Tony and I are biking along a seventeen mile, well used trail. On any given day, the trail is populated with bikers big and small, people on roller blades, joggers, and walkers. On a Saturday afternoon it is a bicycle freeway with enough traffic to guarantee a hefty return for a lemonade stand.
The stand is set to the side of the trail just after bikers have to stop to cross the street. When the road is clear, just when we've gained enough momentum to pass by the gregarious eight year old girl, she hollers, "Cookies and lemonade!"
I tell her while passing, "Sorry, we don't have any money!"
She shouts back, "We take cash and venmo."
I have my phone which means I can venmo, but we have passed, and it's not Tony's style to stop and buy cookies.
But it is mine, at least on the way back when Tony decides to dig down, get a real work out and leaves me far behind.
I buy two cookies and because I admire the little girl's chutzpah, I throw in a tip. While her father and I wait for the venmo to complete, I have a few questions.
I learn her business partner is her friend, though she is clearly in charge. Her mother made the cookies and they are a healthy honey version of a chocolate chip cookie. I'm glad I bought two. She admits she loves to earn money and it was her idea for the stand. When our transaction is complete, while hopping on my bike, I ask her what she plans to do with the money she earns.
"Well, I will save part of it, but I'm also working for my DisneyWorld spending money. I'm going November 2."
I see myself as a child, my first time at Disneyland. I see myself as a young mother taking my children to Disneyland. Oh the anticipation, the memories. The importance of Disney in a child's life. Our ambitious entrepreneur has missed her greatest sales technique, the heart of her story, and I tell her so. "If I had known it was spending money for DisneyWorld, I would have upped my tip."
Her mind calculates this new idea. I see regret quickly placed by a better idea.
"It's a marketing tool, the story that is," I tell her as I ride off.
~~
I think of a cab ride I took to the Phoenix airport long ago. A minute before our arrival, the driver told me it was his birthday. Naturally, I upped the tip to help his day of celebration.
As I walked away, I had an odd feeling his birthday was everyday he went to work.
The stand is set to the side of the trail just after bikers have to stop to cross the street. When the road is clear, just when we've gained enough momentum to pass by the gregarious eight year old girl, she hollers, "Cookies and lemonade!"
I tell her while passing, "Sorry, we don't have any money!"
She shouts back, "We take cash and venmo."
I have my phone which means I can venmo, but we have passed, and it's not Tony's style to stop and buy cookies.
But it is mine, at least on the way back when Tony decides to dig down, get a real work out and leaves me far behind.
I buy two cookies and because I admire the little girl's chutzpah, I throw in a tip. While her father and I wait for the venmo to complete, I have a few questions.
I learn her business partner is her friend, though she is clearly in charge. Her mother made the cookies and they are a healthy honey version of a chocolate chip cookie. I'm glad I bought two. She admits she loves to earn money and it was her idea for the stand. When our transaction is complete, while hopping on my bike, I ask her what she plans to do with the money she earns.
"Well, I will save part of it, but I'm also working for my DisneyWorld spending money. I'm going November 2."
I see myself as a child, my first time at Disneyland. I see myself as a young mother taking my children to Disneyland. Oh the anticipation, the memories. The importance of Disney in a child's life. Our ambitious entrepreneur has missed her greatest sales technique, the heart of her story, and I tell her so. "If I had known it was spending money for DisneyWorld, I would have upped my tip."
Her mind calculates this new idea. I see regret quickly placed by a better idea.
"It's a marketing tool, the story that is," I tell her as I ride off.
~~
I think of a cab ride I took to the Phoenix airport long ago. A minute before our arrival, the driver told me it was his birthday. Naturally, I upped the tip to help his day of celebration.
As I walked away, I had an odd feeling his birthday was everyday he went to work.
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