Dad Said No Allowance So I Started My Own Business
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Indoor Horticulture For Fun and Profit
"They're selling middle school yearbooks for $17. Can I buy one," I asked my Mom.
I had hoped to get a yearbook without having to fork over my own hard earned cash.
"We'll talk to your Dad," Mom said.
A couple of days later my Dad wanted to talk about the yearbook.
"Sounds like I'll be doing some chores," I thought.
Most Dads would have given their kid cash or made them use their allowance. But my Dad had other ideas. He read an article about small investments that produce major returns. The article suggested growing herbs to save money.
This is how I started growing herbs for fun and profit.
I had hoped to get a yearbook without having to fork over my own hard earned cash.
"We'll talk to your Dad," Mom said.
A couple of days later my Dad wanted to talk about the yearbook.
"Sounds like I'll be doing some chores," I thought.
Most Dads would have given their kid cash or made them use their allowance. But my Dad had other ideas. He read an article about small investments that produce major returns. The article suggested growing herbs to save money.
This is how I started growing herbs for fun and profit.
What's Here
- What is Your Favorite Herb?
- The Latest And The Greatest
- The Sequel To Dad Said No Allowance So I Started My Own Business
- My Other Business Ventures
- What My Basil Should Look Like
- Pictures Of Sweet Basil
- What My Sage Should look Like
- What I'm Up To...
- Voice Your Opinion: What Should I Do With My Herbs?
- The Not So Ugly Shelf
- No Allowance, But A Strange New Idea
- Everything You Wanted To Know About Herbs But Were Afraid To Ask
- Preparation and Field Research
- The Ugly Steel Shelf
- Buying Materials
- The WSJ Article That Started It All
- Yard Sale Prep
- Help A Kid In Your Life Start A Business
- Voice You're Opinion: What Would You Do?
- Green Thumb Websites
- Bookmark This Lens
- Your Comments Or Suggestions
What is Your Favorite Herb?
Do you like thyme? Basil? Oregano? Add you opinion here!
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The Latest And The Greatest
The Newest News
Check out this module for the latest happenings.
Fortunately, my dad got the camera repaired. It was cheaper than buying a new camera. I didn't know how much I need our camera until I didn't have it. I am so glad that we still have a camera!
I have a slight problem. One of my sage containers is getting really full. My best sage plant is huge! It is taller than the side of the jug. Last time I counted, this plant had 12 leaves on it! As I said on my tweet wall, whenever I transplant a seedling, it dies. I don't want this plant to die.
Wow, my seedlings are growing like weeds. I hope they get big enough because seedlings won't go for very much. My mom and I were at a local farmer market. One stand was selling plants for about $2.25 or so. Two super market around here sells herbs for less than $3. They all have care instruction, so I guess I should too. I hope my herbs get bigger!
Something very unfortunate happened yesterday. I was trying to photograph something, and there's a problem with the shutter. It won't open all the way, but it will close all the way. Now I can't photograph anything. We need to get a new camera.
Right now, I am trying to plan for the neighborhood yard sale. It's sometime in June. My dad is suggesting cleaning the garage (yuck) :(. That will take an entire weekend. On a more positive note, my seedlings are doing quite well. We needed to think about what to sell my herbs in. My dad and I went to dollar general and bought 16 ounce neon colored cups. They come in packs of 18 for a dollar. I decided to keep it simple. Basil will be in the pink cups, and sage will be in the purple. Here's a random observation. My basil smelled spicy, and after I watered it, the aroma lessened. I am wondering why.
5/14/09
I'm going to start dating my entries. Here's a limerick about myself:
There once was a girl who grew herbs
Everyone thought it's absurd
For she wanted to sell some
Finding her green thumb
She tweeted on twitter in blurbs.
Sunday, May something 2009
I don't think I'll do the yard sale this year. As my dad says, my business plan is faulty. That's because whenever I transplant an herb, it dies. I don't want to sell something that's bound to die. I think I'll just supply my mom with fresh herbs. Also, my parents want someone to sit out there with me for safety reasons. My mom is taking a brother to a soccer game, and my dad is working.
Next year, I'm going to start the herbs in the containers I'm going to sell them in. That way I won't have to transplant anything, the customers will.
