Best Biscuits: How My Son Started a Small Business

The very next day, the children down the street opened a lemonade stand. This threw a wrench in his plan, but it didn’t stop him.  He decided instead of selling lemonade, he would sell dog biscuits. L made another “bisness plan” and we were on our way to baking biscuits. I didn’t know it yet, but his business turned out to be a lot more lucrative than either of us expected.  That was the beginning of a parenting lesson gone wrong.

He had a successful launch! By the end of the first day, he had $22 worth of online sales and $14 at his storefront for a total of $36. He still had enough ingredients for 4 more batches so his business continued to boom.  When it was all said and done, L earned close to $400 (half of which he donated to The Humane Society)!

And that’s when the trouble began. I had expected that L would make a little money from a lot of hard work creating businesses for kids. That he would realize that spending money on frivolous toys comes with hard work. That’s not what happened. What really happened was that making the biscuits was lots of fun. Hanging out at the dog park selling biscuits with his friends was even more fun. And the result of all that fun? He made more money than he needed. He made so much money that he could buy as many toys as he wanted.

Instead of the lesson that I was trying to teach him, he learned that when he wanted something he could easily get what he wants. Now, whenever he wants something he suggests another business. He looks back on his biscuit baking business as an example of how he can easily succeed, how easy it is to make plenty of money so he can buy whatever he wants. I look back on his biscuit baking business as a parenting mistake.

These days he has his eyes set on a very expensive DJ mixing board.  At my husband’s suggestion, L is now collecting recyclables. His last collection (2 months worth of recyclables) yielded him only $4.40.  It’s going to take a long time for him to earn enough money to buy what he wants, but I do believe he will finally learn the lesson I meant to teach him last year.

If our parenting fail hasn't dissuaded you from encouraging your child to look into creating businesses for kids then here are some ideas and resources for you:

• Dog Walking: This is a job for an older, responsible child. After all, taking care of someone's pet is a serious business. Put up signs in your neighborhood, there are a lot of people who can use this service.
• Create a Summer Camp: When I was a child my friends wanted to make some extra money over the summer so they created a summer camp where they would play games and make crafts with the younger kids in the neighborhood. This requires an adult to be on-site just in case.
• Genius Kids Who’ve Earned A Ton Of Money Through Their Own Businesses: from selling their own inventions to learning how to invest or monetizing their social media presence.
• 14 Brilliant Business Ideas for Kids and Teens: Don’t underestimate the potential for big success from small starts.
• How to Help Your Kid Start a (Legal) Business: children and teens need to secure the right paperwork to lawfully run their businesses.
• Setting up a Legal Business: How to Start a Business (for Kids)
• 50 Small Business Ideas for Kids: There are plenty of opportunities for kids to start their very own businesses at a young age.
• 6 Ways to Help Your Kid Start a Business and Learn About Life