Over 500 school districts are suing YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook for causing a child mental health crisis and interfering with their educational duties.
These school districts blame social media apps for incentivizing students to participate in trends that damage school property and put school employees in danger. They also blame social media apps for exacerbating a child mental health crisis that puts a greater financial burden on schools that need to hire therapists, train teachers to identify children at risk, and spend time identifying and responding to online school threats.
The lawsuit filings reference dozens of research papers to back up their claims of deteriorating child mental health.
From 2007 to 2019, the suicide rate among American youth age 10-24 increased by 57%. From 2009 to 2019, the rate of high school students who reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness increased by 40% to one out of every three kids.
But proving that kids’ mental health is deteriorating isn’t enough to win the lawsuit, even if the schools can prove that the deterioration is due to social media. That’s because in order for an internet company to be held liable, the schools need to get past Section 230: the single most important law of the internet that says tech companies aren’t liable for content posted by third parties.
There is bipartisan momentum towards removing some of Section 230’s protections, but as of now that momentum hasn’t made it into final legislation.
The schools’ lawsuit takes a three-pronged approach to bypassing Section 230:
The schools accuse social media companies of marketing their products to teens and preteens, despite knowing that social media is harmful to kids. Since marketing is not part of publishing, section 230 doesn’t protect social media companies from deceptive advertising charges.
The schools accuse social media companies of designing algorithms that maximize engagement, despite knowing that such algorithms are likely to promote emotionally distressing content.
The schools claim features like “suggested accounts to follow” are not protected by Section 230.
All three approaches are based on the legal theory of so-called “public nuisance”. A public nuisance is legally defined as something that harms a large proportion of a community — in this case, the community of school-age kids and school employees. Public nuisance is the same legal theory that required Juul, the e-cigarette company, to pay billions of dollars to settle with school districts and other plaintiffs over deceptive marketing to kids.
Juul bought adspace on kid-focused websites like Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Seventeen. If TikTok or Snapchat did something similar, then it’s possible that the school districts may win at least part of the case. However, the most likely outcome is still that Section 230 protects big tech companies from liability.
Appendix A: Quotes & Stats from the Case
7% of American teens have had explicit images of them shared without their consent.
16% have received physical threats online.
“Researchers studying the effect social media has on the brain have shown that social media exploits ‘the same neural circuitry’ as ‘gambling and recreational drugs to keep consumers using their products as much as possible’.”
Seattle Lawsuit
“The rates at which children have struggled with mental health issues have climbed steadily since 2010 and by 2018 made suicide the second leading cause of death for youths.”
Seattle Lawsuit
“From 2009-19, the rate of high school students who reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness increased by 40 percent (to one out of every three kids). The share of kids seriously considering attempting suicide increased by 36 percent and the share creating a suicide plan increased by 44 percent. From 2007 to 2019, suicide rates among youth ages 10-24 in the United States increased by 57 percent.”
Seattle Lawsuit
“Meta’s algorithms are not based exclusively on user requrests or even user inputs. Meta’s algorithms combine information entered or posted by the user on the platform with the user’s demographics and other data points collected and synthesized by Meta, make assumptions about that user’s interests and preferences, make predictions about what else might appeal to the user, and then make very specific recommendations of posts and pages to view and groups to visit and join based on rankings that will optimize Meta’s key performance indicators. In this regard, Meta’s design dictates the way content is presented, such as its ranking and prioritization.”
Seattle Lawsuit
The lawsuit makes several accusations:
Increasing depression among adolescents by encouraging unhealthy social comparison and feedback seeking behaviors.
Contributing to sleep deprivation by sending push notifications and emails at night when children should be sleeping.
Contributing to educational deficits by sending push notifications and emails during school hours.
Contributing to eating disorders.
Contributing to cyberbullying.
Schools say they have had to spend extra money to deal with these problems, including money to:
Hire additional mental health professionals,
Provide teachers and staff with additional training to identify students suffering from mental and emotional health issues,
Educate students about the dangers of social media,
Repair or replace school property damaged by students acting upon harmful trends they found on social media,
Spend time meeting with students and the parents of students caught using social media at school, and
Investigate and respond to threats made against schools and students over social media.
Appendix B: What is Public Nuisance?
The definition of public nuisance is different from one state to another (public nuisance is a state law level concept). However, in general, a public nuisance refers to an activity that harms a large proportion of a community.
