control

 

So, I think from a business stand point, the challenge is to sell the "why" of HA.  The "how" is secondary.  I like that the ISY can be remotely configured via the portal so service companies like yourself can offer after-install support to people.  

[oberkc]

I agree with the others...if you believe that the primary purpose of insteon and the ISY is to turn your phone into a light switch, you have missed the point. A properly designed house already has light switches in all the right pkaces, no?

 

The power of the ISY is the ability to design a system where one does not have to turn on the lights at all, or turn them off. Alternatively, to provide one-touch activation of scenes....thus, the "automation" part of things.

 

-lighting that comes on and off by itself, at the correct times.

-scenes for various activities...movies, parties, wake-up, midnight snack, vacation, dinner, nighttime, etc...

-lighting that reacts to events, such as arriving home, opening doors, playing a movie, or motion

-simulation of activity while away

-control of seasonal lighting

 

In my mind, these are the basics of home automation and are completely independent of cell phone control.

 

The deeper possibilities are, to me, a sales point only as a growth path for the future.

[snowtech]

Thanks guys for all the answers!! I really appreciate all the inputs so far.

I have my house fully automated and it goes a bit beyond what we see on the internet. I have voice commands, automatic musics, crazy programing for when away (even playing loud music when away), hue lights telling me the outside weather before i leave to work, wake up light the simulates sunrise followed by a audio information of whatever I want(weather, traffic, news, sports, stocks...) , notifications when we finish washing clothes, rain sensor to not activate sprinkler system, when arriving home without touching my phone it listens to my command of what i want, like open garage door, turn driveway lights, play music inside the house, when I press the good night button and I forgot a door open, it tells me on a speaker by voice, what I forgot opened...

 

So with all of that, I people when visit my home they all love but I dont see anyone convinced about having a system like that. So maybe I think thats too overwhelming for them that they dont care or I dont know... I heard that if you try to convince someone they need a HA, you are wasting your time.

 

So thats the reason why Im lost. My view of HA is the house working for you to make you save time to what it matters.

 

I wanted to put on a paper solutions for people and try to sell those ideas. And then once they let me in, I start showing them what else they can have.

 

Im also trying to find a solution for blinds

And I should get into the saving energy part of ISY

 

Take care guys and tell me what you think.

 

Thank you!!?

 

 

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[kohai]

I think the key is scratching an itch.  I was talking to my mother about what I'm messing with in HA.  It is all pretty specific to me so there's that "eyes glazing over" look.  I mentioned a few things that HA could do for her.  e.g. She has a lamp post that is on a Christmas tree timer which doesn't follow sunrise/sunset.

 

She asked if there's a way to have the TV turn off when my father falls asleep sitting in front of it.    I might need a noise sensor to detect snoring.

[snowtech]

 I might need a noise sensor to detect snoring.

hahahahah ! Thats what its all about!

[stusviews]

Starting a business is more that just having an idea. Here's a link to get you started

[snowtech]

Starting a business is more that just having an idea. Here's a link to get you started

Thanks my friend!

Thats a really useful information. I already have 2 businesses but for sure there is lot of good info on that link!!!

 

 

 

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