My youngest doesn't have many marketable skills yet. She's 11. Her employment options are limited.
Having said that, she's holding her second annual Black Friday sale - of aloe plants.
Last summer she wanted more spending money, just like her older siblings. She needed ideas. Let's talk Entrepreneurship for Kids!
I was repotting my large aloe and offered her the babies that were crowding the mother plant.
After carefully separating them out, I pointed her toward the garage, where she found recycled plastic pots from the garden center. I showed her how to re-pot the little ones in succulent soil, then she watered them and set them in a shady spot on the porch to recover and take root.
When Black Friday rolled around last year, she drew a sign and let all our friends, family, and neighbors know about her sale.
She sold almost all of them and was delighted. That wasn't so hard!
She reimbursed me for the soil to net out the costs of her little business effort, put half her profits into her savings account and danced off to spend her newfound wealth.
This summer, I invited her again to take the aloe babies, and she repeated the process. Because she replanted them earlier in the year, they had more time to grow. Aloe doesn't take much attention, and can be left unwatered for stretches at a time - a blessing when she forgot about them periodically. She was able to raise her prices because they were significantly larger.
She's learning the value of creating a profit stream out of what she already has on hand, and of planting ahead (see what I did there?) to reap benefits down the line.
Here's how your 10 yo can earn cash in your neighborhood with this simple plant sale model:
Garden stores (Lowes, Home Depot, local nurseries) often have a recycling corner for the disposable pots people bring back after planting their spring seedlings. You can also request them on your local Buy Nothing group for free.
If you don't have houseplants sprouting offspring, start seedlings in Feb/Mar. Seeds are inexpensive to buy, or you can save and dry them from the prior year's garden (or organic produce you buy). Organic is important because seeds from conventional produce may or may not sprout. Google to check if your saved seeds need chilling (stratifying) before they're ready to plant.
Front your kiddo a bag of potting soil unless your garden is already rich in compost and nutrients - they can pay you back from the proceeds of their sale. This is important as part of the education process of what it takes to run a business financially.
Find a sunny window ledge where the little plants can grow until they're ready to sell.
Spread the word to friends, family, and neighbors - maybe set-up a little plant-for-sale stand in a central spot of the neighborhood, or post on your NextDoor or neighborhood Facebook page.
I'd love to hear how your kids make money! Drop a note in the comments below.
Not sure how to introduce money concepts to your children? Check out this online course: Raising Wealthy Kids
Stephanie Brooke Lennon is the author of Family Bank Blueprint, GoldQuest, and What Would Water Do? Simple Strategies for Navigating Life's Obstacles. Her titles are available in Paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com. Follow Stephanie Brooke on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, Amazon, and at BrookeLennon.com.
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