The Budding Entrepreneur

A few months ago our towns public school sent out an email to all the elementary and middle school students about a June marketplace. It was an optional, ungraded project where the students would get an opportunity to create a product or service and sell it at the marketplace. There were no restrictions, you could work alone or with a partner. 

I talked to D about it.. explained to him what it would entail, the concept of profit and expense, the various products or services that could be sold and let him mull over it.. I wanted to make sure he understood all the extra work it would mean.. after a week of going back and forth.. he decided he wanted to participate.

He decided to make upcycled tin can pencil holders. He began with making sketches.. while I started to collect tin cans. 




We did an inventory of all the things we had in the house.. so that we could minimize our expenses.. and then the work began. We worked on one can per weekend.. we didn't use most of the designs in his sketches.. I wanted to teach him that ideas are not concrete.. we have to let inspiration take it course.. be flexible.. something he is not known for. 










Two sides of the same can.



We brainstormed on names.. he took a family vote. Laynaad was the winner. It's his name backwards. Then he created a logo. 

We had a few fails.. a rainbow made of pipe cleaners.. the pipe cleaners refused to stick and stay put.. children's pains wouldn't stay put either.. so we had to scrap the rainbow idea.. we were really trying to limit our purchases. 

A total of $12 were spent.. most of it was spent on buying a sealer.

The day of the event.


It was a two hour outdoor event in the middle school. D sold 5 out of 9 pencil holders for $5 each. He made a profit of $11. His grandmother and aunt have already called dibs on two. Two more left.. his other grandmother wants to buy one as well. 

Lessons learnt: 
Earning money is hard. 
Never give up.. ( it took him 30 minutes to sell his first one.. and the last two sold in the last 30 mins..)

Our observations: 
Instead of taking the opportunity to teach their kids a lesson in business far too many people took the easy way out by reselling. I kid you not there was a kid selling Doritos and Pringles. 
A large number of kids were selling sweet confections.. cupcakes and cookies everywhere you looked. While some looked child made many did not.
Those above type of sellers took away a lot of focus from the kids who really had worked hard. The little girl next to us was selling braided key chains.. she sat and made more while she attempted to sell.. she was so focused. While so many kids left their tables maned by their parents and decided to frolic with their friends instead. 

Nonetheless it was a great effort by the school district.. there were over a 100 kids selling.. hopefully the school district will continue with this annually but maybe regulate a bit more.. 

We were very proud of D. He is normally a shy child so seeing him trying to work the crowd was amazing.. that night I think he was trying to sell a few in his sleep as well.. 
   
                  Etsy           Instagram           Twitter           Bloglovin  

Comments

  1. I love how you encouraged such wonderful budding entrepreneurial spirit!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you.. I'm so glad he showed an interest.

      Delete
  2. This is great! I wish our school had this, I would encourage the kids to participate. Homemade cupcakes and cookies...ok, but Pringles and Doritos??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was a really great initiative.. I hope they continue it.
      I know.. I don't blame the kids.. sometime parents gotta step up.

      Delete
  3. Amazing post, dear! A big hello from Germany!
    Hugs ♥

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh very cute darling
    xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. This was such a wonderful event that the school district put on, Hena! And you did well explaining the whole thing to him. He did great with these pencil holders. I would've bought one too:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really was, I hope they make it an annual event..
      Thank you.. he was so proud when he made his first sale. As were we.

      Delete
  6. What a great way to teach kids about money and hard work! I love his creations! So fun and cute.

    https://www.kathrineeldridge.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree.. I hope they keep doing it every year.
      Thank you!

      Delete
  7. What an enterprising and educational project! D did a great job with his pencil holders and it's wonderful how he learned from the experience as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you.. I hope he remembers the lessons learnt.. even if he is only a second grader right now.

