Another Revolutionary Business Idea

in our august 2003 issue we presented a business idea that will probably revolutionize many fields of human activity, from animal care to leisure planning: the pet rental store (if you missed it, click here and then press ctrl+a to read it).

this month we present another sensational idea that will once again change businesses, societies and values. as is the case with any new concept, our suggestions will probably anger, annoy or bewilder many people. we are aware of this risk and gladly take it.we believe that any field of human activity or knowledge should benefit from progressive ideas. and where else could you find such ideas if not on mintrubbing.org?

in this article we address an issue that has kept many a parent awake late at night: child education. as we all know, any child (or adult, for that matter) is subject to three types of methods in his or her education: the stick, the carrot, or a combination of those.

today's progressive society has seen a shift towards use of the carrot (rewards) and a departure from use of the stick (punishments). it is now commonly believed that young children should only be subject to a reward system that will help them determine on their own the differences between right and wrong. while we agree with this idea, we also believe that punishment plays an important role in the education and the discipline of young children, and should bot be neglected.

the problem with punishment is that it sends mixed messages to children. since the parent is perceived as friendly and as the provider of good things (food, love, care), a punishing action originating from a parent (or someone else perceived as friendly) will serve no other purpose than confuse the child.

this is the basis of our business idea: the establishment of child discipline centers.

staffed by child care professionals, educators and psychologists, these centers would act as providers of punishment for children that deserve it. such a system presents several obvious advantages:

- the role of parents (or guardians) is reduced to provider of rewards, thus reinforcing positive feelings and bonding with the child.
- punishment is not totally removed from child education, being provided by qualified child care specialists.
- the more sensitive parent will no longer have to bear the responsibility of punishment, leaving this burden to the care of qualified personnel.

a trip to the discipline center will be perceived as a fact of life by the child, not unlike a trip to the doctor; although a doctor is perceived to be unfriendly and do harm, in time the child learns that the doctor's acts are for his own good. in time the discipline center will be perceived in a similar way; the child will learn to refrain from actions that will lead to a trip to the center (in a process similar to that of avoiding cold weather for fear of getting sick and getting flu shots, for example).

we leave the details of actual punishment techniques for the professionals to decide. our role here at mintrubbing.org is only to identify a need on the market and present it to our readers.

just like the pet rental store presented several months ago, the child discipline center is a revolutionary idea that has never been tried out before. potential customers include hundreds of millions of parents worldwide. initial investments are small and the business plan is scalable. franchise opportunities could be made available. the potential for profits is unlimited. center personnel includes child care specialists, educators and pshychologists, with support staff being added at a later stage as the business grows.

investments in fixed assets will normally include locations and buildings for the center, as well as a minimum of tools used for distributing punishment - i.e. sticks, whips, baseball bats, lie detectors, low voltage stun guns, rubber bullets, water hoses, etc. as mentioned before, qualified personnel will make the necessary decisions in this area - this is not for us to decide.

as usual, please let us know if you decide to start a business based on our ideas. we would be delighted to provide additional support.