christy gray

i have an 8 yo dd who is constantly thinking of things that she could make to sell but i am not sure how to help her. she loves to take pictures and make calenders on the computer, write comics, sew little stuffed animals, etc. she is very creative.
we live in the country with a 1,000' driveway so this summer, my dh made a little self serve roadside stand so she could sell cut flowers, herbs, extra veggies. she likes that but she wants to do more.
she really has a desire to make money but i am not sure how to help her with the actual selling of products. any ideas would be helpful. thanks
christy from indiana

Gold Standard

>>i have an 8 yo dd who is constantly thinking of things that she could make
to sell but i am not sure how to help her. she loves to take pictures and
make calenders on the computer, write comics, sew little stuffed animals,
etc. she is very creative.
we live in the country with a 1,000' driveway so this summer, my dh made a
little self serve roadside stand so she could sell cut flowers, herbs, extra
veggies. she likes that but she wants to do more.
she really has a desire to make money but i am not sure how to help her with
the actual selling of products. any ideas would be helpful. thanks
christy from indiana>>

How exciting! How much traffic do you get at the end of your driveway? Is it
enough to get some business?

My daughter is now 12 but started the business bug when she was 8 also. We
lived in the country then, and it was really tough to satisfy this roadside
stand craving of hers as well. We went into more populated areas to find a
good spot to set up a table, and even checked out the different grocery
stores, etc. to see what it would take for her to set up there (permission,
and in some cases, a permit). She did sell lemonade and cookies
successfully. She also wanted to sell more, but ran into the problem that
she never quite made enough creative things (arts and crafts, etc.) to cover
what she figured out to be the costs of having the table (she added the cost
of gas, put a cost to her own time [though not mine!] and the cost of
supplies). So there were ups and downs for her, and I think one key is that
you don't have to solve all the problems, but just keep thinking with her.
She may want to try things that you are pretty sure won't work (those were
hard times for me, especially if it took a lot of work to get somewhere!),
but then she'll see. And you'll get to figure out more together!

My daughter learned so much during this stage. She often had more ambition
for the end sale than she could figure out a way to get to, but she is SO
business-smart now, in part because of figuring out things back then. So
much problem-solving was done. It was discouraging to not find places to
sell easily, and to have problems hauling it all there without losing
anything, and the weather element, etc. BUT it was very "educational". She
is still entreprenuer-like...she has a neighborhood pet-care business now.
And she plans to run her own dance company when she's older...at least
that's the plan now :)

Jacki








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mozafamily

If you're thinking in terms of online sales and you have a digital
camera then she could hone her skills at a small auction site (with
adult approval of course) Since ebay is costly with startup fees
perhaps you could try a smaller auction site like Bidville, they let
you list for free and only charge a very small % of the final price
if the item sells. Just an idea I don't mean to be advertising for
them but I haven't had many problems there personally.Moza


--- In [email protected], "christy gray" <lwwh@c...>
wrote:
> i have an 8 yo dd who is constantly thinking of things that she
could make to sell but i am not sure how to help her. she loves to
take pictures and make calenders on the computer, write comics, sew
little stuffed animals, etc. she is very creative.
> we live in the country with a 1,000' driveway so this summer, my
dh made a little self serve roadside stand so she could sell cut
flowers, herbs, extra veggies. she likes that but she wants to do
more.
> she really has a desire to make money but i am not sure how to
help her with the actual selling of products. any ideas would be
helpful. thanks
> christy from indiana

J. Stauffer

<<Kids selling>>

What about a farmer's market? We have several in our area that are free to
set up. You go for a few hours on Saturday morning and it is a lot of fun.

Julie S.
----- Original Message -----
From: "christy gray" <lwwh@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, September 13, 2004 5:54 PM
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] kids selling handmade items?


> i have an 8 yo dd who is constantly thinking of things that she could make
to sell but i am not sure how to help her. she loves to take pictures and
make calenders on the computer, write comics, sew little stuffed animals,
etc. she is very creative.
> we live in the country with a 1,000' driveway so this summer, my dh made a
little self serve roadside stand so she could sell cut flowers, herbs, extra
veggies. she likes that but she wants to do more.
> she really has a desire to make money but i am not sure how to help her
with the actual selling of products. any ideas would be helpful. thanks
> christy from indiana
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> Yahoo! Groups Links
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mamaaj2000

--- In [email protected], "christy gray" <lwwh@c...>
wrote:
> she really has a desire to make money but i am not sure how to help
her with the actual selling of products. any ideas would be helpful.

If her main concern is making money, perhaps providing services is
another way to go. Someone else mentioned taking care of neighbors'
pets, or playing with kids while their moms cook dinner (sort of a
junior mother's helper) or picking up mail/watering plants for people
on vacation.

--aj, just lurking here usually, mama to two little one, missing an 8
yr old neighbor who moved away