Ever since I was young I have always looked for opportunities to make money. One of the earliest memories I have of my own entrepreneurial experience dates back to my days at sleep away camp. I first went to Pine Forest Camp during the summer before third grade. As much as I loved that camp, one department they were definitely slacking in was the food. Especially when my friends and I were that young, many of the meals did not appeal to us and we would instead opt for a bowl of cereal of a bagel. This created a sort of black market for snacks that often resulted in people paying exorbitant prices for food. A few weeks into camp when supplies began running low, I would open my mini mart for business. I would circle the row of bunks with a duffel bag of pop-tarts, chips, and cookies and all the campers would line up. The huge demand allowed me to charge upwards of 5 dollars for a pop-tart or even more if supplies were really low. While the situation made business easy, it was my early entrepreneurial skills that opened the door for this business venture.
As my friends and I grew older, people grew less willing to buy my overpriced snacks and business became less profitable. Once I gave that business up my friends and I would look for other ways we could make money. During this time I found that salesmanship was often just as if not more important than the actual business concept. I suppose this is when I decided entrepreneurship could be a useful skill. I hope that ENT3013 teaches me to be persuasive, confident, and creative in my future business endeavors.
Oh my gosh what an amusing story. You're totally made for the business world, especially the sales side! Realizing how great of a business opportunity for selling those foods at a young age is quite impressive.
ReplyDeleteThis story not only made me chuckle but also realize how young we are when we are able to see an opportunity to be an entrepreneur. I think that it is awesome that you were so young and already making your own business and even more so high profits. It seems as if the sales market had your name all over it before you even knew it!
ReplyDeleteGreat story and a great post, I hope this class brings out that side of you even more so!
Hey Schaeffer,
ReplyDeleteYour story was very entertaining and reflective. It seems that ever since you were little you had a knack for business. That's good to know you have found your forte. Just as any sports player practices form early age how to play and practice to play better, you past experience will help you with your future ventures. Keep doing what you are doing, nice job!
That is quite the entrepreneurial experience that you had. I was impressed that you and your friends were not only able to develop such a business at such a young age, but also the fact that, for a while, it was successful. When there was a need for better food, you guys saw the opportunity to jump in and provide food in order to make some money. It is interesting how motives, even at a young age, can push us to come up with radical ideas. To be honest, it does make me wonder how much you guys were able to make altogether.
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