The Evolution of a Young Entrepreneur
Do you know how long you have been an entrepreneur? Do you think of a young girl with a small pink purse as an entrepreneur? I was that little bright-eyed girl with a small pink purse and did not realize I was an entrepreneur. However, I liked to make money. Who does not want to make money? As an entrepreneur, I began at a young age and continued to evolve.
In fourth and fifth grade, I carried a petite pink purse full of an assortment of pencil erasers. Yes. My mom and teacher knew that I was carrying these erasers, and they were not upset. Because I sold my erasers, my mom told me she was no longer going to purchase them. My teacher told me I just could not sell them during lesson time. I had to sell the erasers before school, during morning and afternoon break or after school.
I bought pencil erasers in bulk for around $.05 each. Then, I would resell the pencil erasers for $.10. Because my erasers were cheaper and fancier, students purchased erasers from me before they would buy them from the school cart. When the eraser was the same price at $.10, they bought from me because I had an array of colors and designs. The school sold the small dark pink erasers for $.10 and large erasers for $.15. Therefore, students wanted my erasers. I suppose you could say I knew a little about customer satisfaction because I would give a student another eraser if his/her eraser broke. However, none of them ever complained about not liking the eraser. Moreover, my prices never went up. Okay. I know I was not going to get rich, but I ran this business for two years until I entered Middle School.
When I entered seventh grade, I liked bubble gum and bought a variety pack. When a classmate saw the gum in my book bag, I sold the first piece of bubble gum. That day, I began my gum business. My mom bought the first pack, and I bought the rest. My mom and teachers knew I sold gum, but they told me not to chew or sell it during class. Therefore, the gum was never banned.
I bought a four pack of variety gum for around $1.50. Then, I would resell a single piece of gum for $.25. However, I noticed students began to buy the whole pack, so I gave a bargain to these students. Because each pack of gum contained five pieces, I could have sold the whole pack for $1. I gave them a bargain and sold the pack for $1.00. Moreover, I liked to chew gum, earned money from gum sales and reinvested the money on different flavors of bubble gum until I reached high school.
In high school, my intention was not to begin another business adventure. Nonetheless, it happened anyway. One day, I brought extra pencils to class. Then, it happened. I was introduced to "Pencil Wars". If you have seen boys and girls try to break pencils by flipping them with another pencil, you have witnessed "Pencil Wars."
I carried a pack of pencils in my book bag for personal use. One day, a student asked me if he could buy the whole pack. I sold the pack, but I added $.05 to each pencil. I bought another pack, and it sold quickly. The same group of students played "Pencil Wars", but I sold my pencils to any student that needed an extra one.
At a young age, I believe children can be entrepreneurs. I evolved from selling erasers to owning a construction company. Moreover, I will continue to evolve and strive to become a more successful entrepreneur. Nevertheless, I will always remember that little girl with a small pink purse.
Teresa Franklin is co-owner of HWF Contracting, Inc. and Financial Aid Counselor at Western Carolina University. She is also currently enrolled in the Master's Degree in Entrepreneurship Program at Western Carolina University. Webmasters and other article publishers are hereby granted article reproduction permission as long as this article in its entirety, author's information, and any links remain intact. Copyright 2009 by Teresa A. Franklin, tfranklin@wcu.edu or hwfgrading@yahoo.com.
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