(We originally posted this in 2020. You can read more of our original ideas in our archive.)
Problem: We spend 1/3 of our lives at work, but often don’t work effectively. Moreover, current books on optimizing leadership, management, and work are long.
Solution: A company that produces and publishes mini-guides on bite-sized leadership topics. Ideally these publications would be small enough to be Bunkobons. In Japan, bunkobon (文庫本) are small-format paperback books, designed to be affordable and space saving. The great majority of bunkobon are A6 (105×148mm or 4.1"×5.8") in size. As described by Red Circle Authors,
Bunko or bunko-bon is the widely used Japanese term for a book that is a small-format paperback book designed to be affordable, portable and not take up too much shelf space. The format has a long and interesting history going back to books designed to fit into the sleeves of kimonos in Japan’s Edo Period (1603-1868).
The format allows for cheaper editions of books which have already been published as hardbacks. Imagine carrying around mini pocket books with lessons distilled from the Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Bloomberg Businessweek, and more. Perhaps as an added bonus, the business would allow anyone to write, publish, and sell their own bunkobon on a centralized bunkobon leadership website.
As writer Annie Dillard famously said, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” For many of us, a large portion of our days is spent at work; in fact, the average person will spend 90,000 hours at work over a lifetime. Thus books that are designed to give you more insight into how to thrive during this chunk of your life would be extremely useful. Like digital book tours, this business would play in the book publishing industry which generated an estimated $26.23 billion in net revenue for 2017 (accounting for 2.72 billion units). It would be in direct competition with companies like “Harvard Business Publishing.”
Monetization: Selling these books.
Contributed by: Michael Bervell (Billion Dollar Startup Ideas)