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Original poster

WWYD - teen running their own tuck shop in school

504 replies

PinkPansies · 08/02/2022 16:06

We've realised recently that ds1 aged 14 has become quite flush with cash (more so than his pocket money would allow anyway!).

On questioning we've discovered that he's quite the entrepreneur and has set up his own tuck shop in school on breaks and lunches. In short, he's been stopping at the local Coop on the way to school and buying sweets and chocolates then selling them to the kids in his year for double the price. Who are more than willing to pay.

From making the odd quid here and there his 'business' has expanded rapidly in the last 3 weeks and he's got quite a following in school - and he's currently making about ten quid A DAY in profit. I can't quite believe the amounts.

He's taking specific requests from kids that get the bus to school so don't have the opportunity to visit a shop and has a price/order list to show his customers and a book with a record of his sales and profits each day 🙈

He's taking it very seriously and is incredibly organised. He's explained to his parents that his profit is limited only by how much stuff he can physically fit in his bag - so he's currently looking at smaller, higher value sweets and sounding our his customers for interest levels.

Parent A and Parent B have different opinions.

Parent A is thrilled, has congratulated their son for his driven, entrepreneurial spirit and told him to crack on...but that he needs to be aware the school will probably give him a detention if he's caught. It's a risk ds is happy to take.

Parent B is amused and a bit impressed but thinks he should stop as obviously the school would frown on this. Haven't seen any specific school rules about this but obviously the school would probably want it stopped!

WWYD?

OP posts:
MrPenguinsPoppers · 08/02/2022 17:08

Cant fault the boy, my DS did the same.
He used to go to his Nans for lunch around the corner. Back then you could only leave the school grounds if you were years 9 and above, but he'd got permission to go there from the school.
He'd take orders, call the shop on the way back and take the commission from years 7 and 8.

LittleGwyneth · 08/02/2022 17:08

@MaggieMooh

If he’s serious about it he’ll have to register and pay tax etc. You can’t just run a business illegally.
Yes, you need to hire him an accountant and register him with companies house. Probably best you appoint a board too.

If you could provide all of us with a copy of the tax return I would be most grateful, January is usually such a bleak month and we could use some cheering up.

RocketAndAFuckingMelon · 08/02/2022 17:10

Why on earth would schools react to this with a fixed term exclusion? When I was at school this was entirely respectable and sanctioned by the school under the guise of Young Enterprise or something.

astroboy45 · 08/02/2022 17:10

I'm with parent A but only because I used to sell in the playground myself😂 I used to make around £150 in profit a month but had to stop because I was in year 11 and my mum told me it was enough.

There was one boy in my tutor group who was a year above, who would sell everyday and everyone knew him. Even teachers would buy off him lol but yes I'm with parent A. It's not allowed in many schools but as long as he knows the risk then he should carry on

WutheringHeights66 · 08/02/2022 17:10

This isn't new or innovative. There were illicit tuck shops at my DCs schools 12 years ago.

They will likely get caught and punished, I certainly wouldn't be praising them at all. There isn't really anything to be proud of that I can see.

blyn72 · 08/02/2022 17:11

I think he is very enterprising which I applaud but doubling the price is a bit too much profit. Encourage him to have a lower profit margin - and to buy things on offer, 3 for 2 and bogofs for which he can charge full price.

saleorbouy · 08/02/2022 17:13

It's his first foray into the business world and well done to him. Maybe he'll get shut down but that maybe he can put his profits into a new venture outside school hours.
His venture sounds more profitable than my first, I was selling my stick insect babies for 10p each to school friends.

mewkins · 08/02/2022 17:14

My mum did this 60 years ago Grin Her parents ran a newsagents.

lpchill · 08/02/2022 17:14

I work as a youth worker and have come across a lot of young people that sell sweets or condoms at school. As long as you are explaining the risks, the school does not have a specific rule against it, it's not effecting his learning and that if he's caught the game is up. (As he will be watched after being caught once) Then there's not much more you can do. You do need to make him aware of how easy it is to fall into selling drugs so he needs to be really aware of exploitation. It's a good skill to learn to think that way and what you as a parent are adding to the conversation is the risks that you can help weigh with them and keep the lines of communication open.

Jvg33 · 08/02/2022 17:14

This is definitely against typical school rules nowadays. If he is caught, be prepared for a phone call and some sort of consequence.

Dsisproblem · 08/02/2022 17:15

I'd tell him to ditch the notebook. Too much evidence if he's caught. But otherwise crack on Smile

Hawkins001 · 08/02/2022 17:15

@PinkPansies

We've realised recently that ds1 aged 14 has become quite flush with cash (more so than his pocket money would allow anyway!).

On questioning we've discovered that he's quite the entrepreneur and has set up his own tuck shop in school on breaks and lunches. In short, he's been stopping at the local Coop on the way to school and buying sweets and chocolates then selling them to the kids in his year for double the price. Who are more than willing to pay.

From making the odd quid here and there his 'business' has expanded rapidly in the last 3 weeks and he's got quite a following in school - and he's currently making about ten quid A DAY in profit. I can't quite believe the amounts.

