- On the drive to and from Purdue, I pass a farmhouse whose owner has converted the surrounding cornfields into five or six paintball courses. They are filled with obstacles— empty power line spools, giant black irrigation pipes, a plywood castle— and surrounded by black netting to keep stray shots from hitting bystanders and passing cars. The place has been full every time I have driven by, and I know the owner must be making a fortune.
- On the small reservoir near my house, there is a self-described yacht club. It doesn't pander to what most people would think of as yachts, but it does have a reasonably large dock filled with pontoon boats and jetskis. This summer, the club organized a sailing camp for children that, according to the sign, filled up within a week or two. Visualizing a group of hyperactive children piloting little sailboats around the lake always makes me laugh.
- A new strip mall sprung up down the road from my house. In it is a marketed heavily toward men, which means that the shop is decorated with all sorts of sports schwag and each cutting station has a TV tuned to ESPN. That alone isn't all that noteworthy; barbershops have been doing things like that since the dawn of time. Nor is the cut all that much better than any other franchised hair salon. What impressed me was that they offer free neck trims between cuts. Free! I have always wanted something like that because my hair invariably starts looking rough around the edges one or two weeks before I actually want it cut.
When I see things like these three examples, it tells me someone behind the scenes was thinking. He or she noticed a unique demand and found a creative way to bring it to the customer. Capitalism at its finest.