The Resiliency of Thin Mints

I was eight years old and pulling my red wagon along the neighborhood sidewalks to sell Girl Scout cookies, proudly wearing my brown sash filled with colorful, stitched-on triangle patches. I could fit all 25 boxes that I had been allocated in my wagon, selling for $2 each. With butterflies in my stomach, I rang doorbells while my mom waited on the sidewalk. I don’t remember how many houses I visited, but I know I sold all 25 boxes that year, earning my “cookie sale” patch, and helping my troop fund activities.

Fast forward to my daughter and her Girl Scout cookie career, which far outpaces mine. Last February (pre-COVID stay-at-home orders), I was the mom waiting on the sidewalk while she sold cookies for the first time. Her wagon was larger, with cookies at $5 a box, but little else has changed in 30 years. Thin Mints are still the most popular option (talk about staying power!). And just like me, my daughter had butterflies in her stomach at first. Knocking on over 100 doors, her bravery grew with each doorbell ring and her sales pitch steadily got stronger. She sold 520 boxes last spring, the top seller in her troop (putting my sales skills to shame). That was just the beginning.

This year, prior to Girl Scout cookie season heating up, I encouraged my daughter to aim lower when setting her goal, for obvious reasons. Sales methods are significantly restricted in our area, to help keep everyone safe. I suggested maybe 325 boxes would be possible, with strong support from relatives and friends. But she wouldn’t hear of it, determined to beat her goal from last year. She made a big yard sign with a QR code, so people walking by could easily find her website. She dropped fliers in more than 250 neighborhood mailboxes, and recorded a video for her website, to boost her sales.

Her yard sign is surprisingly effective, generating a new sale almost every day. Some people place orders from their phone, right there on the spot. One happy customer said, “Thin Mints are exactly what we need right now.” We all know that’s true.

My daughter’s determination to increase her goal made me think about the goals I’m setting for 2021. Am I being bold enough? Or am I talking myself into setting the bar lower, like I tried to tell her? No doubt this is going to be a difficult year for our team members and our customers, with an uncertain vaccine rollout schedule and continued economic challenges. While I’m bracing myself for the challenge, I’m taking a cue from my ambitious daughter and allowing myself to still aim high for what we can accomplish this year.

Last weekend, I took my daughter to get an ice cream cone to celebrate how she far surpassed her goal, selling more than 650 boxes already, with six weeks still remaining. She is already thinking about 2022: “If I do the yard sign, the fliers, and knock on doors next year, I bet I can sell 1,000 boxes.” These days, there’s nothing stopping a young, determined entrepreneur, with a wagon full of cookies.