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7-year-old knows all about profit, loss
Driveway business so far a success on Del Valle Parkway

by Krista McCoy

A 7 year old entrepreneur in Pleasanton, CA... who woulda thunk?

I had the privilege of meeting this young man for myself as I was driving down Del Valle Parkway in Pleasanton last Thursday afternoon and just had to stop. Who could pass up an adorable little boy sitting at a table selling ice cream, Skittles and licorice?

At first my daughter and I were just going to stop and help support his business, but then I got to talking to his mom and learned so much about this brilliant child.

Reilly Curry is a 7-year-old entrepreneur in the making, but it all started around the age of 3. His mother started taking him to a wood-shop class to interact with other children and Reilly decided he was going to make wood blocks and sell them for 50 cents.

His mother didn't think anything of it, and had no clue people would be interested in buying wood blocks from her 3-year old son, but to her surprise she was wrong. Apparently handmade blocks from a 3-year old were a hit!

Currently in the second grade, home-schooled by his mother, Reilly wanted to take math to another level. He came to his mom with the idea of setting up a table outside of their house and selling goods to the high school students as they walk home from school. This is his Thursday math lesson.

His mother gave him a budget, took him to Costco and let him pick out some items to sell. He set up a business plan, figured out what products would gain the most profit and opened up his own little store. Reilly does the math on his own, figures out how much the total purchase costs each customer, and also figures out what change is due back to them. Can you say genius?

Reilly knows exactly how much profit he makes from each item he sells. He's learned that Skittles do not have as much of a profit as he'd like, so heads up... it may not be available to you next week. His mother does not give him any extra money to spend on his store so he uses the profit he makes to put back into his business.

By doing this weekly math activity, Reilly has learned how to add and subtract money, he's learned profit and loss, and also money management. He sets aside some of his profit and buys his own electronics and toys, currently saving up to buy himself a new skateboard.

If you're in the area I highly suggest you stop by and meet this 7-year-old entrepreneur next Thursday afternoon around 3 p.m. You can't miss him as you're driving down Del Valle Parkway.

Krista McCoy is a Pleasanton Realtor associated with Realty World - Town & Country. She can be reached at krista@kristamccoy.com.

Posted by Kris, a resident of another community, on Oct 2, 2011 at 1:58 pm

Way to go Reilly (and parents too)! Perhaps Reilly could teach the federal government a thing or two about balancing the budget and not spending more than it takes in! Take it to Washington DC little man!

Posted by Steve, a resident of the Parkside neighborhood, on Oct 2, 2011 at 4:29 pm

What a great story. How nice to see a child that is bright and determined. Also, I kept waiting as I read this story, expecting to hear that he was told to shut down his little business, and was very glad to hear that the local authorities have not intervened. this story definitely leaves you with hope for our future.....

Posted by Mike, a resident of the Highland Oaks neighborhood, on Oct 2, 2011 at 5:06 pm

Nice human-interest piece.

Go get 'em, kid.

I hope his mother is keeping her eye on health- and safety-related issues. The lemonade-stand business just isn't the same as it was back in the 60s.

Mike

Posted by reasonable parent, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Oct 3, 2011 at 5:37 pm

Great story --

I've got one of those little entrepeneurs in my household as well and am convinced that enterprising spirit is something some kids are just born with! However, I'm not sure home schooling has anything to do with it. Mine is a garden variety public school kid and he is just as capable of coming up with creative money making ideas.

Posted by radical, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Oct 3, 2011 at 7:27 pm

As a result of the story, the family will hear from the IRS about a missing business schedule C in their tax return, Social Security about missing withholding, CA FTB about sales tax revenue remittance, and the City about business permits and a disallowed retail activity in a residential area.

oh yeah, and expect a contact from the EPA about the origin of the wood used in manufacture of the blocks. Have fun, kid!