The rat catcher — The Daily PPILL #123

The rat catcher — The Daily PPILL #123

The most common business ideas revolve in some way around scarcity. They either harness something and maintain its scarcity, which gives it tremendous value, and then sell it for high prices, or they identify something that is scarce, and satisfy that demand.

But, How can you make money out of something that is abundant? Maybe even too abundant? Something that no one wants.

Well, there are certain type of people who can find an opportunity for a business anywhere. This story is about a person like that and it begins in Victorian London.

It was around the 1840s and with accumulating rubbish, the city was just overtaken with rats (I see you know where this is going). They were a real nuisance, so a character under the name of Jack Black decided to turn this into a business. He became famous because he would perform theatrical feats while doing the work, while wearing a top hat and a band across his chest with the inscription: “V. R.” (the initials of Queen Victoria).

He used to call himself the “Rat and mole destroyer to Her Majesty”

Though job, but brilliant idea for monetizing something that is abundant.

As published on The ChannelMeister