Terrible Business Ideas or Money Laundering?

[cosmicfolklore]

Mrs Cosmic and I drink our morning coffee across from a fancy part of the beach. We had asked about retail space there, just because we are always brainstorming. $20,000 a month. About four months now, we noticed that the same building across from our coffee spot had only a small logo on the door, “CRUMBL”, no description, no advertising, no one going in or out. Curious about what kind if business was going to bring in more than $20,000 a month. You’d at least need to double that to make it worth the effort.

We went in, and it was cookies. Six varieties, some made of crumbled store bought cookies, like Oreos. $3.95 a cookie. WTF? They do Uber, but still. They also cater… just cookies.
Still…. For Four months, we never seen anyone go in or out. They showed no interest in making a sale when we went in there. We stood there for five minutes, before someone told us to order a cookie from an iPad in the remote corner of the empty room. We spent a tad under $9 for 2 very “meh” cookie.

Back to our coffee spot, and struck up a conversation with other snowbirds, and they laughed and told us about the other $20,000 a month building that had a donut shop in it. A 20something making a fresh 3” donut, made to order one… at… a… time… So, we checked it out. Ordered 6, and it took him 30 minutes. I asked him how long it takes to get a dozen, and he told me an hour. His dad is making him prove himself in business… Ha ha. Not winning.

Is it that people are dumb? Is it a money laundering front? Am I missing something?

Don’t get me started on the soap stores. Homemade soap, sold bar by bar… in a $20,000 a month building. Do they even sign a lease? Do some math? I don’t get it.

Are these just write-off businesses for wives, kids, relatives?

What are some other terrible businesses you’ve seen out there? Things that don’t add up?

 

[Sigmund]

Kooky cookies full of weed?

 

[troutface]

There's a Crumbl Cookies here in Denver. I thought it was another pot shop.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Kooky cookies full of weed?

There's a Crumbl Cookies here in Denver. I thought it was another pot shop.

No, just plain old cookies. A pink sugar cookie is their staple, ha ha. WTF?
If they had drugs in them, they’re undercharging.

 

[Sparcdude]

There’s one near me. Talk about overpriced and overrated...

When I saw the price of one of the cookies i was, to say the least, flabbergasted. $15 for a cookie? Granted, it was 9 or ten inches across, but still...

Got one for my son as a birthday present but he wasn’t impressed. I tried it and I wasn’t impressed either. Just give my my 6 pack of Oreos and I’m a happy boy!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

When I saw the price of one of the cookies i was, to say the least, flabbergasted. $15 for a cookie? Granted, it was 9 or ten inches across, but still...

I didn’t see any $15 ones. I must have missed that. Still… you’d have to sling quite a few to make rent.

 

[Sparcdude]

I didn’t see any $15 ones. I must have missed that.

My bad. The $15 was for a 4 pack. Still ridiculous.

 

[warren]

Could see the kitchen? Are they wholesaling thousands out the back door to retail stores?

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

It's a "jobby" a hobby job for rich wives.

Plus it don't hurt to have a failing business in the mix during tax time.

Some people also like to rob themselves blind and then file bankruptcy.

 

[Bbailey324]

You too could run a Crumbl cookie location. Wildly successful based on their webpage, perfect cookie and all that.

Crumbl - Freshly Baked & Delivered Desserts - https://crumblcookies.com/franchising

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Could see the kitchen? Are they wholesaling thousands out the back door to retail stores?

I couldn’t see a kitchen. But, if they were wholesaling out the back, why the expensive retail spot?
I could understand retail boutique clothing, where a woman’s shirt sales for $400. A jewelry store, even a realtor or anything that would make sense to see two grand a day walk out of it, but… cookies? At $4 a pop? Without a line waiting?

Anyways… I thought coffee shops were going to be a flash in the pan also, ha ha. Buy a $5 cup of coffee and feed off their internet all day.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

You too could run a Crumbl cookie location. Wildly successful based on their webpage, perfect cookie and all that.

Crumbl - Freshly Baked & Delivered Desserts - https://crumblcookies.com/franchising

I’ll keep that in mind if I need to launder a bunch of overseas transactions, ha ha.

 

[georged]

It's a "jobby" a hobby job for rich wives.

Probably this ^^^^

There was a hardly-saw-any-business leather store (women's handbags, jackets, etc) called "Suzanne's Leather Shop" in an upscale, prime-position fashion mall when I was a teenager, that I learned was a financial ju-jitsu gift from a rich doctor to his girlfriend. She got to think she was running a business, and he got her out of his hair for sizable chunks of time (as well as a tax write-off).

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Probably this ^^^^

There was a hardly-saw-any-business leather store (women's handbags, jackets, etc) called "Suzanne's Leather Shop" in an upscale, prime-position fashion mall when I was a teenager, that I learned was a bit of financial ju-jitsu gift from a rich doctor to his girlfriend. She got to think she was running a business, and he got her out of his hair for sizable chunks of time (as well as a tax write-off).

