Candy Is Dandy: How I Built My First Business Selling Cavities to Teens
Lessons I learned as a skinny kid in junior high school
Seventh grade sucked! The town I lived in had no middle school so this was a massive transition year for everyone.
I had spent the first seven years of school making friends and gradually moving up the pecking order. Now it was starting all over again, but exponentially worse.
Junior high was an education. Sure, there was learning within the classroom, but I’m talking about socio-economic status. I quickly learned that I was poor.
Believe it or not, I had no real clue until seventh grade! That is a testament to my hardworking parents. My needs were always met and I hadn’t yet discovered brands and other out-of-reach, shiny objects.
Yet, everything at that age is viciously scrutinized by your peers. The last thing anyone wants is to be different. So when I realized I was a kid that received free lunches, I wanted to hide under a rock.
The lunch ladies were wonderful though. They understood my plight and took great care to help hide the card during checkout. I’m sure few people actually noticed or cared, but that wasn’t my perspective back then.
I was convinced all eyes were on me and the judgment was deafening.
Then, as serendipity would have it, my dad took me to a convenience store a couple of blocks from my school. With a dollar burning a hole in my pocket, I bought a handful of suckers.
I had no ulterior motive other than to thoroughly enjoy them while inadvertently poking holes in my teeth.
The next day I took what remained of my stash to school in my backpack. When I pulled one out, several kids around me asked if I had more.
Not having enough for everyone, I offered each up for a quarter. And to my great surprise, most bought one, wiping me out.
I had paid a dime for each one and, in turn, had sold each for a quarter. I could potentially buy 5 for every 2 that I sold!
With that realization, I had stumbled onto my first business.
I was a purveyor of cavities at the ripe old age of 13. And now, I could buy my own lunches. Jackpot!
What happened next was a series of strategies I used to build my business. I wish I could say they were intentional, but that would be a big, fat lie.
Apparently, they came naturally. What is most amazing is that I had to relearn them as an adult. How could something that seemed like common sense back then, be counterintuitive as an adult?
Pricing With Scarcity and Convenience
As is always the case, some kids insisted they could buy the suckers for a dime elsewhere. I assured them they were welcome to do so. However, they would have to wait until after school while I had them ready and waiting.
Some kids wanted other flavors so I expanded briefly. But the demand was never as strong. Given I had limited capacity, I chose to double down on one flavor, Blue Razz Berry.
Lo and behold, my strategy worked. I was selling every sucker I could manage to buy, at a premium.
Back then, I didn’t understand the economic principles at play. Yet as I have looked back at the experience over the years, I’ve reveled in how astute I appeared in my execution.
More recently, I’ve had the privilege of using this story as a teaching opportunity for my children.
Optimizing the Supply Chain
In what felt like no time at all, I had a standing order with the store owner for two 48-count boxes daily. It was the maximum amount she would commit to and, coincidentally, about all I could fit in my backpack.
The demand was strong and I sold out near lunchtime every day.
I was living the high life — eating lunches I bought with my own money, enjoying desserts and snacks, and saving for clothes, games, and music (tapes!) — all while retaining enough money to reinvest for the next day.
Branding Through Consistency
Inevitably, I had a few competitors pop up, but they never managed to derail my momentum. Kids seemed to prefer buying from me. I had no idea why at the time, but chalked it up to being likable, which is what every kid that age wants.
Looking back, I can see that I had created a brand and by consistently executing day-in and day-out, customers valued that most.
Government and Its Need for Over-regulation
But alas, all great empires come to an end and my business was no exception. The school faculty pulled their trump card. In their perspective, it was a slippery slope from candy to drugs. I was faced with expulsion if I didn’t stop.
I was devastated but moved on as girls seemed to fill the void quite well. With my vast fortune, I was able to continue paying for my own meals for the rest of the year.
I finished out the school year and then moved to a new town, in a new state, where I would spend the remainder of my youth living and working on dairy farms. A story for another day…