Appendix C: Definition of Public Nuisance in California
In California, section 360 of the Penal Code defines a public nuisance as “anything which is injurious to health, or is indecent, or offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property by an entire community or neighborhood, or by any considerable number of persons, or unlawfully obstructs the free passage or use in the customary manner, or any navigable lake, or river, bay, stream, canal, or basin, or any public park, square, street, or highway.”
Appendix D: Definition of Public Nuisance in Washington State
In Washington, RCW 9.66.010 defines a public nuisance as a crime against the order and economy of the state, including every place:
Wherein any fighting between people or animals or birds shall be conducted; or
Wherein any intoxicating liquors are kept for unlawful use, sale, or distribution; or
Where vagrants resort.
Additionally, Washington includes some acts in its definition of public nuisance.
Every act unlawfully done and every omission to perform a duty, which act or omission:
Shall annoy, injure or endanger the safety, health, comfort, or repose of any considerable number of persons; or
Shall offend public decency; or
Shall unlawfully interfere with, befoul, obstruct, or tend to obstruct, or render dangerous for passage, a lake, navigable river, bay, stream, canal or basin, or a public park, square, street, alley, highway, or municipal transit vehicle or station; or
Shall in any way render a considerable number of persons insecure in life or the use of property;
Dry cleaning businesses are facing three secular headwinds in the U.S.:
More casual wear in the workplace
More people working from home
An aging-into-retirement population
However, I was still curious what kind of profit margins dry cleaners typically get. I dug around a bit, and the first-person stories I found from people in the dry cleaning industry are listed below.
In general, a well-run dry cleaning business that is operated day-to-day by employees rather than the business owner can expect a pre-tax profit margin of about 12%.
1. John Felt (Dry cleaner owner)
“I opened my dry cleaner in 2008. Nine years later, after many mistakes, missteps, and missed vacations, I am claiming 12% from gross sales of $700,000…[Our] unit sales mix is 70% Laundered Shirt, 25% Dry Cleaning, and 5% other household cleaning…The real profit is made in the dry cleaning… Frankly, I was making $100,000 per year as an employee. [But] I am happier, healthier, and empowered by being my own boss…I am fortunate to have a prime retail location and enough money today to purchase the real estate and own the building. I have a great manager that I pay well and I can jump in my motor home and leave for weeks at a time without worry… There are four key things one needs to do in order to be successful and profitable [as a high-volume dry cleaner].
#1 Location is the most important element in the business. Dry cleaning and laundry customers come from all economic levels, but the most important and highest spending customers come from $80,000+ average household income neighborhoods. Make sure your location has over 10,000 homes that fit that profile.
#2 Don’t pay too much for a lease!… And insist on a drive-thru space or dedicated parking in front of your unit.
#3 Do not buy new equipment… Capital cost for equipment is the biggest expense for a cleaner…
#4 Your business model should define you as a quality cleaner. Do not try to make your business work by being a low price leader.”
John Felt (via Quora)
2. Howard Scott (Industry journalist at American Drycleaner)
“I reviewed a dry cleaner who does $240,000 in revenue. The business has been going for 18 years. The operation incurs $130,000 in expenses [not counting the labor of the owner-operators]. The husband and wife, who both work 50- to 55-hour weeks, take out [the remaining $110,000] as income…[Assuming the owner hired two employees to replace him and his wife at $40,000 per year each] profit is now $30,000… That’s a 12.5% return, which is more or less in order with existing small drycleaner figures.”
The world is aging, and retirees around the world collectively spend well over a $1 trillion each year. Here are 4 startup ideas to serve retirees:
1. Franchised fitness classes for retirement communities
Go to retirement communities, age-restricted 55+ communities, independent living facilities, and assisted living facilities, and pitch them on letting you use some of their space to offer fitness classes. You might be able to get them to let you use the space for free because you are offering something of value to their residents, or you might have to negotiate a fee for use. You can also ask for the community manager’s permission to door knock.
Once you have the space reserved, go knock on doors in the community and tell people about the fitness class you’re going to be hosting. You may want to offer the first one for free or cheap. Alternatively, you could leave door hangers out with a phone number to call to reserve their spot and make payment if you are charging something.
Once you have success in one location, you can hire staff and start adding classes at other locations. After you have 10-100 different locations that are all working, you can start franchising the business.
