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Enterprising Kids Succeed at the Burekup Fair!

January 29th, 2013


The day started with a mad rush!

 

 

Seven enterprising kids needed to be ready and set up down at the Burekup Country Club grounds by 8.30am. It required four trips with a trailer carrying tables, pram, signs, eskies, TV, banners and all the products that we planned on selling.

Amber and her succulents.

… and making a sale.

On arriving we discovered that someone else had set up in our designated spot. We milled around waiting until the problem was sorted and then once a new space was allocated we busied ourselves with setting up. A very strong easterly wind challenged us with erecting banners and keeping the table clothes on the tables. It obviously was going to be a hot day. Thankfully the Red Gum Trees overhead would keep us in shade all day.

Bargain hunters were quick to do the rounds of the stalls… well before we were ready! Trying to set things up, they would be there asking questions and making purchases (we’ll have to be better prepared for this next time round!)

All set ready for the customers!

The kids’ anticipation and the joyful growing crowd created an air of excitement. It was a real country fair without all the commercial jazz that you see at many fairs today.

Firstly visitors and locals joined in with the Australia Day BBQ breakfast. Following the brekky the crowd moved onto all the stalls and activities. There were old machinery displays, free bouncy castle and water slide, a dunk tank, fairy floss, pat the animals, thong throwing contests (flip flops for all you USA readers!), face painting, as well as people selling their wares from home made fudge, plants and toys to live pigs, chickens and crafts. Other enterprising kids were also selling their toys, bikes, clothes and things that they had made.

Amber and Flynn with their “Fish in a Bottle”

Products waiting to be sold.

Having a novelty product is the key to drawing interest… and we had the perfect product that really did create a lot of interest! Flynn and Amber’s “Fish in a Bottle” were an absolute hit! Kids came from everywhere dragging their parents to look at the fish. Once at our stall we were able to market our other items to them.

Chayse soon got the hang of it. Whenever a customer wandered past he would hold up a lolly bag and ask people if they would like to buy one. Many people would buy lollies from him simply because he had asked (how can you refuse a little five year old eh!). There was another little boy walking around selling his Mum’s home made fudge. He too wasn’t shy in coming forward asking customers if they would like to make a purchase. Talking to his Dad later in the day, he said that his son had sold more fudge walking around than they did at their stall! I guess there is a lesson in that!

Kaitlin’s EYE heART on display.

…customers admiring her work!

It wasn’t long before we had customers coming in their droves. Talking with customers, handling money and recording on a pad what was sold, all kept the kids on their toes!

Taking it in turns to man the stall allowed each of us time to catch up with friends and also spend some of the takings at the fair.

Our enterprising kids were very happy with their result! Each was able to sell their products and make a profit. Flynn’s “Howitt Honey” was very popular and sold very well. Kit and Chayse sold about half their lolly bags and due to the hot day, Jai’s Icy-poles also sold well. Jai made a profitable sale with his exercise equipment, Amber sold some succulents, Kaitlin received some commissions for her “Eye heART”… and of course the “Fish in a Bottle” sold well!

Jai manning the stall with his exercise equipment.

Flynn selling his unpasteurized honey.

Cath and I also had a terrific result! There was lots of interest in Isagenix with a number of people requesting a follow-up to learn more about how Isagenix can help them. This was the first time we had put ourselves out there with our new business and running an Isagenix stall allowed us to develop our own self efficacy, as well as build our Isagenix profile in this community. We spoke with many very interesting people and learned a lot about their lives and interests.

By the end of the day we were exhausted!

Akaisha enjoying one of Jai’s Icy-poles (mittens to stop her hands from getting cold!).

Cathy explaining the health benefits of Isagenix.

It was important to celebrate our success as this is vital in fostering self efficacy around being entrepreneurial kids. The kids counted the takings and divided it up. They then paid any debts to realize their profits. Each received a congratulations and a hug for being successful enterprising kids!

Many great lessons around getting a “Financial Education” were learnt on this day. It is our hope that our kids continue to develop their self efficacy around being entrepreneurial, as we believe this will give them greater opportunities when they become adults.

Cathy talking with an interested customer.

Kit and Chayse selling lolly bags>

Finally we would like to thank the Burekup Country Club, and in particular Sally and Jason Barnden and their team, for co-ordinating the fair.

