My very first Entrepreneur experience as a kid was selling a very special product….a product you’d expect to see from two boys. With as abundant as they were, we couldn’t let the opportunity to sell night crawlers pass us by! Yup, we sold worms to local fisherman, and not just any worms, the big ones! These were the type of worms that could pull a six year old kid right into the ground.

Just like any successful venture, we had our little business down to a science, thanks to the leadership of Dad. You see, these worms were called night crawlers for a reason. They came out at night when it was the coolest outside. So on the night preceding our next fishing trip, to lure the night crawlers out of their holes, we wet the lawn down real good. Then we waited for a few hours, grabbed our flashlights and containers and went hunting.

Now, these worms were not only smart, they were fast. And to be honest, I have no idea how they did it, but they could see us coming from pretty far off. So once we found one with our flashlight, we had to sneak up on it and with pure stealth, snag it with our hands. At that point, the worm was halfway in its hole still, so if we pulled too hard, we’d end up with half a worm to work with. So we had to ease it out of its hole.

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Today was a pretty eventful day and was spent taking my three daughters from house to house selling Otis Spunkmeyer cookie dough. It’s a fund raiser for their school, and we’ve all seen programs like these, the more cookie dough you sell, the higher quality the prizes you’ll receive. Prizes range from slap bracelets to a camera you can mount to your bike helmet.

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I don’t know how many of you are parents, but I learn so much about ambition and entrepreneurship from my kids….one of them in particular. She’s the oldest of all three of my kids and always has her entrepreneurial wheels turning up in that brain of hers. If there’s an opportunity that presents itself where she can make a profit, it’s all she can think about. Sometimes, you just have to tell her to ‘Zip It’ or she’ll drive you nuts. It’s all she can focus on.

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Great video and great message for your kids!

 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyVzjoj96vs&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

It has been amazing to see the effect that our decision over four years ago to become entrepreneurs has had on our children. It has always been known that children are sponges! They soak up everything they hear, see and at times, touch. They are, with all of their individuality, a splitting image of who their parents are being. If Dad raises his voice at someone, they will in turn raise their voice at someone. If Mom and Dad fight, they will fight. On the flip side, if Mom and Dad are very loving and give lots of hugs, that will reflect in their children and if Mom and Dad are Entrepreneurs, guess what the kids want to be.

So yesterday, my daughter comes up to me just thrilled. She had been exploring in the back yard and had found some tadpoles floating around in a pool of water. So, being the kid she is, she scooped them all out and kept them as pets, until today. Today she has decided to sell her precious little swimmers for profit and has conned her sister into her scheme of making money! I love this!

Now, we don’t live on a very busy street at all, so my initial reaction was to tell her all that she did NOT have going for her and her little business. Before I spoke out my negativity, I caught myself. I was about to destroy my little girls enthusiasm about her idea. Shame on me and anyone else who does not encourage their children when they want to sell lemonade, cookies or tadpoles. This is the spirit of the entrepreneur and the back bone of the world. Encourage away and ASSIST in the process by giving suggestions. Never destroy! I think that if we as adults would sometimes act a little bit more like children, the world would be a very fun and prosperous place.

So far we are about 30 minutes into it and their profit margin is growing. They have sold a total of two tadpoles for a profit of $2, a bag of M&M’s and some chips from Grandma!

So if you would like to purchase yourself some tadpoles and are in Payson Arizona, swing by. The big ones are going fast!!