2. Long-term care insurance
People don’t save enough for retirement (especially since science continues to improve life spans). So, offer a product that let’s people outsource the financial planning with a product that forces them to invest a certain amount each month. This is basically life insurance but instead of paying out a death benefit, it eventually pays for long-term in-home care or the cost of entering an assisted living facility or nursing home.
3. Tech & science classes for seniors
Here are some specific course ideas:
Mastering the Smartphone (especially how to use messaging and video call apps, open and exit apps, login using biometrics, search Google, take photos & videos, and use social media)
Astronomy for Beginners
Chemistry for Beginners
DNA for Beginners
ChatGPT for Beginners
AI for Beginners
Mastering AI
Programming for Complete Beginners
4. Humanoid robots for care giving
The U.S. (and the world) is aging (meaning the average age is increasing FAST). Yet there are not enough care givers. Care givers are not paid a lot, yet care is already on the edge of affordability for many seniors. Robots can help solve this.
Biden Announces Meaningless Deal with AI Companies
Last week, Biden announced a new set of AI safety rules that will apply to seven of the largest AI companies: Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Inflection. The new rules require AI-generated content to be watermarked, require AI systems be subjected to cybersecurity and capability testing before release to the general public, and require AI systems be made available to external vulnerability auditers.
However, the announcement is pure theater. The new rules are not regulations or laws. They are just voluntary commitments by the tech companies involved — voluntary commitments to safety measures that the companies have already implemented or are working on implementing. The voluntary deal accomplishes nothing that wasn’t already going to happen, despite Biden emphasizing in a press statement that the commitments were “real”.
In fact, pushing this misleading narrative that AI companies are adopting new safety rules may actually lower the probability that AI safety legislation is passed in the U.S. anytime soon. However, when AI safety legislation is eventually passed in the U.S., and make no mistake, it will be, it will likely include provisions similar to the requirements in this voluntary deal. Why do I say that? Because it’s what happened to the car industry 80 years ago.
A search fund is essentially a mini SPAC (special purpose acquisition company).
A fresh MBA grad (or anyone else with a rudimentary grasp of business) raises about $400-600k ($500k is typical) from investors to fund a shell company. The MBA grad is called the “searcher”. The shell company is called the “search fund”.
The Search
After raising money, the searcher then begins searching for a business to buy. The searcher can spend up to 2 years searching for the right business. During that time, the search fund pays them a salary of about $100-150k per year.
The searcher is typically looking for a business they can buy for somewhere between $5 million and $30 million. The median acquisition price for search funds is around $15 million. Don’t worry — the searcher isn’t expected to have this money up front. When they raised their search fund, they didn’t only raise $500k. They also got letters from their investors saying that each investor planned to invest up to a certain amount of additional money once the searcher found a business to buy.
Most searchers look for businesses that meet certain criteria:
Industry growth
High return on tangible capital (ROTC)
Recurring revenue
Low customer/revenue concentration
Low cyclicality (i.e. recession-resistant)
Low seasonality
High barriers to entry
TAM of at least $150 million
Low regulatory/tech/environmental risk
The most frequent acquisition targets are in technology and business services. However, metalworking can also be a good industry, and data businesses are fantastic but rare.
The Acquisition
Once the searcher finds a business they want to buy, they send the details to their investors to see if the investors like it. If enough investors like it (“enough” means the investors who like it have pledged enough capital to cover the acquisition costs), then the searcher will submit an LOI (Letter of Intent) to the business owner to begin the sale process. However, if not enough investors like the deal, then the searcher will move on to look for another business.
After the LOI is submitted, due diligence begins. Depending on the size and type of the company being acquired, different types of due diligence may be used. However, one type of diligence that is always required is a “Quality of Earnings” (QoE) analysis. A QoE analysis is basically an “audit-light”. An accounting firm will come in to look for hidden financial risks in the company being acquired. The QoE analysis should do things like:
Make sure no personal business expenses of the business owner have been attributed to the business.
Look for revenue concentration. E.g. are there any customers who account for more than 30% of revenue? Are there any groups of customers who all know each other who account for more than 30% of revenue?
How much revenue (and how much profit) is coming from one-off jobs versus recurring subscriptions or long-term contracts?
Simultaneously with the QoE analysis, the search fund’s legal counsel will begin legal due diligence. This includes things like:
Reviewing long-term customer contracts to ensure they are actually enforceable, and
Ensuring that the company is operating with all required licenses, permits, and surety bonding.
