Anecdotes From 4 Children on Starting a Business

The BT Kiddos Get To Work

Call it an occupational hazard of having fin-lit loving moms, but the BT dozen have proven there is no age requirement to becoming an entrepreneur. With little input from us, here’s how four of our kiddos have been motivated to bump up their allowance dollars by bringing home the bacon…one small business at a time!

Caroline (Age 6)

After pining after an American Girl doll (Rebecca, to be exact!) with no birthday or holiday in sight, Caroline took matters into her own hands.

She and her friend started the “Purple Butterfly Spa,” which offered hand massages, manicures, pedicures and more to unsuspecting family and friends. With her Alexa playing soothing music, she treated her clients to relaxing spa treatments and earned some especially generous tips from kind and patient grandparents.

Just a few months into her spa enterprise (and having exhausted all willing customers), she finally earned enough money to purchase her beloved AG doll…and all that hard work paid off!

George (Age 7)

Ever since first reading If I Built A House by Chris Van Dusen, George has wanted to be an architect. He spends hours at home and free time at school drawing houses of all kinds and is very passionate about the detail and measurements that go into his “blueprints.” At the end of the school year, his first grade teacher showed us some of the houses that George had dreamed up for her and his fellow classmates, taking great care in the style preferences he would draw for each person.

This summer, George had the idea to ask friends, family and neighbors if he could draw their homes so they could have a portrait of their houses to “keep always.” The costs for this “business” were low (all purchased from Target with a gift card he had been saving: 500ct package of printer paper $5.99; ruler $0.55; 24ct wood pencils 0.99; pencil sharpener $0.50 = total supplies were 8.03 + tax…all in under $10.00).

George decided he would sell these “blueprint portraits” for 10 cents in pencil, and 25 cents for color. While he hasn’t exactly been raking in the big bucks, he has learned the important lesson that it never seems quite like work when you are passionate about what you are doing.

Eleanor (Age 8)

Eleanor had been asking to do a lemonade stand for quite some time. Living on a busy street, she knew it would be successful if she timed it right with the weather! But, she wanted to find a way to differentiate her lemonade stand.

After being gifted a rainbow loom set for her birthday, she knew just what she should do…Eleanor is creating bracelets to sell alongside her lemonade! She is rainbow looming away making a variety of different designs and is even including bracelets for boys with colors of local sports teams.

Eleanor is confident her lemonade stand will now have something for everyone!

Alessia (Age 6)

While at beach camp, Alessia learned about “painting rocks”- the rust-colored rocks found on the shoreline. These rocks can stain skin when wet and make “tattoos” as she likes to call them.

Alessia loves collecting these rocks and giving her friends and family temporary tattoos…and just like that, her first business was born. For just $1, friends and family received intricate tattoos that fortunately washed right off with a hot shower, and she pocketed some cash to store in her Benji Bank.

The Takeaway

The BT dozen’s small forays into business show that there is no venture too small to build financial fitness. By learning the value of a dollar and the pride that comes with hard work, even the youngest kids can ignite an entrepreneurial spirit for their financial future.

Is there a business you’d like to start? What good or service could you provide to earn money?