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It’s Only Common Sense: More Great Business Ideas from ‘Breaking Bad’

I was cruising around YouTube the other day and came across a 10-year reunion of the cast of “Breaking Bad.” What a great show. So, I searched through my streaming channels, landed on the series, and started rewatching it. Then I remembered I had written a column about business ideas from the show. Once I re-read my column, I realized I had not even touched the surface of all the great advice in both business and life that one could get from that great series.

The iconic character, Walter White, was certainly a master of creating and managing his methamphetamine empire. While his methods were morally questionable, his business acumen was undeniable.

With that in mind, I paid more attention to the show by taking notes as I watched it again, and I was amazed at how much I was learning. This time I focused on all the new businesses these guys and their pals could have started with everything they learned and got good at over the years.

Here is a list of the more pertinent bits of advice and teaching moments from “Breaking Bad.”

• Chemical consulting firm: Leverage expertise in chemistry to provide consulting services to various industries.
• Drug testing kits: Develop and sell drug testing kits for law enforcement agencies, workplaces, and schools. Heck, these guys could have produced COVID test kits when we needed them.
• Specialized cooking classes: Offer classes teaching the chemistry behind cooking to enthusiasts and professionals.
• Organic chemical synthesis: Produce and sell organic chemicals for research and industrial use. That is what they were doing right? Just think if they had done it for good causes.
• Security consulting: Provide security consulting services to businesses to protect against theft and other risks. Their friends from south of the border were experts at that. Not to mention Gus Fring and Mike Ehrmantraut.
• Underground market research: Conduct market research in niche or underground markets for unconventional products. How much market research did they really need?
• Customized chemical solutions: Create tailor-made chemical solutions for specific industrial applications.
• Clandestine laboratory cleanup services: Offer cleanup services for illegal drug labs, ensuring safe disposal of hazardous materials.
• Home security systems: Develop and sell advanced home security systems to protect against intruders.
• Biomedical research: Use chemical expertise for research and development in the biomedical field.
• Environmental cleanup: Provide services for cleaning up environmental contaminants, such as chemical spills.
• DIY chemistry kits: Create educational chemistry kits for children and adults to learn basic chemistry principles.
• Mobile laboratory services: Offer onsite laboratory services for industries requiring immediate chemical analysis.
• Industrial equipment sales: Sell specialized equipment used in chemical manufacturing and processing.
• Chemical supply chain management: Manage the supply chain for companies requiring chemical inputs, ensuring efficiency and reliability.
• Forensic analysis: Provide forensic analysis services for law enforcement agencies and legal firms.
• Niche pharmaceuticals: Develop and sell niche pharmaceuticals targeting specific medical conditions.
• Personal protective equipment (PPE) manufacturing: Produce and sell protective gear for workers in hazardous environments.
• Chemical waste disposal: Offer safe and compliant disposal services for chemical waste generated by various industries. This would be great in our own industry. Actually, I bet old Walt could have built great PCBs.
• Alternative energy research: Invest in research and development of alternative energy sources, such as solar or wind power.
• Innovative drug delivery systems: Develop novel methods for drug delivery to improve effectiveness and patient experience. Skinny Pete and his friends would have been great at this.
• Hazardous material training: Provide training programs for handling hazardous materials safely in various industries.
• Chemical education platform: Create an online platform offering courses and resources for learning chemistry.
• High-quality laboratory equipment rental: Rent out specialized laboratory equipment to research institutions and businesses.
• Chemical waste recycling: Develop technologies for recycling chemical waste into usable products or raw materials.

Although these ideas draw inspiration from Walter White's expertise in chemistry and his ability to navigate the complexities of running a successful illicit drug operation, there were other experts involved along the way. Certainly, the Mexican Cartel gang and the guys in distribution could have contributed greatly to starting some of these other businesses. Just think if they had. In a few years they could have been legitimate—wait that’s another movie. Speaking of which maybe I’ll watch “Ozark” again. I bet there are some pretty good business ideas in that series too.

But lest I forget, the one thing they had (and that every good and successful business needs) is great legal representation. As we all learned from this show, when you’re in need of that then you’d better call Saul.

It’s only common sense.

Dan Beaulieu is president of D.B. Management Group.