If due diligence turns up any unsurmountable issues or risks, then the search fund will break the LOI and move on to continue searching for another business. Typically, a search fund should expect to enter and break 3 LOIs before finally acquiring a business (or just winding down after 2 years if no suitable acquisition target is found).
After the searchfund finds the business it is going to acquire, it receives an infusion of additional capital from investors to actually fund the acquisition which will merge the acquisition target with the search fund. The acquisition will typically be funded by some amount of equity from investors together with a bit of seller financing plus an SBA loan.
The operation
After the acquisition, the searcher becomes the CEO and operator of the business that was acquired. The searcher’s goal now is to hold and grow the business for the next several years. On average, a searcher will operate and grow the business for about 7 years. However, it’s not uncommon for hold times to exceed 10 years.
In exchange for operating the business, the searcher will receive not only a salary but also equity compensation. Here’s how equity compensation might be structured:
5% equity vested immediately upon conclusion of the acquisition
10% equity vested over the first 4 years of hold time.
10% equity vested based on IRR performance hurdles agreed upon with the investors. A typical IRR hurdle might start at 20%, with full vesting at an IRR 35%.
The exit
Eventually, the searcher will find a buyer for the company and sell it. The buyer will typically be either a private equity fund or a larger competitor.
Example:
Suppose Bob the searcher buys a business for $10 million and grows the business to $50 million over 10 years, earning 22% equity in the process. Once Bob sells, he will have earned 0.22 x $50 million = $11 million. The investors will have made (0.78 x $50M) – ($10M) = $29 million in total gain (a 14.6% annualized return over 10 years).
If you’re interested in starting or investing in a search fund, subscribe to my free newsletter about tactics and strategies for business buyers and investors.
In this article, I’m going to describe 31 different types of businesses that will often pay $10,000 or more for websites.
In general, here’s what a high-ticket website development client looks like:
High margin service provider
Average customer value of at least $1,000 / year (or per job)
At least $100k annual revenue
Customers of the client’s industry typically are consumers or small businesses who follow a mostly self-directed process to find a service provider. For example, people may find their veterinarian by searching Google, but they’ll find their surgeon through a recommendation from their doctor.
NOT a very general business that few people specifically search for (e.g. general contractor)
NOT a business which gets most of its clients via referrals from other businesses (e.g. surgeons get most of their business from other doctors, and mortgage lenders get a lot of their customers as referrals from real estate agents)
NOT a franchisee or other business whose marketing is heavily constrained by suppliers (e.g. car dealerships, window replacement contractors, etc)
NOT an age-restricted business that Google or Facebook won’t allow you to easily market
You also want to target an industry niche with at least 10,000 different businesses in the U.S. so that you have enough customers.
Here are 31 examples of high-ticket web development niches:
1. Personal injury lawyers
Typical personal injury lawsuits range from a few thousand dollars up to a hundred thousand dollars, and lawyers often take 30% of that as a contingent fee. That means a single customer is HIGHLY valuable for a personal injury lawyer. That in turn means that having a high-performing website and Google presence is critical for personal injury lawyers.
2. Tax attorneys
Tax attorneys help clients who are facing an audit or are being investigated for tax crimes. They may also advise clients with complex tax issues.
Tax attorneys often charge $3-5k for individual tax resolution cases. For business cases, that’s often more like $5-7k. However, it’s not uncommon for cases to run to $10k+.
3. Real estate attorneys
Real estate attorneys advise real estate developers and investors about real estate transactions (e.g. setting up land trusts, reviewing or drafting contracts, and putting together closing documents).
Some states actually require real estate attorneys to close transactions rather than real estate agents. In these states, most real estate attorneys will get most of their work via referrals from real estate agents which means they won’t care as much about their website.
However, in states which DON’T require real estate attorneys to complete transactions, the majority of real estate attorney demand will be from investors (a more lucrative niche). In these states, a decent amount of business will still come from referrals from real estate agents, but there is definitely a benefit to be had from a strong web presence also.
4. Estate planners
Estate planning is a complex topic that people tend to Google a lot of questions about. That means a strong website is a valuable asset for estate planning professionals.
Estate planners might be lawyers, accountants, or finance professionals. They have credentials such as “Chartered trust and estate planner” (CTEP), “Accredited estate planner” (AEP), or “Certified trust and fiduciary advisor” (CTFA).
