As the father of a teenager in middle school I was trying to figure out a good way to teach my child the fundamental responsibilities of running a successful small business. My son wanted to be able to control his own money, but before I allowed him to do this I wanted to teach him the value of a dollar and how businesses earn their money. I taught him about businesses that provided services. I showed him how these types of businesses charged customer a fee for the service they provided by taking him to a oil change store. He saw the service they provided and asked how they came up with the amount they would charge. I explained to him the amount they charge would have to cover the costs of the bills the store had every month plus whatever the business decided they needed earn above what it cost to run the store. It was hard for him to understand so I decided to take a simpler approach in teaching the fundamental principles of running a successful small business. I took him to the convenience store and showed him the candy aisle which of course he loved. I told him that we were going to sale candy. I showed him that you could buy the candy in bulk and that it cost cheaper than buying small amounts. After buying the candy and showing him what it cost for each piece and comparing it to how much the convenience store charged, he realized the difference was the money the store kept to pay for other costs. An online inventory system may help. Hmm, how can incorporate this is a way my child can understand?
The light bulb went off in his head. He bought into the idea and started to understand how businesses made money. After a few weeks of selling candy my son wanted to be able to track how much he sold and how much money he made without having to calculate by hand. I looked at many free applications to track inventory in a simplified approach. I came across stockpile and realized it was perfect for my son. We was able to track what he sold had how much he made instantaneously. I even showed him that we could use input sales when they occur using a phone. Too bad he is still too young to own a smart phone but I have to consider it if it teaches my son how to be an entrepreneur. Thank you Canvus for this great tool.
