When I was in middle school my sister and I discovered an opportunity: the vending machine business. We took our life savings ($750) and pooled it into buying a soda vending machine at Avon Vending. The machine would live in the building where my dad worked, calling out to passersby: “cool, refreshing drink—just for you!”

We had to quickly pick up several key aspects of the operation: maintenance, managing the money, and restocking with new supplies at Sam's Club.

Maintenance

One of our first lessons was that it usually costs money to make money.

When we bought the soda vending machine at Avon Vending, it had one of its two four-foot fluorescent bulbs burnt out. We took our first maintenance trip to Lowe's to buy a replacement bulb. Over the course of our ownership, we had to have a tech come out a few times to work on the cash and coin collection as well, all adding to the cost of ownership.

So much for selling (and drinking) soda all day.

Show me the money

Every other Saturday was check-in day. We'd get up early to go to the office building with our dad to check on inventory, and to see how much money we made over the last two weeks.

We brought our big green zipper bank bag with us to collect our earnings and restock the change dispensers. Afterwards, we'd go to the bank to deposit our money. A lot of our sales came in change, so we would plop down at the table in the middle of the bank, dump our bank bag, and start counting coins. Most regular bank customers would stare curiously out of the corner of their eyes as they waited in line for the teller.

We'd proudly walk up to the teller's desk with our newly wrapped coins and dollar bills and deposit them into our account.

Restocking and new supplies

We picked the sodas we thought would sell best. I chose Big Red as one of our eight options. It was a sure winner. We stocked water for a little bit, but the size of the bottles meant you couldn't stack them two deep and could only have half as much inventory as soda cans. That meant more frequent refills and a higher likelihood we would run out of water and lose business. No way were we doing that.

Expansion

Over six months in, business was booming (well, booming as much as a soda machine business can). So we decided to expand. Enter, the snack machine. If an eight soda pop machine was a respectable family car, this thing was a Maserati.

34 slots. Doritos. Snickers. Peanut butter crackers. Donettes. A boy's dream.

Of course, I would never eat our supplies. But, then again, when you're co-owner of Nice Vending, you do have some nice perks.

Decline

After a few years, we were getting busy with high school activities and ended up selling the vending machines to someone else in the office building.

Plus, it added a little extra change (and snickers) to our pockets.

Having to take care of something like that provided a sense of responsibility that changed the way I carried myself. When I walked into that bank, I stood a little straighter, eager not just to deposit my money, but to complete a transaction that meant I helped build something.

It was a small venture, but my parents' support of it helped shape my views of business and build my sense of agency in the world. I saw that I could influence outcomes that mattered to me if I cared enough. That’s a lesson I want to teach my children one day.

How can we encourage kids to pursue a project that builds their sense of responsibility and ownership for their future? When I saw that the work I did could bring value to others, it was a small win. I saw that I could deliver value and dreamed of the next bigger thing—how beautiful would it be if our kids realized they were much more capable than they thought?

Now that would be sweet.

Subscribe at www.grantnice.blog