Here are some of the problems that estate planners help people to solve:
What happens to you wealth as you age?
If you are a multi-millionaire or billionaire, then you probably won’t consume all the assets you have before you die. In that case, do you want to start giving some of that to your kids, relatives, or friends before you die? If so, how soon do you want to give it to them, keeping in mind any tax consequences?
What happens if you are incapacitated?
If you are incapacitated and cannot make your own medical decisions, who do you want to make those decisions for you? Do you want to leave any specific instructions for that person (e.g. telling them that you either do or do not want them to pull the plug if you are in a coma for more than 3 months)?
If you become incapacitated or get dementia, who do you want to make financial decisions on your behalf? Who will be responsible for paying your bills, maintaining your mortgage, selling any real estate on your behalf, overseeing your investments, etc?
What happens after you die?
Who will take custody of your dependent children if you die before they stop being dependents?
What will happen to any real estate that you own? Will it be sold? Will it be given to your children or other relatives? How much will go to each person? What if you give half to each of your two children and then one decides they want to sell while the other wants to keep the land?
What will happen to any stocks or other assets that you own?
How will your cash assets be distributed?
Who will inherit certain family heirlooms (e.g. grandma’s wedding ring)?
What kind of funeral do you want and how will it be paid for? Have you already paid for it in advance?
What information will your family members need in order to access any bank accounts, life insurance policies, real estate deeds, retirement accounts, and other financial assets after you die?
How will your family members access your digital assets? E.g. domain names, social media accounts, pictures and videos held in cloud storage, email accounts, etc?
Important keywords for estate planning include:
will
last will
last will and testament
Preneed guardian designation
advanced healthcare directive
health care agent
durable power of attorney
durable power of attorney for health care
probate
conservator
living trust
revocable trust
irrevocable trust
qualified personal residence trust (QPRTs)
testamentary trust
special needs trust
joint trust
marital trust
bypass trust
bypass trust
credit shelter trust
generation-skipping trust
spendthrift trust
Totten trust
grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs)
irrevocable life insurance trust
life insurance
letter of instruction
funeral arrangements
trust beneficiary
beneficiary designation
inheritance
payable-on-death
estate tax
inheritance tax
5. CPA & accounting firms
You might want to focus on accounting firms that specialize in particular ultra-high-ticket ($10,000+) services such as:
Quality of Earnings (QoE) analyses for search funds and small to medium private equity companies.
Tax planning services for high net worth individuals.
Fractional CFO services for angel or VC-backed startups.
6. Residential property managers
Residential property managers are always looking for more clients to manage. Some of those leads will come from relationships with realtors who serve investors. However, a strong online presence can also help bring in clients. Even warm leads from realtors may want to check out a property manager online before committing to using them.
A good property manager website will convey authority, experience, and low risk to investors who trust the property manager with their valuable assets. It will also have content that is clearly tailored to the specific geographic area that the property manager services.
7. Vacation property managers
Remote Airbnb investors need local boots on the ground to manage their Airbnb properties. Vacation rental property managers typically charge anywhere from 10-30% of total rent from each property they manage, which can come out to hundreds or thousands of dollars per month per property.
8. HVAC contractors
A new HVAC system may cost anywhere from $5k to $35k.
HVAC repairs are much less, but they’re still often a couple hundred dollars or more.
9. Asbestos contractors
Asbestos testing typically costs between $200 and $800. The national average is around $500.
The national average cost of a single family house asbestos removal job is about $2,000. Setting up and sealing the area accounts for 60+% of the cost.
If asbestos is found throughout an entire house, the cost will be more.
Also, commercial property asbestos removal will be more expensive.
10. Water & mold damage remediation contractors
These contractors may use several different phrases to describe their services:
Water damage restoration
Mold removal
Mold remediation
11. Pest control businesses
Pest control businesses must be licensed which means they tend to be more serious, larger businesses than something like landscaping.
The annual cost of pest control for a 3-bed, 3-bath single family home is typically around $400-1,000 annually.
A good pest control website will have blog content that addresses common questions about pests particular to the area a company services. Questions such as:
What kind of bug is this? (Be sure to include lots of well-captioned images that can rank in Google images)
How to get rid of <type of bug>
Are <type of bug>s dangerous?
