Young Entrepreneur

The other day Ryan and his buddy had a money-making idea: window washing. They would just go door-to-door, offering their services for $2-$3 per window and see what came of it. Ah, memories. I remember similar entrepreneurial yearnings when I was his age, but it was with door viewers (a.k.a. peek holes). We had a sure-fire sales pitch: “If you had one of these, you wouldn’t have had to open the door to us!”

The one overriding problem with my aspirations was my risk-averse and analytical nature. Did we need a license to sell? What about sales tax? We would be drilling holes in people’s doors – should we have insurance? What about a worker’s compensation policy? I’m not exaggerating when I say that we actually formed a partnership, filed a fictitious name in the local paper, and registered with the California State Board of Equalization to collect and remit sales taxes. No joke.

I was the senior partner at 16. It was called H&T Sales. We convened board meetings and drafted company policies and bylaws, some of which were a bit premature, such as rules around refueling the company jet after use. We hired a sales team and held training meetings. We designed letterhead and invoices. We raised sufficient capital (through partner contributions) to invest in a ¾” drill bit and rented dad’s drill for 2¢ per door. I eagerly read through college textbooks on accounting. If the IRS wanted to audit H&T, we would be ready! I read that if you take funds from the partnership it is called a draw or a partnership distribution. (On more than one occasion we invoked such a distribution at a hastily convened board meeting while at the McDonald’s drive thru window.)

Before I could ask Ryan if he had considered sales tax, a company logo or ammonia insurance, he was out the door. He just grabbed the Windex from the pantry and they were off. They were knocking doors before I even got a chance to negotiate squeegee rental rates. An hour later they returned after doing one job for $72. They have several jobs since. In one case, the charge was $70 but the man was so impressed with the job he paid them $80 and asked them if they would wash his car for $20. Cha-ching.

I think Ryan is better suited for small business than his old man. (But we probably had more fun.)