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One of the key traits entrepreneurs share is that their minds are never at rest. Entrepreneurs have a perpetual drive to imagine the next big product consumers will want and then race to deliver it to market. We see new restaurants popping up in our towns at a feverish pace or lawn care companies filling our mailboxes with postcards offering to maintain our yards at great prices. This begs the question–are chefs selling food and lawn care business owners selling affordable maintenance for our yard? Perhaps not.

Professors always tell the same story of McDonald’s founder, Ray Kroc. Despite being the founder of the most successful hamburger business worldwide, Ray Kroc would tell people he was in the real estate business. He took pride in purchasing fantastic parcels of land in every town and building a restaurant there. He knew that even if the restaurant failed, the real estate’s intrinsic value would increase over time.

This shift in thinking is hitting entrepreneurs everywhere now. We see websites like Kevin Rose’s Digg.com starting up with the purpose of aggregating news. The site serves a fantastic purpose but there are now rumors of Digg being up for sale. So what business is Rose in? Are he in the web publishing business or the site brokering business? Was he planning on reaping the financial rewards of their site in the form of advertising revenue or was that all a means to an end?

The local newspaper here in Southwest Florida is advertising a number of businesses for sale with the majority of them being service related. Someone looking to buy an existing business can take their pick from quite a few lawn care or pool service businesses. The silver lining here is that these businesses are actually selling! If you’re a budding entrepreneur, starting a business with the sole purpose of selling it cannot be ignored. Here are a few ideas that are working for entrepreneurs here in Florida:

The Classic Lawn Care Business

This business has extremely low barriers to entry which makes it a popular choice for local entrepreneurs. Equipment can be leased very inexpensively and the labor is cheap. Going door to door and offering a free week of lawn care if one month is purchased can quickly build a client list and that’s precisely what your buyers are looking for. By competing on price while keeping your clients happy, you will gain a number of clients through word-of-mouth. Once your client list has built to respectable (and sustainable) levels, this business is primed for sale. Better yet, if you are able to sell without signing a prohibitive contract you can start this business right up again!

Pool Cleaning & Pool Maintenance

Cleaning pools does require some expertise but don’t let this scare you away–it can be bought! If your skill is in business development, spend your time acquiring new customers and hire the people that know about pool maintenance. The goal here again is to obtain a substantial list of clients on a monthly plan. Prospective buyers will want to see this steady stream of income so encourage your first customers to help you gain new clients by offering them a free month of service for any client they bring you.

Help Senior Citizens Live Great Lives

Take a look around and you’ll find many senior citizens in good health that want to continue living comfortably in their own homes. This is a great group of potential clients–they will help you start a business while you help them live better lives! Sign seniors up for grocery delivery or offer shuttle service to take them where they need to go. Once you have built your list of potential clients, consider marketing this business to new retirees.

Get Out There And Build Your Business

I’ve given you three business ideas but there are a limitless supply out there. The key here is to find a business that will allow you to build a client list that pays a recurring fee for your service. Take a look around at what businesses are for sale in your area and then look at the amount of competition out there. I’m sure you’ll come up with a great list of ideas!

Have you started a business solely for the sake of selling it? I’d love to hear your story in the comment section below!