You’re Never Too Young To Create Your Own Job

The following is a guest post from my friend Marci who is filling in for me while I am in Nashville recording an album with my band.  Please check out her site at OvercomingBusy.com.  It’s full of great information on keeping clutter out of your life and focusing on what really matters.

A couple years ago, when our daughter Dallas was 4 or 5, she started to get the concept that stores are full of cool stuff. Cool stuff that can go home with you and all you have to do is give the store some cash or a little plastic card. This started the “I want that” phase. Instead of telling her a flat out “no” when she would beg to have whatever caught her eye that day, we decided to make this a teachable moment. My husband and I would say “Great! Where’s your money?” At first, there was the confused look. Then, the mad look because she realized she had no money. “How am I supposed to get money!” she would cry. We would answer “Earn it.”

Dallas determined she needed a job. So, we gave her extra jobs around the house (outside of her normal chores) and my husband even took her to work with him and gave her jobs there. We paid her according to her tasks. But, it wasn’t long before the money was not enough motivation to get the jobs done. She started saying “I don’t want to do those things. Why can’t you pay me for doing something I like to do?” There was another teachable moment for us! Have you ever heard the quote “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”? Our daughter had stumbled on this wisdom and not even realized it. My husband is self -employed and lives this quote. Though he works very hard, it is so much more rewarding than any job he’s ever had. He chooses what he wants to do. So, we were excited when our daughter figured this out all by herself.

So, we started to explore what Dallas likes to do and how those interests could be turned into a business of her own. She has two loves: animals and art. We explained that she can either make money selling things or selling services. She started out designing custom gift bags and selling them to friends and even to a local gift shop for resale. It was simple enough to do, but unique enough to be marketable. As she got older and more responsible, our neighbors noticed her love of dogs and gave her the job of taking their puppy outside everyday while they were at work for $1 a day.

Over this past summer, Dallas kicked it up a notch. She discovered the world of beads and how to create earrings with them. After getting good feedback from a few friends, Dallas set up shop at a church craft sale and at the neighborhood garage sales. She was excited about the money, but was motivated by the response she got from people who bought her jewelry. When it came to her other love, animals, Dallas made fliers and put them in mailboxes all over the neighborhood advertising her dog walking and dog sitting services. She has 3 clients so far!

Last September, Dallas caught me searching through etsy.com and artfire.com looking at all kinds of treasures. I explained the concept of the sites and how people put their handmade art and jewelry and other wonderful things on their online shops. A light went off inside her. “Am I too young to have my own online shop?” A couple weeks later, we launched the online shop for “Dallas Designs” on Artfire.com. In her shop, she has the most adorable, fun earrings. She has such fun creating them. But, even more important, it has been a great opportunity for my husband and I to teach her about the value of money, how to handle money, how to keep track of expenses as well as income and the risks and benefits of being self-employed.

Dallas Designs had a pretty good Christmas season. Now, Dallas has to not sit back and relish her past success. She is working on a new set of jewelry and other projects to re-fill her Artfire shop for another idea she has for February. (She wants to do a St. Jude Children’s Hospital Fundraiser!) It is great to be able to teach her, hands-on, about business and money. But, the best part is being able to nurture her self-confidence and creativity and teach her to think “outside the box”. These are lessons that she can benefit from her whole life.