Pre-Teen Dabbles In Mobile Ice Cream Sales

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July 11, 2011 by Angela Shupe | 1 Comment

Who is the next generation of entrepreneurs? That honor would belong to kids. This generation of minds 18 and under have always found unique ways to make money. Don McFarlin is one of these kids.

At 11 years old, Don bicycles around his neighborhood selling ice cream. According to PJStar.com, it started on this 4th of July. Instead of paying Don his allowance, they bought him a used ice cream vendor bike from eBay.

He’s learning more about the business world each day – lessons such as people would prefer not to buy ice cream first thing in the morning.

“When it’s hot and you don’t want to go out there? That’s when you sell ice cream,” Jaimie McFarlin told him.

Don was so enthusiastic at first, he wanted to sell every day. His parents negotiated shorter hours.

“I agreed to three days a week, and three hours a day for those days,” Don said.

Don got a permit from the health department to handle food and a distribution contract with Prairie Farms in Peoria.

The best way to keep frozen confections frozen is with dry ice, but Mom and Dad weren’t thrilled with the prospect of Don handling that. So Jaimie found some wrapped dry ice packets online.

“We had to order them from Texas,” she said. “Nobody sells them here.”

He picked up his first load of Prairie Farms treats with his parents over the weekend to prepare for the July 4 launch. That first investment required tapping his savings account and a small business loan from the Bank of Dad.

Don will be allowed to keep and spend up to $20 a week in profits. Anything above that goes into his savings account.