Years ago, when my three daughters were school age, my husband and I decided we would take them to Disneyland and pan for gold at Knott’s Berry Farm during their summer vacation.
Since the five of us would fly from Indiana to California, we agreed we would need to talk to the girls about earning some spending money for the trip.
Our oldest two already had well-established babysitting jobs. We felt confident they had a great way to save for the trip. Our youngest was ten and still too young to babysit, or much else, outside of her weekly jobs at home to earn spending money.
My husband and I told her we would gladly augment whatever she managed to save; however, her goal was to make her own money for the trip and I watched as she took up the gauntlet.
The morning after we told them about the trip, I found her packing a shoe box full of hot pads she had woven from a kit she got for Christmas. She then proceeded to sell them door-to-door. At supper, she announced they had all been sold.
Where we lived, our house abutted the 10th hole on a golf course. On day two, I watched through the kitchen window for over an hour, as she sat on the grass watching the golfers as they arrived at the 10th hole.
That evening during supper, she told us about her idea. She watched the golfers at the 10th hole wiping their faces, obviously hot and sweaty from playing golf. She asked if one of us would take her to the grocery. She wanted to take what she made from pot holder sales to buy a case of soda and a bag of ice.
Using our Styrofoam cooler and her wagon, she wanted to plant herself on the 10th hole and sell sodas to the golfers. Her dad and I talked about it and, thinking it would last about a day, we gave our permission.
We made over a dozen trips to the grocery before our trip to Disneyland that summer. Each time she ran out of soda, she took part of what she already made and bought more soda and ice.
The golfers did buy her sodas. They probably were thirsty, but I think it was mainly because they were so enamored by the little blond entrepreneur with her wagon soda business —and seeing mama hen watching over her baby chick from the kitchen window. She made over $300 all by herself —almost as much as her sisters made babysitting.
I’m happy to report, Disneyland was a home run …
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