Inspiring the Masses, by Tatiana – In The Mix #11

February 26, 2009 Tatiana EL-Khouri 14 Comments

Last week I created quite a stir (pun intended) with my article on slow cookers and inspired the great MOTU to write an article on soup that garnered him a site record for the most comments, with over 70 comments. When I received the preview copy, I laughed the hardest that I have in a while. It was a great piece of satire poking fun at my subject choice and by my writing. I’m confident enough to get the joke, however that was a lesson I began learning very early.

When I was the tender age of 5, I was at home after school enjoying a lazy afternoon coloring. As I colored to my hearts content, I took a look at the pages of my book and came to the conclusion that my coloring book was simply a collection of line drawings. My budding entrepreneurial spirit cried out and I came up with the brilliant idea to create my own line of coloring books to sell to my classmates.

I figured there was not a lot to it, so I set out to start my first business. I told my mother my idea and she was nothing but supportive. She brought home extra printer paper from her job and a stapler, and I had all I needed. Proud of my idea and sure my classmates and their parents would be interested in purchasing my affordable homemade coloring books opposed to the expensive commercial coloring books, I created my coloring books with gusto. What I drew, I have no clue anymore!

The next day I went to Kindergarden with my coloring books in hand. I showed it to a few of my friends and was proud of the product and even more so the 50 cent price. I described my books and told them my idea. Instead of the warm embrace I thought I would receive, one of my classmates questioned who I thought I was to start a business and what made me so special to think anyone who buy my coloring books. Despite her prodding, I took orders from my other classmates who promised to bring their 50 cents the next day.

Excited and ready with inventory, I came to school the next day to be greeted with competition. The same classmate who challenged my entrepreneurial merit, went home and created her own coloring book line and decided to charge 25 cents!!! The nerve, she priced me out of the market, at 5 years old!!!

I didn’t let that stop me but it did put a damper on my sales. None of my classmates wanted to choose sides. So my orders went out the window and my hard work was in vain. We did make a few sales to our daycare teacher, Ms Haylock. She was very kind and impressed with my sale pitch- of course I had a sale pitch! But more so she was impressed by my ingenuity to start my own business and think outside of the box. I was really upset that my classmate stole my idea and wondered why she tried to ruin my business. Now in retrospect, I realize I got a lesson in capitalism and competition at its finest. I created an idea worthy of a copy cat business. Pretty cool reaction for an idea inspired by a Kindergardeners reflection and out of the box thinking during coloring.

That wasn’t my last business either during my childhood! I began many, from a scrapbook consultant, clown/magician, baby sitter, jewelry artisan, to floral designer- all with the support of my parents even at times when I know they thought I was a bit over my head. But the great thing about them is they knew my spirit was too resilient to be quieted easily.

That or I’m way too stubborn to ever quit!