Kyle, the Entrpreneur

My son turned entrepreneur 3 days ago and his takings for the day was 90 cents. On the 2nd day, he earned $1+ and today he made 60 cents.

I was mildly surprised when he told me that he 'sold' things to his friends. It was a matter of time. His dad has been telling him to earn his own money and we have also been telling him stories about how we make our own money through selling things when we were younger. Just recently, I read him a news article about a man who created Rochester Park in Singapore and now owns the tallest pub in Singapore. He also started out by selling Christmas cards during his schooling days. What surprised me was the things he sold. On the 1st day, he sold his 'Pocky', 3 for 10 cents and he sold sold rubber bands to his friends for 10 cents per piece. I was appalled!!! That evening my hubby and I had a talk with him on what are the 'right' things to sell. I told him that Pocky should be shared with friends and rubber bands are cheap item that does not fetch such a high price. We lectured him about how 'trust' is an important aspect of a client-seller relationship and how he should be an honest seller. After that he gave me a bunch of rubber bands ( which he had already put in his spectacle case) and decided to sell his brand-new erasers instead the next day.

The 2nd day, he again sold 3 'Pocky' for 10 cents and his erasers. On the 3rd day, he sold his remaining erasers. Everyday he gleefully told me how much he 'made' after school and then happily 'deposit it into his 'ATM' machine bank that we bought for him. For someone who is so 'money-minded', it is surprising that he does not ask for pocket money during school days. To date, I have only given him $1 on less than 5 occasions when I did not prepare lunchbox for him. He brings a lunchbox which contains either bread, cereal bar or biscuits and a packet of milk to school. Although I had suggested giving him a fixed amount which he can save up, he had refused that offer.

His usual 'income' comes from doing well in school, like getting 100% for his spellings or getting above 90% for his tests. Now he can supplement that 'income' through his salesmanship!!