How about a multi-fulfillment business?

Well, we all know that 2009 is a year that will see quite a few hardships and those graduating this year will have to be more innovative in getting jobs.

However, there are many other opportunities than merely seeking employment.  For a start, many are encouraged to be entrepreneurs, there is a sudden interest in retaining students to pursue postgraduate studies to boost University rankings and of course, they can also opt for direct selling.

There is this other in-between option of being an employee and an entrepreneur, some may call it franchising programs or even consider direct selling agents to be in this category.  A company by the name of DropZone is offering Malaysians to be “your own boss”.

Basically you apply to be a dropzone partner to operate their services and since they are new, they would require you to help them out.  You will not be employed by them, but you will be provided with financing facilities (if you qualify), training and a few other things that are normally associated with being an employee.

If you are interested to know more, it would be best to email them at mentee@dropzone.com.my for exact details of the program.

Photography studio

In the past, each local community had at least 1 photo studio where films get processed into photos or even just to get their identity sized photographs (e.g. passport).  These studios have either closed (or in the process of closing) as digital photography and the Internet makes photo printing at a local photo studio unnecessary and the many small kiosk where you can print your photos cheaply.  Some of them re-invent themselves to provide photography equipment such as cameras but many can’t utilize the space that they used to have for the large film processing and the large studio.

However, with the number of novices taking up photography as a hobby, it would make sense to provide the following service:

• Studio for rent, equipped with changing room, dressing table and generic studio equipment such as reflectors and flash stands.
• Short studio and indoor photography courses for beginners.
• Short post-processing courses for beginners.
• Small cafe with Internet access.
• Photo printing and sale of photography accessories, e.g. filters, memory cards and so on.

All these can be probably housed in less than 1,800 sq ft, a typically size for a single floor of a shop office which will be cheaper than the ground floor shop rental.  You will need

1. 500 sq ft studio
2. 500 sq ft classroom
3. 300 sq ft office
4. 500 sq ft cafe

Partner with a company that can provide models and locate it near colleges (for part-time models and also to target the growing number of students with DSLRs) and IT companies (as many IT geeks are into photography).