5 business lessons I learned selling candy as a kid that are still useful today
From figuring out how much profit I would earn, to eyeing the competition, and strategising the sell, a childhood hobby taught me essential entrepreneurial basics
Not every child has an imaginary friend, spent every waking moment on their bike, or established complex back-stories for their stuffed animals. I was one of those kids who liked thinking about ways to make money. While others daydreamed about flying to the moon and being superheroes in alternate universes, I played “store” with my cousins. At the risk of sounding boring, all I really wanted was a job so I could have my own money.
I looked forward to school fundraisers, and worked hard at selling enough candy bars to score a free school trip to one of the nearby theme parks. And in the 7th grade, I got the idea to sell candy to my fellow classmates. While it didn’t make me rich, there were a few early lessons I learned about money and entrepreneurialism:
1. Understand profit margins
After scouring the shelves at a neighbourhood supermarket, I decided on selling sherbert-filled Pixy Stix, caramel apple pops, and fun-sized chocolate bars, all relatively low-priced products.
I looked at the cost of candy against how much they were being sold for. For instance, back in the mid-90s, I could get a small box of 36 (three Stix in each package) for about US$3. As I sold each for 25 cents, I ended up raking in about US$9 for every box I sold, which ended up being a US$6, or 200 per cent, profit. Not too shabby.
I did some simple maths for the other types of sweets I peddled, and made sure that I earned at least a 200 per cent profit, if not more. When the prices of the candy went up at the store, I hunted for alternatives. While I knew I could just up my own prices, I knew that my fellow tweens didn’t have a tonne of disposable income, so that idea was nixed.