12. Pressure washing businesses
Pressure washing is a high-margin, low-barrier service business.
A good pressure washing website is professional and makes it extremely easy to request a quote and then subsequently book an appointment.
It should be paired with a Google Maps presence and an automated system to follow up with customers to ask if they were satisfied and if they would please leave a review.
13. Soft washing businesses
Soft washing is like pressure washing but with less pressure and more soap. Soft washing is used for cleaning the sides and roofs of houses that would be damaged by pressure washing.
14. Window cleaning businesses
Window cleaning (exterior and/or interior) is often paired with soft-washing to provide an all-in-one house washing package.
However, window cleaning can also be a lucrative stand-alone business, especially for luxury homes and commercial properties.
15. Roofing contractors
A new roof costs thousands of dollars at minimum. The average cost of a new roof in the U.S. is around $10,000.
16. Spray foam insulation contractors
Spray foam insulation contractors install or replace attic insulation. This can cost around $1 per square foot which means a standard single family home will often be a $1-3k job.
17. Residential cleaning companies
A single full-house cleaning for an Airbnb host will typically cost anywhere from $100-400. And an Airbnb host is a good type of customer for a cleaning company because they may host their property 50 times during a year, requiring 50 different cleanings.
Cleaning companies also struggle with staffing. You might consider helping a cleaning company to build a website that also has a recruiting portion that advertises open positions to new cleaners.
Here are some ideas on how you might increase hiring & retention of cleaning staff:
Offer an affiliate program. Any cleaner who refers another cleaner to be hired gets 10% of the revenue from any job the other cleaner does BUT only up to a maximum of whatever the first cleaner does. So, for example, if Sarah cleans 5 hours this week, and she also referred Bob who cleaned 3 hours and Alice who cleaned 8 hours, then Sarah would get 10% of Bob’s 3 hours of work plus 10% of Alice’s first 5 hours of work. That essentially let’s Sarah leverage her own time and incentivizes her both to work a lot and to recruit other cleaners who will work a lot.
Offer discounted housing as long as the cleaner works for the company.
Offer discounted childcare as long as the cleaner works for the company.
You could advertise those things on the recruiting portion of a cleaning company’s website.
18. Hardscaping contractors
Hardscaping contractors build the hard surfaces in a yard (driveways, walkways, patios, decks, sport courts, outdoor pool areas, etc).
These jobs are almost NEVER under $1,000.
19. Irrigation contractors
Irrigation contractors install, maintain, and repair lawn irrigation systems.
20. Pool builders
The cost to build an in-ground pool typically ranges from $10,000 to $100,000.
Indoor pools are much more expensive even than outdoor pools.
21. Water contractors
Water quality contractors may offer a variety of services, including:
Well building
Well maintenance
Well equipment repair
Well testing
Water treatment system installation, maintenance, and repair (e.g. carbon filtration, water softening, or reverse osmosis filtration)
Well pump installation, maintenance, and repair
Water filters also need to be replaced periodically which means you can potentially help your web development clients to set up subscribe-and-save offers to increase their revenue.
22. Kitchen remodeling contractors
Remodeling a kitchen frequently costs over $10,000. That means a kitchen remodeling contractor is willing to pay a lot for a lead (or a website that generates leads).
23. Bathroom remodeling contractors
A typical bathroom remodel will cost somewhere between $2,500 and $15,000.
24. Veterinarians
Veterinarians often undermonetize. You can help them to build a website but you can also help them to add additional service offers such as a subscription to flea and tick medication, a membership that acts sort of like insurance that can only be used at THAT veterinarian, an affiliate program for dog food sales, etc.
25. Fertility doctor
The U.S. population is aging, and people are waiting longer and longer to have kids. That means fertility is an industry experiencing secular growth which means building high-performing websites will be easier.
Fertility is also a high-ticket area. The cost to freeze eggs for example is around $8,000 to $20,000, plus an additional $500-1,000 per year for cold storage.
26. Hormone replacement therapy specialists
Hormone replacement therapy is a medication that contains female hormones, intended to replace the estrogen that a woman’s body stops making during menopause. Hormone therapy is most often used to treat common menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and vaginal discomfort.
There are two main types of estrogen hormone therapy:
Systemic hormone therapy (which comes in a pill, skin patch, ring, gel, cream, or spray foam).
Low-dose vaginal products (which come in the form of a cream, tablet, or vaginal ring).
