Charm, Compassion & Dr. Rathe - Niche Marketing Could Save the Day

I once had what I considered a pretty good business idea -- I told a friend who is a terrible driver that he should open a taxi company targeting the niche market of "extreme taxi passengers." Surely there are people in the world -- in our city -- who actually enjoy riding with a crazy driver. I mean, there are people who do BASE jumping, surf in hurricane storm surges; people who drink their own urine and worship the devil. Extreme taxi passengers would sign an insurance waiver and a contract promising to pay for all of their driver's speeding tickets (if he received any) and away they go.

This is an idea that morphs from the old Lilly Tomlin joke about wanting to pair up all the stray crazy people in New York she saw talking to themselves so that they would appear to be having conversations with one another.

In the same vein (pun intended), Dr. Rathe of the article above could be physician to masochists. Considering there are people in the world who spend good money to be insulted, berated and beaten by a surly dominatrix (awkward grammar there because I don't know how to pluralize "dominatrix", surely Dr. Rathe could niche market himself to hypochondriac masochists.

Personally, I think this idea might make Dr. Rathe and his considerable verbal skills something of a circus act. What I really think the good doctor should do is be installed as the Official Physician of Parliament.