A few weeks ago, my son and I participated in a Kids in Biz event in our neighborhood. We sold spring seeds in pots and called our booth “The Potter’s Hands” because we had paint for the kids to make fingerprints on their pot of choice. This was my son’s first official venture…here are the lessons learned:
1) Pots are breakable…transport with care!
2) It’s ok to evolve the “business plan” – originally we planned on painting full hand prints on the pots…but after a very messy first go around – we decided a fingerprint does the trick!
3) Don’t be intimidated when you arrive and someone else has a similar booth with similar looking pots – especially when the little girl selling them stops by your booth and says “looks like you shopped at the same store as us”?
4) The display is key – especially on a windy day! Make sure to secure all corners of table cloth with the heaviest pots and then work your way in with smaller pots.
5) Do not attempt to go-to-market without a PB&J and fruit snacks to feed the mini vendor.
6) Always have a pack of wet wipes ready to go – to wipe the PB&J fingers and the customers painted fingers.
7) Always be prepared when someone asks for the whole tray of small pots – bring more small pots next time?
8) Make friends with the booth vendors next to yours so you can take your mini vendor to the bathroom at a moments notice while your booth is being supervised☺️
9) When it’s time to clean up, put mini vendor in car first and let him hold the fruits of his labor (a plastic baggy with a few dollar bills) – this way you can clean up faster and also let mini vendor have some time to decide where he wants to go to pick out a toy.
10) Get in the car, give mini vendor a high five for the $18 he made! Tell him you are going to toy store and take him to the Dollar Store to choose one toy.
11) Walk out with one toy and $17 to put in the piggy bank.
12) Remind him how proud you are of him and how much you enjoyed spending the day with him!
13) Next time you are out and mini vendor asks for something – ask him if he has money for it – and when he says “No,” remind him he has $ in his piggy bank for something really special when the time is right.
14) Give the remainder of the inventory to special neighbors, friends, and grandmas!
15) Cherish these teaching moments and know the seeds sown will last for years to come.