8-year-old entrepreneur: How can I help him without crushing his plans?

[SaraK]

I knew that my 8-year-old son Darin had been selling rubber brand bracelets that he makes to kids at school. I didn't realize just how organized a thing he had going though until this weekend when he and my older son Alex got into negotiations for Alex to work for Darin's "shop" as a bookkeeper. They typed up ans signed a contract and everything! Apparently this discussion came about because Darin is paying some of his friends at school money to sell the bracelets for him. I'm so proud of my little entrepreneur!

Then things got more complicated when Darin told me -- after buying a Minecraft toy this weekend -- that he wants to sell this toy (not his -- he intends to buy another one and "sell it on ebay" to his friends). I explained to him that he wouldn't make very much money on this if he is buying the toy at retail and reselling it, that it would be better to find a wholesaler or dropshipper... but of course this is now getting into a more complicated area, one that I am not very familiar with.

I know there are some on this forum who make money from selling online. So my question for you guys is -- how would you advise Darin if he were your kid? I don't want to crush his entrepreneurial spirit, but I also know that setting up an online store is a lot of work and he may just not be up for it at this point in his life. Is there a simple way for a kid to get into business as a reseller, something with decent profit margins?

Appreciate any feedback you have!

Sara

 

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[Kak]

Ebay is perfect he just needs a wholesale agreement of some kind or to make something himself. It isn't hard, I would have him sell a few of the items around the house on ebay to get him started.

 

[IceCreamKid]

Do you have any clothes that you don't use anymore? To get him comfortable with the whole ebay process before even dealing with wholesalers, I'd give the clothes to Darin to post up on ebay and split the profit with him 50/50 so that he starts to grasp the idea of working with others to achieve a desired goal.

Awesome to see such a young person taking action.

 

[Kak]

This will be one of those stories where the teachers shut down his business and call the cops on him for not paying franchise taxes and providing healthcare to all of the students involved and also a few "less fortunate" children.

 

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[RHL]

Markus Persson is very active in conversing with his fans, possibly the most accessible person worth more than $100m anywhere. He's tweeting people and on Reddit all the time. I'm willing to bet an 8-year-old interested in distributing product for him might be so off the wall that some sort of special deal for something might be worked out, if you can actually connect with him. Tweet him a few times, see what happens.

Also, your kid is going to die a multimillionaire. You read about it all the time, happened to my uncle who sold stuff from the time he was 11... whenever you figure out how to produce and sell at the age where all your peers are squawking "gimmie gimmie gimmie" you eventually hit that home run.

 

[100k]

Tell him to read the millionaire fastlane .

 

[Lauryn]

This will be one of those stories where the teachers shut down his business and call the cops on him for not paying franchise taxes and providing healthcare to all of the students involved and also a few "less fortunate" children.

​

I think it's amazing that your son has such a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Why not just start this business with him? He has a dream, it's solid and it can make his plans for the future much more affordable for you and his father as his parents. I think modifying it a little can help, but I don't see this as anything to shy away from.

 

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[JAJT]

You could bring him to thrift shops after school, scout around for things he thinks he might be able to sell on ebay, rinse, repeat.

Clothing, knick knacks, books, whatever.

I think it's astounding that your 8 year old son has a network of kids selling his bracelets. That's exactly the kind of "next level" thinking that should be encouraged.

Is your son into card games? There is good money to be made buy/selling/trading cards from games like Magic The Gathering. If enough kids in his school or peer group play the game, he could make some okay side income buying, trading, selling that stuff - and the bonus is it at least looks age appropriate.

 

[biophase]

You could just let him buy at retail and try to sell it. Then he will figure out that he needs to buy lower or sell higher.

 

[Kak]

Interesting point lol why didn't I think of that. Learn through experience. I endorse that.

 

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[ZCP]

If he is just selling to his friends, skip the ebay and have him sell direct.

ALSO do the clothes / items / ebay to get him that experience. Sometimes it is good to learn that you can sell easier within the circle of people that you know, but you will limit your profit and your customer base.

My 8 year old is working on some of the same things. Lot of fun trying to stay ahead of them and their business questions. Suggest watching 'The Profit' with them as a family show. Lot of good stuff in there.

 

[snowbank]

I explained to him that he wouldn't make very much money on this if he is buying the toy at retail and reselling it, that it would be better to find a wholesaler or dropshipper... but of course this is now getting into a more complicated area, one that I am not very familiar with.

....

I know there are some on this forum who make money from selling online. So my question for you guys is -- how would you advise Darin if he were your kid?

show him the math. seriously— math solves all, and the math on stuff like this an 8 year old will be able to understand. use simple numbers, and explain to him how margins work.

Is there a simple way for a kid to get into business as a reseller, something with decent profit margins?

He doesn't need to set up a store. He can sell through ebay or amazon.

Have him look through alibaba. Tell him to find something he thinks is fun. Because time won't be an issue, he can just learn/enjoy the process of making a profit on something. If he only makes $2/hr it won't matter— it will be an awesome learning experience for him.

