Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Entrepreneurial Offspring

It seems like as soon as kids find out that money can be used to purchase gum, they are always on the prowl looking for ways to find, earn, or steal it. I don't mind providing ways for my children to earn money, then leave the discretionary spending at the store up to them. I even offer them a penny per page of extracurricular reading they do and "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" and the "Fablehaven" and "Magic Tree House" series have cleaned me out.

Twice my son has had a lemonade stand, but seeing as how we live on a cul-de-sac that's a little off the beaten path, he netted about $1.50 each time. He even wrote up a business plan for this endeavor that went something like this:

1. sighn (advertising) very good. color
2. making the lemonade pay mom to borow ingreedionts.
3. get table and chair
4. find a good space to sell

I think I just got cheated out of my fair share.

All this is well and good - until my daughter struck upon a scheme that required even less work. I was stunned to find this sign up in my house.


underneath which I found this set up


It's one thing to have a future beverage retailer in the family, quite another to have a future pan-handler. I asked my daughter what the baby needed saving from. She shrugged, "I don't know. Anything that needs money, I guess."

there is no

9 comments:

Mama Mia said...

LOL!!!!! Love the little pan handler! Now, Nathaniel is determined to start up a successful lemonade stand! He has it down now...location, location, location! Watch out Harvard Business College here he comes!

Cheryl said...

Hee, hee! I LOVE the little pan handler in training!! Maybe those in Anchorage ought to take a lesson from her and have some little kids or babies with them when they are standing at N. Lights and Minnesota!

imme said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ambie said...

Your children have taken matters into their own hands which is what happens when you don't buy food.

Good for Maya, she will never starve and maybe grow up to become one of the worlds most proficient beggars rivaled only by those in India.

Have her practice her sad face and maybe Alexa can be her starving child.

ray said...

Anyone with a daughter as skinny and frail as Alexa should not be accusing others of withholding food. Although here in Hawaii it really does come down to a choice between food and education.

Mia, when you wrote 'Harvard Business College' I saw Christian wipe a tear of joy from his eye.

Mama Mia said...

He should be a proud papa! I think Nathaniel is brillant and it is probably the reason it is hard for him to conform and fit in the "box". Glad to spread the joy :)

ray said...

I think i mentioned this before...
Mia, you are really my best friend. Pay no attention to that Ambie person behind the curtain.

Tim said...

That is one of the funniest things I've seen recently! Go Maya. I remember seeing a little Mexican kid standing on a trash can at the border crossing singing "La Bamba" at the top of his lungs and raking it in. Kids are creative.

Kristine said...

Oh my gosh that's hilarious!! Maya has just joined my list of favorite kids ever!

By the way, has Nathaniel ever played that old school computer game, Lemonade Stand? I was never too good at it as a child, and I think that kept me from ever getting wild ideas about hitting the hard streets of Everett with actual lemonade.