Toilet Capitalism and Finding a Niche

Businesses function to meet the needs of their target market by providing goods and services the customers enjoys and appreciates for a reasonable cost. That's nothing new.

Sometimes we encounter a product or service that we neither enjoy nor appreciate, but the merchant still gets our money. There is an obligatory necessity to give your money to the them, no matter how frustrated it makes you. You just can't beat the system.

A parking meter is an example. The meter does nothing but sit there and stare and potential parkees saying, "You want to put that car in this spot? It's gonna cost ya!" It doesn't matter if you think it's stupid to charge for that rectangle of curbside real estate. 

While you may be frustrated at this happening, are you able to look from another perspective and recognize the pure capitalistic genius that the "merchant" has made? My example may be a bad one, but this happened to me recently and is obviously the motivation for this writing.

Moving on to what motivated me, I found myself in the grips of Chiang Mai's famous Sunday Walking Street needing to relieve myself. Knowing the area well, I headed for a small retail center with a public restroom. When I got there I was surprised to see this boy seated in front of the entrance:

This kids sets up shop  on Sundays at what is normally a free toilet to make money on 
the increase of foot traffic while he plays video games on his phone.

My immediate reaction was just like the parking meter situation. "Dammit! Do I have any change?" I think to myself, irritated. The irritation withers into frustration as I think about all the times this stop has been free. I say to myself, "This kid is making a killing because he knows that there's a ton of extra foot traffic on Sundays!"

At first this only exacerbated my frustration, but then I got to thinking what great capitalism it is. Most of the people who are visiting that restroom are tourists with money to blow, why not take ฿5 from them? That's really only a fraction of a dollar (about 10-15 cents USD). My thought shifted and frustration drifted.

This little event got me thinking about finding an entrepreneurial niche in the marketplace. Where there is a business opportunity to be capitalised on there is plenty of ground for money to be made. The kid in front of the bathroom knows that (more likely his parents do), so what can I learn from him?

Sometimes finding a niche is as simple as seeing something that has the potential to be charged for but hasn't been already. City governments realized this and implemented parking meters, and the restroom toll boy is similarly motivated.  Other times it's about considering the daily events and routines of the populous and making a move to create something that the market deems worthy of their money. It may simplify a routine or process, bring them laughter and joy, or put something really useful in their hand. Whatever the case, entrepreneurs keep their eyes open for these niches to create opportunity.

With a fresh perspective on the clever move by the boy in from of the toilet, I think it's time I look for my own toilet to go sit in front of. With any luck I can watch the money roll in while I do other things, just like him.