You're probably right. "Hey baby, you are so good at making cookies. Want to do it all day, every day? No reason to do the math, and I'll get my buddy Guido to keep the books for you, no worries. And, don't ask about the washing machines in the back."

 

[anotherbob]

Mrs Cosmic and I drink our morning coffee across from a fancy part of the beach. We had asked about retail space there, just because we are always brainstorming. $20,000 a month. About four months now, we noticed that the same building across from our coffee spot had only a small logo on the door, “CRUMBL”, no description, no advertising, no one going in or out. Curious about what kind if business was going to bring in more than $20,000 a month. You’d at least need to double that to make it worth the effort.

We went in, and it was cookies. Six varieties, some made of crumbled store bought cookies, like Oreos. $3.95 a cookie. WTF? They do Uber, but still. They also cater… just cookies.
Still…. For Four months, we never seen anyone go in or out. They showed no interest in making a sale when we went in there. We stood there for five minutes, before someone told us to order a cookie from an iPad in the remote corner of the empty room. We spent a tad under $9 for 2 very “meh” cookie.

Back to our coffee spot, and struck up a conversation with other snowbirds, and they laughed and told us about the other $20,000 a month building that had a donut shop in it. A 20something making a fresh 3” donut, made to order one… at… a… time… So, we checked it out. Ordered 6, and it took him 30 minutes. I asked him how long it takes to get a dozen, and he told me an hour. His dad is making him prove himself in business… Ha ha. Not winning.

Is it that people are dumb? Is it a money laundering front? Am I missing something?

Don’t get me started on the soap stores. Homemade soap, sold bar by bar… in a $20,000 a month building. Do they even sign a lease? Do some math? I don’t get it.

Are these just write-off businesses for wives, kids, relatives?

What are some other terrible businesses you’ve seen out there? Things that don’t add up?

you'd be surprised how many boxes of those I throw out a month. Never underestimate what people will spend to not be hated by their office mates.

 

[9mmpuffer]

My guess... special lease terms for the first year or two; that or money laundering operation.

 

[Servant King]

Does it have to be one or the other? I consider money laundering to be a terrible business idea, especially in the modern age, where 99.9% of the human population can't even tie their own shoes without an app to do it for them.

YMLMMV (Your Money Laundering Mileage May Vary)

 

[Zamora]

I too have wondered how Crumbl could find any success, I guess anything can be a trend if it's promoted hard enough

 

[sablebrush52]

Mrs Cosmic and I drink our morning coffee across from a fancy part of the beach. We had asked about retail space there, just because we are always brainstorming. $20,000 a month. About four months now, we noticed that the same building across from our coffee spot had only a small logo on the door, “CRUMBL”, no description, no advertising, no one going in or out. Curious about what kind if business was going to bring in more than $20,000 a month. You’d at least need to double that to make it worth the effort.

We went in, and it was cookies. Six varieties, some made of crumbled store bought cookies, like Oreos. $3.95 a cookie. WTF? They do Uber, but still. They also cater… just cookies.
Still…. For Four months, we never seen anyone go in or out. They showed no interest in making a sale when we went in there. We stood there for five minutes, before someone told us to order a cookie from an iPad in the remote corner of the empty room. We spent a tad under $9 for 2 very “meh” cookie.

Back to our coffee spot, and struck up a conversation with other snowbirds, and they laughed and told us about the other $20,000 a month building that had a donut shop in it. A 20something making a fresh 3” donut, made to order one… at… a… time… So, we checked it out. Ordered 6, and it took him 30 minutes. I asked him how long it takes to get a dozen, and he told me an hour. His dad is making him prove himself in business… Ha ha. Not winning.

Is it that people are dumb? Is it a money laundering front? Am I missing something?

Don’t get me started on the soap stores. Homemade soap, sold bar by bar… in a $20,000 a month building. Do they even sign a lease? Do some math? I don’t get it.

Are these just write-off businesses for wives, kids, relatives?

What are some other terrible businesses you’ve seen out there? Things that don’t add up?

Tax write off against other business income. Nothing new here.
A couple of years back I sold off a bunch of bonds at a loss so that I could buy my townhouse for cash. This allowed me to use the loss as a tax credit against stock profits, business profits, and other income. It’s called tax harvesting.
I suspect something similar is going on.

 

[JOHN72]

Good and interesting topic Cosmic. Here in Spain, it is very normal, we have places where hardly anyone goes, I remember a restaurant where no one goes to eat, every day ponel the sign with the daily menu, another thing that makes your hair stand on end, is the proliferation of gambling halls, are like mushrooms, throughout the Spanish geography. Here in my town there may already be about ten gambling parlors. There is a lot of underground economy. They take a closed bar, they restore it, it works for a month, and then it closes, then they reopen it again with another owner, but it is always empty. The same with the cheap stores. It is depressing, how a town that was beautiful in the 90's, now is a pigsty. In addition, this 2025, our wonderful president of the government, is going to fry us with more taxes.