Why I love boring business ideas...

Do me a favor and give yourself a little permission to daydream with me for just a few minutes.  Let your mind drift toward thinking about what life would be like if you were leading your ideal online business and it was functioning in an optimal way.

• What time would your day start?
• How would you structure your morning routine?
• How much time would you spend working on your business from a marketing standpoint?
• What would your referral network look like?
• How frequently would you create new content if your business included a message-based platform?

It's fun to think about these things, but it's even more fun when these concepts and ideas become part of your day-to-day reality.  How close are you to these concepts becoming part of your reality?

When I interact with various online entrepreneurs, I hear all kinds of ideas about dream businesses and platform concepts.  It's fun to discuss these things, but most often, the people enjoying the most success on a consistent basis share a commonality with each other.  Their business ideas aren't revolutionary.  In fact, I would say that quite frequently, their businesses might seem a little boring.  Or, as I often prefer to say, "gloriously boring."

What do I mean by gloriously boring?  What qualifies as a gloriously boring online business?  Let me share a few principles followed by several concrete examples.

A gloriously boring online business solves a common and obvious problem.  It has a name that is more obvious than flashy.  It isn't trying to be a rockstar for attention.  Rather, it's functioning like a servant who aims to make your life a little better or a little easier.

Gloriously boring online businesses succeed because they solve real-world problems instead of getting mired in the random interests and hobby horses of the business founder.

Let me illustrate with a few examples.

CoachHub

CoachHub has a very obvious name.  You can tell right away that it's trying to be a one-stop shop for all things coaching related.  Their goal is to connect coaches with clients and clients with coaches by creating a network of business coaches.  According to their site...

Our global pool of over 3,500 certified business coaches in 90 countries offer coaching sessions in over 80 languages to more than 1,000 enterprise clients across six continents and are supported by our international team of over 400 dedicated CoachHubbers.

We provide personalized, one-on-one coaching at scale with our AI-enabled technology platform that offers a simple and elegant user experience and a seamless coaching journey.

CoachHub is an online business that I consider "gloriously boring."

DesignCrowd

DesignCrowd.com is a website that connects graphic designers with clients who are looking for logos, branding, and other personalized design elements that go beyond the cookie-cutter approach of using stock images and common text elements.

According to their website, "Buying from DesignCrowd gives you a custom design and unique identity created by a professional designer. Unlike buying a template, you will receive unique artwork based on your specific needs and preferences."

Again, this is yet another gloriously boring business, with an obvious name, solving a common problem.

Let me give you two more...

DetailGeek

One of my favorite YouTube channels to follow is called DetailGeek.  I have watched that channel for years, and I honestly don't know the proper name of the host because he rarely, if ever, states it.

The channel consists of a man who lives somewhere in Saskatchewan, Canada, who used to detail cars out of his home garage, but his business grew so large and his YouTube following became so massive that he recently built a large detailing garage on a piece of farmland.

His website is detailgeekautocare.com, and in addition to detailing cars and recording videos of the process, he has ventured into creating his own line of car care products.  

The business he has built is impressive, but it's also a little boring.  Basically, he solves the common everyday problem of having a dirty car.  He either does it for you, films the correct way to do so, or sells you the products that will help you do it yourself.

Whitney's Cookies

Several months ago, I had the privilege to interview Whitney Miller, the founder of Whitney's Cookies and brains behind whitneyscookies.co.  

Years ago, Whitney won Fox's Master Chef with Gordon Ramsay.  Since that time, she has continued to build on her success.

According to her website...

What began with Whitney’s love of sweets and passion for baking, led to Whitney launching her own cookie company. Our founder and head chef, Whitney Miller, launched Whitney’s Cookies in 2019 in Franklin, Tennessee. Her cookies are made with real ingredients, crafted with love and attention to detail, resulting in the most flavorful cookies you’ve ever tasted. 

During the 13 years of being featured at events and cooking on stages and in kitchens across the world, Whitney’s most requested dessert item was her brownie cookie. Its popularity sparked the idea for Whitney to create her own cookie company so that everyone could enjoy her cookies, and with that she launched Whitney’s Cookies.

Cookies are a delicious treat, but they aren't uncommon.  It is a common desire for the human pallet to crave sweet desserts, and a discerning eater also learns to appreciate higher quality recipes and ingredients.  Having recognized that, Whitney has succeeded in creating another gloriously boring business.  It has an obvious name and meets an obvious need with the goal to exceed common expectations for a cookie.

So, what about you?

Boring businesses work.  And if you've been hitting your head against the wall, trying to come up with some sort of gimmick, maybe you should reconsider a boring idea instead.

In other words, since the hamburger continues to be the most popular food item, jeans continue to be the most popular form of clothing, and vanilla continues to be the most popular flavor of ice cream, you might want to take a cue from what they're revealing.

Go boring!

© John Stange, 2025