Estrogen treatments are often paired with progesterone or progestin treatments to provide hormonal balance.
Hormone replacement therapy often costs at least $1,000 per year (including both the insured and uninsured portions of payment) which makes this a high-ticket treatment.
27. Integrative medicine providers
Integrative medicine “integrates” conventional medical care with non-medical care such as aromatherapy, dietary supplements, music therapy, meditation, resilience training, yoga, or animal-assisted therapy.
There are many types of practitioners who may offer some form of care labeled “integrative medicine”, some of which are more legitimate than others. Here are some examples:
Licensed physicians (high legitimacy)
Chiropractors (medium legitimacy)
Psychotherapists (medium legitimacy)
Acupuncturists (low legitimacy)
Chinese herbal therapists (low legitimacy)
Tai chi practitioners (low legitimacy)
Yoga practitioners (medium legitimacy)
Massage therapists (medium-low legitimacy)
Nutritionists (medium legitimacy)
Chefs / culinary medicine (medium-low legitimacy)
Personally, I don’t like working with people I don’t respect, so I wouldn’t work with low legitimacy practitioners who offered what I consider to be bull**** remedies, but if your moral scruples are more flexible than mine, then those practitioners can be lucrative clients.
The types of clients who pursue integrative medicine tend to be people with complex or chronic conditions, such as:
Autoimmune diseases
Headaches and migraines
Cancer & cancer-related side effects
Digestive disorders
Infertility
Menopausal symptoms (e.g. hot flashes)
Menstrual issues
Obesity
Chronic fatigue
High blood pressure (hypotension)
Sleep issues
Breathing disorders
Fibromyalgia (a poorly-understood chronic condition that causes trouble sleeping, fatigue, and pain and tenderness throughout the body; it more often affects women than men, and it usually starts in middle age.)
A concierge doctor is a personalized medical service provider who usually charges a monthly subscription or retainer fee. The annual cost can be anywhere from $1,500 for basic services to $20,000 for more specialized services.
Most concierge doctors live and work in a relatively wealthy areas or large cities. For example:
Los Angeles, CA
Bay area, CA
King County, WA
New York City, NY
Long Island, NY
New Jersey
Massachusetts
Connecticut
Maryland
D.C.
Loudoun County, VA
Falls Church City, VA
Arlington County, VA
Fairfax City, VA
Alexandria City, VA
Dallas, TX
Houston, TX
Austin, TX
Denver, CO
Telluride, CO
Jackson, WY
Las Vegas, NV
Maricopa County, AZ (especially Scottsdale)
Atlanta, GA
Palm Beach, FL
Vero Beach, FL
Miami, FL
Boca Raton, FL
Boca Grande, FL
Seminole County, FL
Winter Park, FL
Collier County, FL
St. Johns County, FL
29. Dietitians & digestive health doctors
A single consultation with a dietitian can cost $100 or more, and a multi-month package can often cost $1,000.
30. Dermatologists
A single visit to a dermatologist will often cost $100-300 (including both the insured and uninsured amounts). However, skin cancer cases pay more, as do procedures like laser hair removal.
There are a lot of opportunities for dermatologists to rank images in Google images for when people search for things like “red rings on skin” or “white bumps on elbow”.
31. Plastic surgeons & cosmetic doctors
Here are some of the several thousand dollar procedures offered by these doctors:
Cellulaze (over $5,000)
Breast augmentation (can be $2k to $20k)
Facelift ($7-13k)
Nose job, technically called rhinoplasty (about $5-6k on average)
Liposuction ($2-10k)
I also want to note that for any of the niches I listed in this article, you can build a high-value offer that includes more than just web development. Possible services might include:
Website design
Website build
Copywriting
Google My Business (GMB) setup & optimization
Content marketing (via blog articles)
Creating automations to text potential customers when the client misses their call, or to text customers after service was rendered to ask if they were satisfied and if they might leave a review on Google.
Ongoing website maintenance (keeping everything updated, working, secure, and performant)
SEO (via content & white-hat backlink building)
Setting up a CRM for the client (or integrating the website with their existing CRM)
Setting up and running Google ads (Google Search and/or Google Maps)
Setting up email marketing campaigns
Ongoing maintenance & operation of email marketing campaigns
If you’re starting a web development agency and want help to launch your business with the right structure & the right offer as quickly as possible, send me an email through the form below.
