My first business

My first business didn’t require money, business cards, or a website. I was 8 years old, and tired of eating popcorn, or noodles with butter, at the end of the month before the food stamps or welfare check came. This is the first time I applied the “something from nothing” lesson my Mom taught me.

What was my first business? I used to go around to different old ladies in the neighborhood and help them with special projects around the house, raking leaves, shoveling snow, trimming bushes, running errands, or scooping up poop in their yards. I could clean their kitchen, or paint it. On top of that, since we were taught to be respectful, the little old ladies liked having me around. Back then I was still cute, and had curly thick hair. Those days are long gone!  But the lessons I learned from them, and the success they brought me, remain. 

Unknown to me, without even trying, I mastered important business skills that served me well, and part of every successful venture I ever had in my life. Here are some of those things:

1. Make it easy for people to do business with you. I was pleasant and appreciative, and genuinely worked hard. There was no drama or backtalk with me. I wanted to make it easy for them to call me back, or refer me to their friends. I was punctual, and did what I said I was going to do. If I couldn’t do it, or if there was a problem, I went to them quickly. They liked that. I learned the hard way it was worse if I didn’t bring problems to their attention. What I did to avoid telling them about problems was worse than just dealing wit

I think the little old ladies recognized that while I was working for the money, it wasn’t just about the money. I got to be friends with many of my customers, and maintained contact with most of them for the rest of their lives. They are all long gone, but the work ethic and people skills I learned serving them remain. 

2. Make money by solving problems. It wasn’t easy. Some of these old ladies were very difficult to deal with! So much so that their own kids and grandkids stopped coming by. That was sad, but it created opportunity for me. What the old ladies needed was their problem. They could pay me to come help them, and maybe get some pleasant company at the same time.  I was there to solve problems, not create them, so I cleaned up my mess, even before they asked. Many people detest sales, both doing it and being pitched to. I don’t know anyone who likes getting a “hard sell” from a pushy salesman. I never had to do that. They were always happy to see me, because I was there to help them with their problem. To grow the business I went door-to-door in the neighborhood, but soon I had a steady following, and they referred me to their friends.

3. All you have is your word, keep it, even when it costs you or is inconvenient. Punctuality is the beginning or credibility. If you’re not on time, then your word means nothing. 

4. Go knock on doors until you have something to make money with.

5. Work good enough, and priced well enough, that your customers want you back, and will refer you to their friends.

6. Ask for what you want. I would always ask when I could come back and help them with something. I also would ask if they had any friends or neighbors I could help out. 

I was eight years old pulling in 2.5 times minimum wage, and it was cash on the spot!  In case you’re curious, minimum wage when I was eight years old was $2.10/hour, so the $5/hour we’re talking about was big money for an eight-year old.  I didn’t babysit again after that; I wouldn’t lift a finger for the $1/hour babysitting paid back then. 

It’s funny because at the time I didn’t think of it as a business. It was just me trying to get my hustle on so I could have some money to help Mom, get candy, and maybe play some pinball.  I still have crazy skills on a pinball machine, and now, guitar hero. I did that work after school, on weekends, and over he summers until I was fifteen years old, when I went to work as a laborer with my brother on his basement waterproofing crew.