6/13/09
Well, this is the end of year #1 of this experiment. Don't worry, I like growing herbs, and my mom enjoys using them. I'll do it again next year when I want to buy something. Or my dad will come up with some other kind of crazy way for me to make money, and I'll create a lens about it and tweet. I can see it now --- A new lens, and in the introduction, there will be a sentence,"This is a sequel to Dad Said No Allowance So I Started My Own Business, be sure to check it out."
If I do the same thing next year, I'm going to change a few things.
1) I'm going to grow my herbs in the container I want to sell them in, so I won't have to transplant them.
2) If my dad is working the next yard sale day, I'm going to ask one of my neighbors if I can sit with them, and still have my stand.
8/1/09
I'm not sure what to do with this lens because I'm concentrating on other business ventures. I'll keep you posted!
8/28/09
We went on vacation recently, and when we got home my basil was really big & had a lot of leaves. My mom made two pots of beef stew, both times I put in some of my basil. My sage is not doing as well. It was flowering, so I put it outside on out porch. It's limp & brown right now. If you are trying to decide which herb to grow, grow basil. It's a lot easier to grow than sage!
My Other Business Ventures
What My Basil Should Look Like
Pictures Of Sweet Basil
What My Sage Should look Like
My Clip Art
My clip art pictures of sage and basil come from http://classroomclipart.com/cgi-bin/kids/imageFolio.cgi?direct=Plants/Herbs
What I'm Up To...
Voice Your Opinion: What Should I Do With My Herbs?
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The Not So Ugly Shelf
No Allowance, But A Strange New Idea
How This All Started
Dad said, "If I give you the money for a yearbook what would you learn from that?"I thought about it for a minute. "I wouldn't really learn anything."
"And if I made you do chores, what would you learn from that?" my Dad asked.
"How to work hard," was my reply.
"Well, you already know how to do that," he said. It was true that during the summer I did a lot of extra chores.
"You're going to start a business," was his reply.
"What kind of business?" I asked.
Dad showed me an article he had found online. The title was "Small Investments With Major Returns."
Dad highlighted one of the ideas: "Order A Pack Of Seeds and plant them in a window box or garden. Growing your own herbs, spices, and even vegetables- depending on the amount of space you have- is a great investment. If you spend just $10 on seeds and save a mere $50 in the year, that's a 400% ROI"- From The Wall Street Journal Online January 5, 2009.
Everything You Wanted To Know About Herbs But Were Afraid To Ask
I like to dive into things head first. My Dad is making me do a lot of research on plants.Dad wants me to grow a plant that has economic value. The whole point is to grow a plant that will save you money.
On the internet, I came across this plant that is perfect in almost every way. It doesn't need a lot of sunlight. Easy to grow indoors. The only problem is that the Chinese evergreen doesn't have much value.
Mom says she uses oregano, thyme, parsley and basil a lot. I saw on the internet that thyme is one of the easiest herbs to grow.
Preparation and Field Research
Every time I think I'm done doing research, my Dad comes up with another question I need to look up.Dad was checking out shelves today. He looked at Target.com and a bunch of other places. Then he remembered that we have an old ugly steel shelf in the garage. I had to vacuum it and wipe it down. It was really gross. It was covered with cob webs and dirt.
We were going to put this ugly shelf in our front living room. Our front room gets a lot of sun. But Mom objected. She said it looks ugly. So we moved the shelf to the kitchen. Our kitchen is in the back of our house, and gets western exposure from early afternoon until evening. That is why it is important to find an herb that can grow in partial shade.
We went to Wal-mart. Mom and Dad needed some household supplies. I went along to check out herb prices.
Wal-mart didn't have any seeds or live herb plants. (maybe because it's January.) I looked at three herbs. Thyme is the most expensive. $103 a pound. Parsley costs $45.22 a pound. Oregano is $17 a pound.
The Ugly Steel Shelf
Buying Materials
We went to a local hardware store today. I went and looked for seeds. The store didn't have any thyme seeds, but they had basil and sage seeds. They were only 10 cents a pack. I decided to get both of them.
My dad wanted to buy screws for this shelf we have. This shelf isn't as ugly as the steel shelf. It is made of wood, but you have to assemble it. When we bought it, it was a whole set. Somehow, the directions got lost and so my dad has to look at the picture and guess how it should look.
When we got home, I went searching for containers or pots to plant my seeds in. I found 4 old empty water jugs, and a few other containers.
