The Big Candy Wagon

Do you have entrepreneurial kids? Everything my kids make or do they want to turn into a business. They want to sell their drawings, their old toys, and their toenail clippings. Weeks ago they were into painting rocks. They painted dozens of them so they could sell them because there is a big market for painted rocks around here. We wish. It probably doesn't help that we sit around for family nights and talk about new businesses we're going to start. I guess we're just an entrepreneurial family.

My kids' first and most successful business was The Big Candy Wagon. It all started several years ago when I had a garage sale and made a pan of brownies for the kids to sell. They were hooked. They wanted to sell brownies on the street every day after that but I wouldn't let them. For one thing I wasn't interested in baking brownies every day and I also hated it when kids were camped on the road waving people down to buy Cool-Aide. Some people are so nice that they stop and buy it but I'm not one of those people. I want to yell at them, "Get out of the street! And while you're at it get a real job! No one wants your disgusting grape Cool Aide!"

Actually the reason it made me mad was because we lived in a neighborhood with lots of young families and my kids were constantly coming in begging for money to buy watered down sugar water from some kid or another. I was sick of it but I got my revenge.

I decided that if the kids were going to become little street vendors they were going to sell something people really wanted. Junk food. We took a trip to Sam's Club and loaded up on candy and soda. The kids set up shop in a big wagon with an umbrella and enough artificial colors and flavorings for an entire neighborhood full of hyperactive children. The customers came running.

All the kids had to do was have their Big Candy Wagon set up as the kids streamed off the school bus, which just happened to stop right in front of our house, and they made a killing. Kids either stopped right away to spend their pocket change or they ran home to find some cash. I'm sure most of the parents hated us but there were other parents who would stop their Mom Mobiles to buy every child in their haul a soda and candy bar. We loved those Mom mobiles!

In an hour and a half the kids could make $20-$30! Pretty soon I was even buying candy wholesale but sadly I had to shut them down. They refused to stop eating the inventory. I don't know what I was thinking. They were going to sell candy and not eat it? I tried everything I could think of to ration it but nothing worked. I also got tired of the neighbor kids breaking into our garage to steal candy. It guess it just wasn't meant to be.

My kids still talk about that business. They're mad that we moved out to the country with no busy subdivisions full of greedy kids with pockets full of money. Now they're stuck selling chicken eggs for a few bucks but all the money goes back into buying chicken food. It's not a very glamorous way for a ten and eight year old to make a living.

Little do they know, in a few years when they're older they will be able to make a fortune moving sprinkler pipe, milking cows and slaughtering mink. Country kids get the best jobs.