WWYD - teen running their own tuck shop in school

[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?

Schools aren't allowed to sell sweets and confectionery anymore. Plus, when you buy multipack chocolates etc it explicitly states, not to be resold separately. The school will stop it when they find out whether parents agree or not to it. I personally would be unhappy if my children were buying overpriced junk food to eat.

Whether it's a problem depends on the school rules. What would the consequences be if caught?

Otherwise, I'm generally fairly cautious and rule-abiding but struggle to see the problem.

By that age, a child who wants to spend their money on sweets will surely find a way. They're capable of making a choice.

I'm afraid I'm parent B as I'd be too worried about him getting into trouble. I see I'm in the minority though

What happens if the school finds out?
I’d be congratulating him and his intuition. Didn’t Alan Sugar start of doing something along these lines.. maybe I made that but it

@VikingsandDragons

Parent A. When I was a little younger I started making badges on a badge machine in my dads office (they had it for doing promo freebies in the days before the internet and rapid ordering was really a thing) in the 30 minutes a day I had to wait for him between school and him driving me home (we lived rurally but school was next to his office) from drawings I did, or pictures of celebrities I'd cut out of magazines and I'd sell them at school. I learned the basics of commerce, never did business studies or anything but discovered I loved enterprise. I've now founded several companies by my late 30s, have employees, a recognised brand etc and I'm very happy with my work life balance and salary this affords me and genuinely feel like I haven't 'worked' in a decade as I love what I do, but I do still wonder if I have achieved the same if it hadn't been for that badge machine. I really wish more schools encouraged entrepreneurship and independent thinking than rote learning.

I think this is very different. Had you gone to the local market on the way to school, bulk bought crappy, mass-manufactured badges, then flogged them at school for 3x the price you'd paid, that would be similar to what the OP's kid is doing. You introduced originality and creativity to the transaction - and that's something worth admiring.

I hope your DS can handle himself because once it gets round to the older kids that he’s carrying sizeable amounts of cash home every day you may as well paint a massive red sign on his back.

I’d say let him enjoy it while it lasts

If it wasn't him it would be someone else.

I'm more parent B than A, but if he has been told possible consequences & wants to carry on, not much you can do.

Also, if he's taking orders, he's shopping on others' behalves and charging a service fee. Not selling. If that makes any difference.

2. Profiteering by charging high prices. This is certainly not acceptable.

This isn't necessarily the case tho. Say you get a 6 pack of Walkers for £1.50 in sale in Tescos or wherever. Sale each pack for 50p. That's already £1.50 profit and if you sell multiple things, think how much money that is. When I used to sell in school which was less than 10 years ago, everything was around 50p. There's no point bumping the students when they may as well go to the shop and get if from there. That's the whole point

I'm definitely parent A. But yes, he is going to get a wrist slap over this. He's probably going to make it another week if he's careful. Valentine's might get comicated or messy.

I would put a stop to this. It might be drugs next. Im surprised the school hasnt stepped in.

I would let him crack on. My kid used to do this and didn’t get caught. They didn’t continue with their entrepreneurial spirit later on in life which is a shame😀

I’d applaud his entrepreneurial spirit but I’d still step in because some guidance on ethics will stand him in good stead.

Making money is all very well but it shouldn’t be his guiding principle. There are good reasons why the school would and should put a stop to this and if it was my ds I’d want him to understand them.

It’s easier to have these conversations when it’s a relatively harmless sweet business than when there is contraband or drugs involved.

My son died this too! We are impressed at his entrepreneurial skills! BUT, I have warned him of the consequences at school and if he gets a consequence, which will be an after school detention, he takes it on the chin and stops or changes his opening hours to outside of school hours!

does*

Lol, did the same as a kid and then got busted and was sent to the office. At my school it was illegal because the school dinners were subsidised and there cannot be any ‘competition’. I was just trying to earn some cash for cool clothes;-)

My son orders American candy on Amazon and sells it at a small mark up. He’s made £80 profit to date and bought himself a pair of trainers.

I did this in my final year of primary school. Sold sweets and conkers. I did eventually get caught and had all my 'stock' and the cash I had on me got confiscated and returned to the kids who had bought off me. I think crack on until he gets caught - but once he does get caught he should accept it's a fair cop and give it up.

Better than my mate's son who set up a barbers in the boys' loos. He took in a razor and also used the scissors in his school bag. He charged £2 a haircut.

I'd be Parent A+ and coach him into buying from Aldi / Costco at better margins.

But yes watch older kids going for the stock / cash as his biggest business continuity risk

Parent A - he's brilliant and if school crack down on him their fault for not supplying snacks really.

Last term he sub-contracted out to some mates and paid them a £5 each from the profit from their sales. He’s only 12!

@Viviennemary

I would put a stop to this. It might be drugs next. Im surprised the school hasnt stepped in.

Sweets To drugs

That’s quite an imagination you have there!

Parent A all the way!