2019-2020 was an exercise in teaching our elementary school-aged children personal finance, driving independence, and encouraging them to make constrained resource decisions.
Baby Girl (age 10) loves animals and is the ultimate dog lover. She has voiced a dream to have “100 of every kind of dog” on a farm at some point in her future.
When a neighbor asked her to look after her elderly dog and water her plants for a week during a hot spell this summer, she beamed with excitement. To have the opportunity to earn money doing what she loves is the dream that most people harbor.
She showed up with her notebook and pushed her shy little self to speak to the neighbor, asking questions and taking detailed notes. She collected all of the necessary instructions, and carefully took custody of the key.
The first pup, Poppy, gave her a run for her money, but she patiently coaxed her to let her pet her after taking care of business outside and eating. To be paid for the privilege of playing with Poppy and being entrusted with the responsibility was like icing on the cake.
As is customary with the First Lennon Bank, half of Baby Girl's earnings went into her savings account, and half went into her spending account on payday.
After her first engagement, she happily took on more work. A second neighbor invited her to look after two larger dogs and a cat, and her business began.
Having seen Husband’s and my examples, she asked to print business cards to share with more neighbors. We found a design online that she liked (Vistaprint has a ton of very affordable options), and she used her spending money to order 500. That gave her enough to put in mailboxes, reserving some to hand out when she showed up at engagements.
After receiving the precious box of cards in the mail, Baby Girl and Little Man hopped on their bikes to put one in each nearby neighbor’s mailbox. She wanted to stay within biking distance so she had some independence from needing to get a ride from us. On one Sunday, they covered half the neighborhood. The following Friday after school, Wee One and I accompanied her sister to get the other half handed out.
As we encountered neighbors, I nudged Baby Girl to open the conversation and tell them about her business. There is a big difference between handing someone a card and talking about your services eye to eye, versus anonymously leaving a business card to be thrown out with all the other random junk that shows up in a mailbox. She reluctantly did, though it pained her to do so. With each practice, it got easier. Having a dog or cat to pet at the same time was a welcome distraction for her.
A few days after passing out the business cards, her second customer posted a picture of her card on our active neighborhood Facebook group backed by her recommendation. The following day, an email inquiry came in from a new customer who needed her two cats fed during the holidays on two separate engagements. And so it began!
Baby Girl started this business in the late summer of 2019. Since then, she has served five families one or more times. In addition to our own menagerie, she is up to four dogs, six cats, one fish tank, and several plants under her occasional care.
She has worked on her business processes along the way too. Before returning phone calls [TERRIFYING], we did a little scripting and role-played the conversation. To give her confidence and facilitate her interactions, we worked on a questionnaire for her to bring and complete during her initial interview. She has a long path to travel, but she is getting better talking to unfamiliar people with each new client interaction. Our neighbors have been extremely gracious and patient. Husband and I are forever grateful. The skills she is developing now will serve her for the rest of her life.
Her clientele is growing. Occasional Facebook posts help spread the word, as does word of mouth. Being available over the holidays proved to be quite profitable, though we had to adjust our family travel plans to accommodate.
Welcome to working life, Baby Girl. You can earn money, but work can get in the way of fun and travel. We don't want her to grow up too fast but couldn't be prouder of her work ethic and initiative.
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.