My Son Started A Business at 12

My son started his own business recently.....he’s 12.

He loves to draw, is a huge fan of street art styles, and has been practicing his drawing on his own for the past few years. He taught himself through watching YouTube videos on drawing, checking out books at the library, experimenting with his own styles, etc. He started with sidewalk chalk, then moved to markers, sketch pads (the kid has become an expert on alcohol markers and sketch pads through his research), colored pencils, sharpies, paint pens, fabric pens, etc. His room pretty much looks like an art studio and his walls are covered with his creations and he has now included using fabric pens to put his creations on hats and shoes. He has a few portfolios he's taken to school to show his friends (along with wearing/advertising the shoes, hats, clothing he’s customized) and creates new pieces at lunch and breaks.

One day after school a few months ago he tells me he had to make some designs for his friends. He would do their name in a street/graffiti style with the colors they liked and give it to them the next day. This went on for a couple of weeks and then he tells me he’s starting his own business.

Umm….what?

At his school they have a store where the students can use school dollars. These “dollars” are pretend money that’s printed out and given to the students by the faculty and staff. They don’t give these out freely as the kids really need to earn them.

They earn these “dollars” by doing above and beyond acts like helping out cleaning up at recess, showing new students around the school, being a mentor to other students needing some help, holding doors while the kids flood in and out of the buildings before and after school, volunteering to help at assemblies, etc.

At the store they can cash in their “dollars” and get anything from candy to school logo’d merch to books, fun supplies (themed pens, pencils, erasers), to reserving a special booth in the lunch room for a few friends to a pizza party for their class. The prices range from 1 school dollar up to 200 (for the pizza party).

The business….he tells me he wants to buy a pizza party for his class, but there is virtually no way he can earn the 200 “dollars” to get it by just doing the normal stuff. He decides going into business to supplement his efforts is the way to make it happen.

As he was getting an increase in requests from kids around the school to have their names drawn street style on sheets of paper, he decides to start charging 1 school “dollar” for them. He put together a portfolio of the various styles he does and created a Google sign up sheet online the kids could access to place orders. Each customer could see samples, pick what styles they want, the colors they want, what they wanted the graffiti to say (school appropriate), and any special design/effects or characters they liked. He also put together packages that included options to add stickers (three different sizes), a standard size of 3x5, a large drawing of 8.5x11 or an XL at 12x24 with various prices.

Business picked up and he started getting orders, but not at the rate he needed for the party. He then enlisted a couple of friends to spread the word he’s doing this. In addition to his friends being in his class and therefore potentially getting the pizza party, he offered them multiple drawings in all the sizes he had available as an incentive.

With the help of his friends spreading the word, business skyrocketed and in a matter of a little over a month my son now had enough orders that far exceeded what he needed.

Interest in his customized shoe/clothing options has taken off with kids wanting their shoes, hats, shirts done up with original designs and are willing to pay for it. So far that’s all in development as he doesn’t want to draw all over someone’s expensive shoes without parental approval first. Good choice. I’m sensing an actual revenue generating business starting this summer for him….

He turned a hobby into a business. He created a product he liked. Others noticed. He gave out free product to build awareness. Started to then sell product. Came up with a bigger goal to go after. Hired a sales team to increase orders. Created an e-commerce site with customized order options. Created product packages. Ended up with more revenue than he expected or needed. Now adding new products to his offerings. All in less than 6 months.

Couldn’t be more proud and amazed at what he’d doing.

What’s to be learned from this?

1. Have a goal that’s bigger than yourself.
2. There’s more than one way to achieve your goal (and you may have to get creative about it).
3. You’ll likely need others to help you achieve your goal.
4. Understand what your clients want and give them options for every budget.
5. Continually evaluate, improve, and give your clients a reason to purchase again.
6. Diversify your offerings without losing focus on your core mission.
7. Be ready for higher success than you expected.

I'm his first customer for a pair of customized shoes....I ordered a pair for me because, well, they’re totally rad!!