He's taking specific requests from kids that get the bus to school so don't have the opportunity to visit a shop and has a price/order list to show his customers and a book with a record of his sales and profits each day 🙈

He's taking it very seriously and is incredibly organised. He's explained to his parents that his profit is limited only by how much stuff he can physically fit in his bag - so he's currently looking at smaller, higher value sweets and sounding our his customers for interest levels.

Parent A and Parent B have different opinions.

Parent A is thrilled, has congratulated their son for his driven, entrepreneurial spirit and told him to crack on...but that he needs to be aware the school will probably give him a detention if he's caught. It's a risk ds is happy to take.

Parent B is amused and a bit impressed but thinks he should stop as obviously the school would frown on this. Haven't seen any specific school rules about this but obviously the school would probably want it stopped!

WWYD?

When people admire, the Richard bransons, the Alan sugars, the donalds, ect how can a parent not be impressed, besides we all start some where, personally I'd invest in a business trolley for them, so they can carry more product and it doubles as a school book carrier when needed too.
millymae · 08/02/2022 17:15

Good luck to him - I went to a large comprehensive school in the 90’s and we all knew where and who to go to at break and lunchtime if we wanted a sweets.
The teachers can’t not have known what was going on as there was always a huddle round the seller and kids emerging from it with chocolate and sweets in their hands.

Madcats · 08/02/2022 17:15

DH revealed that, for hot summer school days, he was sufficiently organised to arrive at school with some frozen solid drinks bottles and would charge people for an ice cool drink!

Esspee · 08/02/2022 17:16

My eldest was caught doing this as the amount of litter of the same brand aroused suspicion. The assistant rector gave him a detention but confided in us that he would do well in business. 😆

Jvg33 · 08/02/2022 17:16

A lot of people are saying it's not against school rules! Every school I have worked in, when they found out, they put a stop to it. There are a few reasons why tuck shops were stopped in schools. One of them was due to a conflict of interest with the out of house service - catering company.

Tillymintpolo · 08/02/2022 17:17

There’s always a kid doing this at school !

ColouringPencils · 08/02/2022 17:18

Oh god, feel like a loser now that I am a total Parent B Grin

Agapornis · 08/02/2022 17:18

The threshold for self-assessment is £1000 per tax year, which he won't make this year. Even then, don't need to pay tax until £12.5k.

I'd get him to set up a separate Paypal account to run alongside cash, though using the friends & family option to avoid fees might be a bit frowned upon by Paypal...

Agapornis · 08/02/2022 17:19

Also, get him to offer fruit options so it can't be shut down on grounds of being unhealthy.

user1471539385 · 08/02/2022 17:19

I haven’t RTFT, but this is sanctioned heavily at the school I work in due to links with county lines. Selling sweets has frequently led to cigarettes/ vapes/ alcohol or even drugs, and can also make the ‘entrepreneur’ a target for theft.

If he/ patent A thinks there’s no problem, there won’t be any problem checking with the Head of Year, will there?

Benjispruce5 · 08/02/2022 17:20

I admire his entrepreneurial flair but it’s not really on to do it within school grounds. Someone will grass him up and he’ll be in big trouble. Also I’d be worried about him getting jumped on the way home if he carries a lot of cash.
Can he do it outside the gates and maybe get a lift home?

AhItsYou · 08/02/2022 17:21

@historygeek and the other posters saying this would be an automatic fixed period exclusion - are you SERIOUS?

I mean, no selling illegal substances on site, right there with you. But this seriously can't be that blanket a rule, rigidly enforced?

What about Mum A who has agreed with Mum B to sell her Boy A's bike? Mum B send in hapless Boy B with the cash saying, "hand this £20 over to Boy A for his mum for the bike, will you love?" and, what, if this shady dealing is caught Boy B is excluded for a day? Nonsense.

With something like this, if you can point to a specific rules that's being broken the proportionate response is at most a detention with an instruction to stop and a tonne-of-bricks warning about next time it being an exclusion. The idea that you'd immediately go nuclear and put something like this in the way of a child's future is just bonkers and surely the antithesis of what any school is trying to achieve.

I'm not having a go at you or even suggesting your incorrect - obviously what happens, happens - but I'm genuinely interested to know whether this has ever actually been applied so draconianly? Surely there would be media shaming of the school and all sorts of complaints and appeals to the local authority?

Starlightandsparkles · 08/02/2022 17:22

My brother used to do this but with cigarettes

He'd buy a pack of 20 for about £3(a looonnnggg time ago) and flog them for 50p a go

The school hit the roof when they found out but my mother (who loved to undermine them) just laughed it off

Best laugh was she had a point when she pointed out that his best customers where a few of the teachers!

He's still a wheeler/dealer to this day and is far richer than me

Agrudge · 08/02/2022 17:24

@littlegreenalien

In the world of business you make hay whilst the sun shines.

Sooner or later one of 2 things will happen

A) school will realise and shut him down, possibly with a detention (and if I was head-teacher applying a tax to his estimated earnings to be donated to charity so that he can add philanthropist to his CV as well as entrpreneur)

B) competition will spring up by others copying his idea and profit margins will be driven down to make it barely viable, although there is always the possibility of him entering into a duopoly or cartel and price fixing to keep margins high.

Either way it's all a great learning experience for your budding "SirAlan".

Competition can be stopped one or another