 

[SaraK]

Thanks for the great advice! This gives me some great places to start, like showing him the math on reselling the toy if he buys it at retail... but if he is determined then let him go through with it and learn from experience. I have been meaning to have a garage sale so I will find some of those items and let him sell them on ebay to learn how it works. I suspect that the reason he wants to sell the toy on ebay is because he knows that will not be allowed at school. The bracelets he can get away with because it is a kid thing and mere quarters are being exchanged. If he tried to sell a $30 toy at school he would get shut down -- and kids don't come to school with that kind of money anyway. He says he would give them the link and then they could go home and buy it from him on ebay but I think that is a long shot. But hey, he could try it for himself and see what happens.

You guys have reminded me of a very important point -- I need to hold back on my protective mothering instincts and let him learn from experience where possible, assuming there's not serious risk involved.

I like the thrift shop idea too... he and and his brother love that song so they will think it is funny to be shopping at the thrift shop, LOL

 

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[Red]

I'm not sure my advice is valid since I don't have kids, but I would let him do it his way. I would watch over & make sure that he has anonymity online & that he's covered there, but otherwise, I would let him go nuts. If he's the kind of kid he sounds like he is, he'll get a taste of success (at selling things after buying them retail) & go, ok... HOW CAN I MAKE THIS BIGGER NOW?!?!?!?? & will hit the ground running. I like Snowbank's reference to showing him the math, but depending on how your boy learns, that may come after the initial sales. Once he sees how he can influence margins with how he buys, on the next go 'round, he'll do the math FIRST. He'll probably come to you anyways to help him refine things.

I like that he wants to jump in & just GO, we adults tend to over-analyze things & it can keep us from action. The stakes are low enough for him (he's 8 and momma takes care of making sure he has a roof over his head & is fed) that he can have some rough or less-than-razor-sharp starts & still glean some amazing experience, work ethic & assessment skills. Most people learn by doing & he's off to an amazing start.

 

[SaraK]

And the saga continues...

Darin was subjected to government interference today -- the afterschool program teacher told him he couldn't sell bracelets anymore. He told me about this when I picked up him but he wasn't upset -- he said he will sell in the mornings during breakfast instead. (He's watching me type this and says "Of course I'm not upset, I'm never upset." Which I will disagree with -- as his mom I have seen him upset plenty of times, but ANYWAY...) He isn't always at school in time for breakfast, so he gave some bracelets to one of his friends to sell because the friend is always at breakfast. He said he's not going to pay the other kids anymore... I said, "Oh, so you had layoffs?" LOL! He an his brother are in negotiations on their contract for Alex's cashier services, since now his projected income is not as reliable as it once was

And when Darin saw this thread on the Fastlane he saw the Rep bank $ by my name and insisted that I scroll through the thread so he could see how much rep $ everyone has, LOL

At dinner Alex asked me if he could work for me in my business and I said perhaps he could help with my bookkeeping and he kept trying to get me to name a figure for payment. I would say I have to think about it and he'd keep pressing, "but what do you think a ballpark figure would be" and I was like, "I know better than to be the first one to name a figure. But I admire your negotiation skills. He then regaled me with the tale of how he talked his brother up on his cashier's salary. Too funny!

 

[Kak]

Omg called it. This country demonizes ambition.

 

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[Lathan]

Reminds me of when a teacher called the school police officer and the principle in the class room to conduct a full search through my belongings for "drugs"... The teacher witnessed a transaction between me and another student. They probably felt like morons when they saw it was just skittles.

Anyways, this thread is fun to watch. I hope you continue to update it.

 

[SaraK]

Yeah, I wish they would wait until it was an actual problem before they interfere. If kids are fighting over the bracelets or money then I understand the teachers stepping in, but wait until it gets to that point so they can learn in the process. Darin said he had $20 stolen out of his backpack last week... after I got over the shock that he had made $20 selling bracelets for 50 cents, he and I had a discussion about keeping money safe. The guy in the Toys R Us store overheard us and recommended keeping your money in your shoe. Lessons everywhere!

 

[ZCP]

Another idea would be for him to collect IOU's. Then you go around with him once a week on an evening walk and help him collect. He'll learn quick and first hand about business credit and who to extend to and not extend to......

Can only imagine the school / facebook fiasco it would cause with all the parents complaining that your child is making money off the poor and innocent other children.....

So on second thought, scrub that idea.....Get that boy a shoe wallet!!

 

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[SaraK]

Darin has listed his first rubber band product on ebay but it hasn't sold yet. He's got a lot of bracelets and charms he's made and he needs a place (like a website) to list all the products in one place because we're going to do some free vistaprint business cards that he can give to friends at school so they can buy from home since the teachers won't let him sell at school. I've been looking into simple ecommerce solutions for a website, but it looks like everything starts at $29 a month.

What would you recommend as the cheapest way to get a website going? I did some searching on the forums but didn't find what I was looking for. Suggestions?

 

[Lex DeVille]

Yola.com

Drag and drop websites for free. Domain name is 10 dollars a year.

 

[GuestUser113]

Omg called it. This country demonizes ambition.

They demonize for which they do not understand.

 

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[Mattie]

Just an idea but usually this time of year Toys- R-Us, K-mart, and other stores have toys on clearance real cheap. I used to go in July and august and buy stuff and they price it so cheap that you can make a profit off of it. I sold a lot of stuff on e-bay that way. They have to get rid of the stuff, and especially after Christmas around January they get rid of stuff. If you can find a K-mart, I can tell you they always clearance stuff cheap, or sears.

 

[SaraK]

Yola.com

Drag and drop websites for free. Domain name is 10 dollars a year.

Thanks! Setting it up now.