Otter Pops 10₵

• Desk at a garage sale for otter pop stand = $5


• Umbrella on coupons 2 summers ago = $ .46


• Homemade signs with construction paper & posterboard = $4


• Box of otter pops = $3.50


• Ice cream themed tablecloth = $0 (already had)


• Cooler full of ice from our freezer = $0


• Watching your daughter learn how to run a business, learning the concept of supply and demand and earning enough money to buy the things she desperately "needs" = priceless!

The first day she sold 60 otter pops and made $9. The second day she made another $9. She has learned that she has to pay for the otter pops herself from the money she earns in order to keep up with demand and what it takes to succeed with proper business etiquette. She has a garbage can, scissors to cut the tops off and a board with the flavors listed. A small cooler keeps them nice and frozen. We knocked out a few drawers on the desk for the cooler, reinforced it with wheels and a back and drilled a hole in the top for the umbrella. She can just wheel the thing down and set up shop when she wants to earn a dime.

I can see her from my front lawn and it has been such a wonderful distraction for the kids. They spend hours just hailing cars. We have already had several friends from Belmont Woods drive by and humor her. And even after just 2 days, we have our regulars. Some are even willing to trade siblings for a single otter pop.

I had a moment with Eden yesterday when she came in proudly displaying the $2 popsicles she bought from the ice cream truck with her own money. I pulled that ol' teaching hat out of my pocket and explained the dangers of instant gratification. She spent $4 of her hard earned money on something that had no lasting value. Just like that, a third of her profits were gone on something that she was already selling herself.