Thursday, February 18, 2010

E is for Entrepreneur

{It's time for Alphabe-Thursday again!}
This is my son, Stephen.

He's twelve and he's a MESS.
He's also an entrepreneur.
He has pinned this to the wall in his bedroom above his desk.

The caption reads "How to Get Rich Slowly"

He has decided to buy used instruments (i.e. trumpets, flutes, clarinets, etc.), revive them, and re-sell them for a profit.
Armed with birthday money, he found this violin on ebay and bought it for a good deal and no shipping.

Then he sold it. On ebay. He netted $40!

His next endeavor? Breeding Leopard Geckos and selling the babies. {hmmm}

Two weekends ago Stephen's cousin, Cole, spent the night. On Sunday, after church, we let the boys ride their bikes to the square in town and have lunch. They had been gone for about an hour when I got a phone call.
Stephen: "Mom, will you come pick us up?"
Me: "No! Ride your bikes home!"
Stephen: "Mom, I need you to come pick us up and come in Dad's truck."
Me: "Why can't you ride your bikes home?"
Stephen: "We went to the Mercantile. (an antique/thrift store in town) And...I bought a rocking chair."
Me: "What!?" - and a bunch of other motherly stuff along the lines of don't be buying stuff without me knowing...we don't have room...and finally, "What in the world are you going to do with a rocking chair?"
Stephen: "I'm going to sell it!"

So, I go pick up the rocking chair. I never get out of the truck. I am not happy. The boys load the chair and then try to load their bikes. I said, "No way, you're riding home!"

Like how I asserted my control over the situation?

Stephen: "Don't you want to know how much I paid for it?"
Me: silence
Stephen: "Only $10! I can sell it for more!"
Me: silence
I drive home and go inside, leaving the rocker in the truck.
He and Cole arrive home, unload the rocker and bring it into the living room. I see it for the first time.



I love it.

I promptly offer him $20.

"SOLD!", He exclaims.

17 comments:

Jo said...

I love this story!!! what a clever kid!

Unknown said...

I just love your post! It's so great to see a young boy be such an entrepreneur. I'm sure he appreciates your support. Warm hugs, Esther

Viki said...

LOL, that kid's going to make some big money some day. He's got great ideas.

Carol said...

He is a peach! I think it is great that you let him try these things! Having a good business sense and knowing how to handle his money is very important! You'll never have to worry about him! Way to go Stephen!

Jackie said...

What a clever boy you have!

Susan said...

Great idea, now that's using his smartness.
Susan

Mardell said...

Oh Amy,
That is so neat!! He's really got a sense & a feel for what he's doing! I love the chair too...I had a feeling as I was reading that you would end up liking it! LOL

Short and Sweet said...

This is absolutely one of the neatest stories that I've read in a long time!

Coralie Cederna Johnson said...

Good for him! EXCELLENT!!! Love your E post! Thanks for visiting...Jenny's alphabet class is great fun!

Jenny said...

Accckkk! Where is my comment on this? Anyway... I know I wrote something amazingly clever last night but of course now I can't remember it.

Tell Stephen he is going to make me a wonderful son-in-law! Which means, since he will be kissing up to me, I will get first dibs on all his cool stuff!

mwahahahahaha!

Now a note from Mrs. Matlock:

Dear Miss Amy,

This was a lovely E ndearing post E xpressing wonderful E motions and crEativity!

Please continue doing such fine class work.

A+

GardenOfDaisies said...

What a smart boy! He's 'going to be a millionaire by the time he's 18. If he keeps bringing home good stuff like that, it may your million. :-)

Kat said...

What a great post. And what a great kid! I love his spirit. But I'd probably be hesitant about the baby geckos too. I understand supporting his dreams and all, but lizards??? How about more rocking chairs lol. Kathy

Sarah said...

Cute, cute, story! Don't you just love a good salesman? What an Entrepreneur you have living in your midst!

Maggie said...

This boy will go far! Great E choice for Jenny's meme.
Thanks for coming over to Normandy.
~Maggie~

mub said...

This is such a great story! I do think he's going to go far in this world!

lissa said...

no idea what happened, got an error when I hit publish your comment, so, anyway, you've got a smart kid there

& thanks for your visit to my alphabe-thursday

Barbara Hranilovich said...

I found your post in a Google alert for my book "E is for Entrepreneur". I love it! Your son's a natural. I wish him a vital and fascinating future!