Today, I want my parents to take me to the store to buy potting soil. I have everything else I need including pots, seeds, and water.
My dad wanted to buy screws for this shelf we have. This shelf isn't as ugly as the steel shelf. It is made of wood, but you have to assemble it. When we bought it, it was a whole set. Somehow, the directions got lost and so my dad has to look at the picture and guess how it should look.
When we got home, I went searching for containers or pots to plant my seeds in. I found 4 old empty water jugs, and a few other containers.
Today, I want my parents to take me to the store to buy potting soil. I have everything else I need including pots, seeds, and water.
The WSJ Article That Started It All
Check out the article that inspired this venture. Click the link below!
- Small Investments With Major Returns
- Want to save money? This article has 7 small investments with major returns.
Yard Sale Prep
I'm a little confused. In my sage container, there are a couple plants. The thing is, there seem to be two varieties growing in the container. I have one that's leaves look sort of like a shamrock, and another that's leaves look furry. I hope that mom can find some recipes that can use any kind of herb...
Dad said that he will probably end up buying all of my herbs. I got a bright idea. My neighborhood always has a yard sale sometime in the spring. My idea is to set up a stand in my driveway. I will have a sign hanging somewhere saying,"Fresh Herbs." My dad says that I should sell people the plant in soil. My original idea was to sell leaves in different ounce amounts. My dad said that is a bad idea because drug dealers sell their drugs in plastic baggies.
My dad said that if I can find anything around the house that we don't use anymore, and everyone agrees that we can sell that item, I can sell it at my stand. Of course, I will get a small cut for going through all of that work.
It always seems to rain the day of our neighborhood sale. I will need to find a way to make my stand waterproof.
Dad said that he will probably end up buying all of my herbs. I got a bright idea. My neighborhood always has a yard sale sometime in the spring. My idea is to set up a stand in my driveway. I will have a sign hanging somewhere saying,"Fresh Herbs." My dad says that I should sell people the plant in soil. My original idea was to sell leaves in different ounce amounts. My dad said that is a bad idea because drug dealers sell their drugs in plastic baggies.
My dad said that if I can find anything around the house that we don't use anymore, and everyone agrees that we can sell that item, I can sell it at my stand. Of course, I will get a small cut for going through all of that work.
It always seems to rain the day of our neighborhood sale. I will need to find a way to make my stand waterproof.
Help A Kid In Your Life Start A Business
Voice You're Opinion: What Would You Do?
Agree or disagree with my Dad? You think he should make me do something else to pay for the yearbook? Pretend that you are my Dad. What would you do? Voice your opinion below!
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Your Comments Or Suggestions
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P.S.
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ArleneCreatingAbundanceEnthusias
Jan 3, 2011 @ 10:39 am | delete
- I bet by now you're grateful that your dad made you start a business instead of giving you the money for the yearbook. Even if your herb growing business made no profit you've learned entrepreneurial lessons worth far more than $17.
Blessings,
Arlene, QuickWaystoMakeMoney Enthusiast
www.creating-abundance.net/quick-ways-to-make-money
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LindaJM
Jul 25, 2009 @ 1:56 pm | delete
- Very inspirational! I'm tweeting it today on my 'LindasHerbal' Twitter account.
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poutine
May 3, 2009 @ 7:11 am | delete
- Hello Kyra,
What a beautifully thought and done lens.
I enjoyed reading your story and I think you
have a very wise dad .
You might be interested in checking out this website
where you get tons of information for free on growing plants.
Free Plants
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a_willow
Apr 17, 2009 @ 1:00 pm | delete
- You are one of January 2009 graduates! Come by and answer few questions to show the way to those who will follow! Wish you many, many more great lenses!
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poddys
Apr 16, 2009 @ 3:20 pm | delete
- I like your idea, and love the lens, 5*****. I used to grow my own herbs years ago, it's very satisfying to see your efforts growing. Now if I could do this and many a lot of money out of it, that would be great! Still, cooking with fresh herbs is great, and every time you pass the pots you can pinch a leaf and enjoy the aroma.
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by Indoor_Jungle
Indoor_Jungle
Hi, my name is Kyra. I discovered my love of growing plants last year when we made a mini- hydroponic system. I loved taking care of the plants and... more »
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