Posts Tagged ‘The Marshmallows Company’

The Marshmallow Maker

June 23rd, 2010

Context:  Your 4-year-old son loves marshmallows.  He loves marshmallows so much that he wants to make his own, so he can experiment with different flavors.  Your family already makes their own cheese, so you say why not.

What Happens Next:  You make batches upon batches of marshmallows.  You and your son perfect the recipe, giving bags upon bags of marshmallows away for birthdays, holidays, any and every kind of event.  A year later, your son learns how much each batch costs, he designs the label himself and he hires you, your spouse and your 3-year-old son to help make and package the marshmallows for sale.  He then gets a website and a Facebook page and starts selling marshmallows to people all over the country.

Pretty extraordinary, huh? 

Canaan Smith, now 7-years-old, is exactly the type of entrepreneur Mike was thinking about and Cameron Herold was talking about in a May 3rd post.  When a 4-year-old asks you to help him make a batch of marshmallows, you figure it’s pretty harmless and say, “Why not.”  A year of making and selling marshmallows to all your guests passes, and he decides to expand his market and go global.  What do you say?

To be honest, at the beginning of this summer I probably would have thought, “Don’t be silly, who wants to buy marshmallows from a 5-year-old.”  After reading all of Mike’s posts about encouraging young entrepreneurs and giving our children different creative learning opportunities, I would like to think that I would whole-heartedly support it.  In fact, I just bought two bags of marshmallows from Canaan, one each of peppermint and vanilla.  If my office-mates are lucky, I might share.

If your kid, niece, nephew or neighbor kid came up to you asking for help with their own marshmallow company, what would you do?  Do you think you would have to ability, and courage, to help them get started?  Or would you be too afraid of the time commitment and potential let-down that is present in all start-up companies?  A few months ago I probably would have said no.  But now, I see how immense a learning opportunity this is – not only for the child, but for me too. 

I have a 1-year-old niece and 4-year-old nephew and I have started thinking about different ways to help develop their creativity, independent thinking, and a fearless nature.  Not only are these qualities essential for any entrepreneur, but they are also vital life skills in almost any business or profession.  As Canaan’s mother, Megan, puts it, “He is one driven little guy! We love supporting him in his business and love to watch him go for his dreams.”

Whether it is helping with a start-up business or buying a few bags of marshmallows, what are you doing to inspire and support our youngest entrepreneurs?

 

Photo: Thanks to Megan Smith for sending us this great picture of Canaan enjoying his favorite food!

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