      Delete
  8. That's such a great idea and such a great way to show what it's like to start a business! xo, Biana - BlovedBoston

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't think he imagined it was going to be so hard.. :)

      Delete
  9. That is an awesome event. I saw your IG Story on it. What a handsome boy. I hope he had some sales. Boo on the parents letting their kids sell already packaged foods.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks.. he sold 5 out of 9.. and he has dotting grandparents and aunts and uncles whom will buy up the rest.
      Agreed.. they wasted a great teachable moment.

      Delete
  10. You collaborated well with good results.

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is such a heart warming post, Hena!! These lessons will help him so much later in life!! And I love that you gave him the option, had him sketch it, and then even had some fails. Failure can be the best lesson of all. And really, they turned out fabulous!!!
    XOXO
    Jodie
    www.jtouchofstyle.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you.. I didn't want him to sail through it.. I wanted to take advantage of the project and really teach him a few life lessons.

      Delete
  12. What a wonderful project! And certainly a great way of teaching kids about entrepreneurship.
    Those pencil holders are adorable!

    Happy Eid al-Fitr, Hena! In Malaysia, we celebrate the occasion for an entire month.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All month! Wow. In Pakistan we get three days.. here we get none. So we really have to go out of our way to celebrate and teach the kids about Eid. It's hard when Christmas is so much more in your face and flashy.

      Delete
  13. Such a great idea to teach kids!

    Love, Riana
    mrianaester.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow!! its very innovative. i love this creativity. great job done .
    My Blog | Instagram | Bloglovin

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a teach lesson for those parents that took advantage of it!! LOVE the pencil tins!!!! I am now following!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Ann.. and thank you for stopping by.

      Delete
  16. What a great idea for a school district to do! And it teaches so many things! The pencil holders turned out really cute!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you.. it was a really great idea.. I hope they turn it into an annual event.

      Delete
  17. This is an excellent teaching/learning project and I applaud your son's efforts! His variety in designs shows quite a range of creativity, IMO. I see several I would have been interested in buying if I'd been there. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much.. he is going to love reading all of these appreciative comments.

      Delete
  18. So cute! I just love the smiley face one. My daughter is outside trying to sell slime right now. :)

    Carrie
    curycraftymom.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks.. wishing her luck. Slime is all the rage right now.

      Delete
  19. What a cool + creative venture! These turned out so cute!

    -Ashley
    Le Stylo Rouge

    ReplyDelete
  20. His creations are so creative and well thought out. I am so impressed! Sounds like it was a lesson well worth it.

    Amy Ann
    Straight A Style

    ReplyDelete
  21. wow he is so talented i am very impressed!

    www.thehautecookie.com

    ReplyDelete
  22. I LOVE that you guys nurtured his aspirations and also pushed him to better himself and learn some important lessons during this. Reselling someone else's cupcakes will definitely not make the impact that designing, creating, and selling your own items will. Even though it can be difficult and frustrating to watch these things around you, remember that the hard lessons and the hard work will help him grow into an incredible, focused, hard working person. You guys are doing a great job and he should be so proud of himself!

    Susie | http://mielhighdreamers.com

    ReplyDelete
  23. Oh how cute! This is such a brilliant event idea - and you certainly have a clever creative on your hands!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Wow this is very creative.
    I love the designs

    Much Love,
    Jane | The Bandwagon Chic

    ReplyDelete
  25. he is in a great school to give him an opportunity to do something creative and learn about business. I love his design process and his business name :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Wow! Really beautiful ;)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Such cute art!
    ~Samantha
    http://goldcoastgirlblog.com

    ReplyDelete
  28. This is great, I love how they are deocrated. you seem like such a great mom
    xo
    www.laurajaneatelier.com

    ReplyDelete
  29. Looks and sounds like a wonderful project! Great pictures too!
    Have a lovely weekend :)
    Rosanna x
    Rose's Rooftop

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love love love all the comments, every single one brings a smile to my face. Make sure you're not a no-reply blogger so I can write back!

Popular posts from this blog

Kitchen and Family Room: New Flooring

D's Amazing Race Party

Friday Photography