What does the future hold?

As most parents will know the summer holidays can be long, not only for mums and dads but also for the kids. A couple of weeks away to your all-inclusive resort in the Mediterranian helps break the 6 weeks up, but you still have 4 weeks to keep these little minds busy.

My wife and I are blessed to have 3 kids, Chloe 9, Alfie 6 and Sophie who turns 1 next month. All three of them have been lucky to enjoy trips away and we have had shared wonderful experiences as a family. So some times its only natural when privileged with such luxuries to take it all for granted. I know that I would if I was a kid and as spoilt as they are. So I was exceptionally proud when Chloe and Alfie said to me that they wanted to make some extra pocket money over the summer rather than just asking to use the bank of Mum and Dad. Chloe wants to buy herself some decks as she is music-mad, and Alfie at the age of 6, is already a petrol head and wants to save up for his first car. With 11 years to go until he can legally drive he has plenty of time in his favor and should be able to afford to insure it at this rate. He might even get that 911 he keeps watching on eBay.

So, how does the mind of a 9 and 6-year-old work to make some extra pocket money? Creativity, hard work and most of all FUN! It started with Strawberry picking. A fun afternoon at one of the local farms and picking way too many strawberries. So rather than leaving 3kg of them in the fridge for a week, Chloe suggested making Jam and then selling it. What started as a small idea ended up in being something that most adults would be proud of achieving, let alone a couple of kids. The 1st batch (15) sold like hotcakes with friends and family, so at this point that now had the thirst for more. But this is where the creativity and entrepreneurship really came out. Chloe decided to create a brand " The Sleepy Jam Company". The reason for the name was simple, with each jar of jam, you would now get a small lavender pouch to put in your sock drawer or under your pillow. This was her own USP and she felt that it would get more customers. So optimistically we had now made another 50 jars, 50 lavender pouches and were ready to sell. All the jam was made with love and passion and the kids were ready to see what could come from their summer business, Chloe and Alfie set up a Table out the front of our house on a Saturday to start selling their jam. The result was nothing short of brilliant, it all went within just a few hours. The spirit from our local community was amazing, and the result for the kids was something that I think they will remember for life. So much so that Chloe off her own accord said that she wanted to donate 15% of her profit to Cancer Research to help others. (Made my heart melt when she said this)

But, there is a negative to all this. For some reason, somebody who lives on our development decided to inform the local council that our children were selling Jam without a food hygiene certificate. We received a letter from the council a few days later asking about the unregistered food business that we had set up and market stall that was operating out the front of our house! Shocked, not only because someone had a reason to inform the council that 2 kids were selling jam, but because of the message that this sends out to young minds. We have a country where unemployment is high, and there aren't necessarily enough opportunities for people. If there were more adults in the world with the ambition that our kids have shown to have, then I for one believe that we would all be better off.

The response from Chole when we told her was. "Never mind, let's make some more jam."

I wanted to share this online as a proud Dad, but also to ask for thoughts on what message does this send out to kids? Are they too young to set up a business? Do you think we should have applied for a food hygiene certificate? Do you want to buy some jam?

To date, they have sold over 100 jars and we have just made another batch. How far do we take it for them,? With creative flavors, a brilliant brand, quality product, and the determination to succeed, what does the future hold for them?

One proud Father