Brandon turned 8 on the 5th of this month and hopes to launch his business this summer as a personal consultant on Kid Bedroom Organization and Interior Design.
I’m going to be up front about this, Brandon is unusual. He was born organized and likes things to be tidy. He made his own lunch from the first day of kindergarten, wakes himself up for school with his own alarm, and frequently brings me items to get rid of because he doesn’t play with them enough. He chooses his own clothes and slicks down his own hair. He likes to wear belts, tucked in shirts, bow ties and vests. He loves an opportunity to put on a business suit, tuxes are even better. If I need assistance, he’s the first one to volunteer. We sometimes joke he was born an old man. (He considers that a compliment.)
I wouldn’t have talked with my other kids about starting a business at age 7, but he’s interested in it, has skills and an unusual sense of responsibility for his age.
He begged me to let him start working last summer as a recent first grade graduate and I held him back. I wanted to make sure he had the attention span and maturity level necessary to follow through on the job. I’m not sure he’s quite there, but we are going to try a few clients over winter break to get him some experience PLUS some before and after pictures and customer reviews for his website. I plan to be his personal assistant until I’m sure he is ready to fly on his own.
I’ve been spending time talking to him about the steps he will take when he starts a new job, how he will respond if someone shows an emotional response to cleaning up or letting things go, and the importance of sticking with a job and working hard especially when someone is paying you. He’s also thinking about simple systems and checklists to leave behind, so the parent and child can work together to keep the child accountable on keeping his room tidy.
He plans to work in 2 hour increments 2-3 days a week and has a list of items he can up-sell such as a virtual room redesign with shopping and work lists and subscription for weekly inspections and treat delivery . He is also planning ahead to be able to hire people to work for him so he can take on even more clients and launch an online training program so other kids can start satellite businesses in their own areas.
Here’s his interview:
This is day 7 of our series 31 Days of Kids and Money