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Weird Niche: Scheduling Pee Breaks

popcorn-sodaIn the continuing trend of Weird Niches, I'd like to discuss a much needed service that is now offered by a clever entrepreneur.

You know how it is when you go to a movie that you're really excited about? Then, you eat popcorn and drink a big ole soda to wash it down and start to think “Oh no! I have to PEE!”

You try to hold it for the rest of the movie so that you don't miss anything important, but…  as you start to sweat and do the potty dance, you realize there's no chance that'll happen.

What's a movie buff to do?

Well, a new niche website has been launched to save the day.

Just go to http://runpee.com before you go to the movie and find out exactly the best times to … run and pee during the movie you'll be watching. Coolness – they're working on an Iphone App in case you forget and need to check as you're buying that big soda at the theater. (Correction: iPhone app is under development right now and than other mobile versions will be out in the Fall which is as fast as the owner can get it done.)

I was fortunate to get the owner of RunPee.com to do a quick text interview with me. Here is some insight into the business side of things…

————  Begin Interview ————

1. Tell me about RunPee and how you came up with the idea.

Here are two pages that answer a lot of the questions about the site:
http://blog.runpee.com/about
http://blog.runpee.com/about-polygeek

2. How are you monetizing the site?

Right now I don't! So far I think I've made about $50 off the site and spent $500 on hosting – for the year. I'm a developer and not very knowledgeable about advertising but I'm working on it. I think if the site stays popular and people use it on a regular basis then I'll eventually find an effective means of monetizing it. I really need to get the iPhone app out there. It will sell for .99 so that should be a nice infusion of cash.

Nicole says: Yes, the Iphone app should be a good burst of income for the site, definitely.

3. I see you're getting a lot of interviews. What have you learned so far about scheduling and getting results from interviews.

Just say yes to everyone that wants an interview! The funny thing is that I've only contacted one person for an interview on their show and they never got back to me. Fortunately lots of requests have come to me.

4. Any questions you may like to ask me for help marketing/monetizing your business.

I think the model I'll follow is going to be similar to RottenTomatoes.com. Since the site is Flash based I can work in some really nifty themes for movies. Plus I'd like to have a section at the bottom where users can browse for previews and such. Eventually the site will grow into much more than it is now but it will always stay focused on the core asset which is to be able to quickly get in and get the RunPeeTimes for the movie you want to watch.

Nicole says: I can envision a whole line of cool tee's similar to Threadless.com Also, as the site grows in popularity and page rank, you should be able to sell text-links and banner ads, as well, for a decent price. Plus, the Iphone App will certainly take off, if you market it well. Your branding is good and memorable, for sure.  Readers, do you have suggestions?

5. Anything my readers can do for you?

Firstly I would say use it and tell all your friends about it. I hope that lots of people just make it a regular part of their movie going experience.

Second, if anyone has any suggestions please throw them out there. The site will evolve largely based on user input. And it would be nice if people bought T-shirts. I need the $$$.

6. Anything you'd do differently if you were to begin again?

I might have set up monitization better. The site has been out since last August. Since it didn't get any traffic I didn't bother working on finding ways to make money from it. And I should have added features to moderate the publicly submitted RunPeeTimes. Some of them have been of the “Go pee and don't return” variety which doesn't help anyone. I'm working on moderation today. And letting users vote on which RunPeeTimes they like the best. I have received lots of great suggestions from users which will make the site better and better.

————  End Interview ————

Great innovative thinking, RunPee. I like the way you think.

Problem –> Solution –> Opportunity for Profit.

Go get 'em guys. Find problems that YOU can solve for profit!

Warmly,
Nicole

250X250bubblesNRP

I appreciate shares and I adore comments! Please share your thoughts.

  • Traci Feit Love
    Reply

    Cool idea! Seems like if you could get some of the websites/blogs for pregnant women to write about runpee.com (maybe you already have), you could get a lot of additional traffic. I know when I was pregnant there was absolutely zero chance I would make it through a whole movie without a bathroom break 🙂

    Traci Feit Love’s last blog post..Legal Resources for Home Business Owners

  • Kelly
    Reply

    I heard him on Net@Night – it’s an awesome fun idea for a website!

    Kelly

  • Ronnie Nijmeh
    Reply

    I gotta say… this is probably one of the craziness niche sites I’ve heard of in a while.

    The funniest part is that I can see this being useful to some friends of mine! haha 🙂

    Thanks for doing the interview, Nicole!

    Ronnie Nijmeh’s last blog post..Marketer’s Mojo Talk Radio with Ronnie Nijmeh

  • Angela Wills
    Reply

    How funny!

    You know what else too – I went to see Night at the Museum on the weekend with my son and went to the washroom at exactly the second suggested time – what a good guess on my part! lol

  • RunPeeCreator
    Reply

    Thanks Nicole for the post. This is very helpful.

    @Traci, I have been thinking about working with sites for pregnant women. And I’ve sold a few maternity T-shirts that have RunPee on it. I’ll bet women find that hilarious.

    @Angela, Good guess. I think that people who see a lot of movies get a good feeling for those moments when it might be good to RunPee. But many, MANY, readers have commented that they wish they had known about the site before they saw Star Trek. Because they took off when Kirk was running from the creatures on the ice planet. Well, turns out there is a HUGE reveal right after that and they didn’t get back in time. So for Star Trek I added an Anti-RunPeeTime to warn people not to leave at that moment.

  • Lisa Marie Mary
    Reply

    That is hysterical, unique and totally awesome! I love it!! 🙂

    Lisa Marie Mary’s last blog post..His Cheeseburger Won’t Get Out Of My Head

  • The Camera Lens Shop
    Reply

    Certainly odd but makes sense. I guess the you could judge the film that way.The more pee time available the worse the film?

  • Angie (Losing It and Loving It)
    Reply

    Odd but quite unique! We don’t go out to movies so we don’t ever have that issue because we push pause LOL

    Angie (Losing It and Loving It)’s last blog post..Daily Exercise are you serious?

  • SoCal Movie Fanatics
    Reply

    I’m setting up my DVR to catch your interview on Reelz Channel tomorrow (1:57am Pacific. DirecTV 238, DishNetwork 299, Time Warner 298) – as they say, “break a leg” … but of course, not literally 🙂

    SCMF Network is hoping to help out RunPee when the time is right 🙂

  • Glass Queens
    Reply

    It’s really hard for me to see someone paying a dollar to buy such an app.

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