Our next blog will be a lesson in Money Mastery as we review our year with mentor/teacher Paul Counsel. Once again we appreciate subscribers encouragements, views and comments.

Chayse selling lolly bags to a customer.

Just as an added note… the day after the fair five more “Fish in a Bottle” sold!!


Flynn’s Honey Turns to Gold!

July 5th, 2012

When we last visited Flynn and his Honey Enterprise, he had just acquired 90kgs of quality raw honey from his Grandad’s bee hives in Geraldton. Flynn had also placed a bulk order for plastic honey pots. He was now ready to fill them up and make his first sale!

Warming the honey.

Honey pots ready to fill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

His honey was held in buckets that weighed over 10kgs. To get the honey from the buckets into the 400gm honey pots was not going to be that easy. Firstly the honey was very thick, making it tedious to decanter into the pots, and secondly it required strength to hold the honey bucket for pouring.

The production line.

Quick! Gimme another pot!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flynn called on his mates to help. He poured the buckets into a large pot and heated it to 50 degree Celsius. This temperature wasn’t high enough to destroy the enzymes that make raw honey so beneficial, but it was high enough to make the honey fluid.

Mmmm... smells good!

Giving each pot a rinse in fresh water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kitchen table was wiped down and set up for the honey pot production line. The team were excited about finally seeing the product in the pots. I helped pour, whilst Flynn and his gang filled and capped jars. The jars were washed on the outside to ensure there was no stickiness and then labelled with Flynn’s “Howitt’s Honey” labels.

First batch stacked and ready to label.

The labels!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flynn’s product looked clean, pure and professional. He understood that to get a market edge and to be able to sell his honey for a premium, his first class product needed to be well packaged and hygienic.

Flynn carefully drew up a poster pointing out the benefits of his product. This he attached to the boxes containing the honey pots. He had researched what honey sells for in the shops and online. He worked out what he could sell his honey for and still make a decent return. To provided an incentive to customers, he offered a special price if they bought more than one pot at a time. Marketing his honey required little effort. In fact visitors to our home took an interest in his honey and his honey began to sell. He gained permission from his school Principal and left a box in their staffroom. He organized with a teacher friend of ours from another school, to place a box in their staffroom, and he approached the local General Store where he was allowed to sell his pots of honey for a small commission.

Developing the brand "Howitt's Honey".

Flynn's first sale!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

His honey was selling well and it wasn’t long before he needed to re-stock all his boxes. As word got out about his product, people even began placing small orders via the telephone.

Flynn’s “Howitt’s Honey” business went very well except for one problem which I’ll explain here…

Raw honey has many health benefits that you would be hard pressed to find with processed honey. However, a downside with raw honey is that, over time, it will candy (begin to solidify). This occurs especially when the room temperature drops, like during winter. Flynn’s honey that had been waiting to be sold began to candy in the honey pots. People don’t generally want to buy honey that has hardened (hence why commercial honey producers process their honey using heat, as this stops it from candying).

Luckily this problem only happened to the last remaining pots that had been awaiting sale. He brought these home, opened them up and scraped the honey into a pot and heated it back to 50 degrees. This again, liquidized the honey and he returned it to the pots. We bought those last pots for our family. The lesson learned was that Flynn needs to sell his raw honey product before it shows signs of candying and he needed to inform his customers as to what to do if their honey does so.

Profits from Flynn's Honey Enterprise

Flynn’s net profit from his honey enterprise was outstanding!! He achieved his goal that he set before he embarked, plus much more. He learned many lessons along the way and recognized that it was a lot of work, but satisfying work! Flynn has become an expert in the honey business and has gained enormous skills and understandings of how to run an enterprise.

Flynn may now be ready to take his honey enterprise to another level. We hope to guide Flynn to move from being a small business owner to being an entrepreneur! How we do that will be shared in another Enterprise for Kids blog!

For those of you interested in having your own honey enterprise, or you would like your own bee hive for a regular supply of raw honey for your family and friends; then you could seek out an expert (such as Flynn or his Grandad) to get you started, or do a course. Or you could simply download an ebook written by a professional to your kindle. Here is one I found that looks like it covers everything anyone would need to know.

Our next post will definitely energize you! We met an inspirational man who presented “tips to being highly successful” that are well worth thinking about!

We would love to hear from you all, so please leave a comment!

enterpriseforkids.com

Inspiring kids to be entrepreneurial.