What to do with an entrepreneur?

I'm not sure that every family has one, but ours sure does. My oldest, we'll call her Braveheart, has a unique mind that can bend and shape just about any circumstance into an opportunity to make money. I now know how Amway and pyramid schemes came into exsistence. It all started innocently enough with the all too familiar lemonaid stand. Thinking that this was a great teaching opportunity, I encouraged Braveheart to pay me back for all the CountryTime and styrofoam cups I purchased. "That's how it's done in the real world," I said. What I didn't count on is how cute and irrestible a little girl with a lemonaid stand can be in 100 degree weather. I didn't count on repeat customers or those that gave a tip. For a full afternoon's worth of work, Braveheart made $35.00. She was hooked.

A few years later I was suprised when a strange kid came knocking on the door demanding his pay. "Pay for what?" I asked. Apparently, Braveheart had hired him to deliver newspapers around the neighborhood for which she would pay him $5.00. Nevermind that the newspapers were old and set aside for recycling, nevermind that she didn't actually have $5.00 at the time, she had found a willing employee!

Fast forward another year and once again I find it necessary to have a talk with Braveheart about ethics. Afterall, it isn't ethical to loan out your lost tooth to other school children on the bus. It isn't ethical to trick parents into shelling out tooth fairy money under false pretenses. Visions of bailing this child out of jail for some white collar, corporate crime dance through my head.

Another year and now we have the bike shop. A place where all neighborhood children can come and have minor (sometimes turned major) repairs done. Where did the "good" parts come from? I was afraid to ask. Oh, and if you're thirsty while you're waiting, you can have a slushie from our new and improved lemonaid stand. All for a very good price of course.

Did I mention that I actually invested in duct tape? Yes, you too can own a custom made duct tape wallet for the bargain basement price of just $10. I was paid back within the week and made a $6.00 profit from additional sales.

It's hard not to encourage her. She's now nearly 16 years old and ready to take on her first real job. I know whoever hires her will be amazed at her work ethic. If they're smart they'll put her in charge of sales. She could sell glasses to a blind man.

She's not your typical teenage girl. She doesn't lose her head over silly crushes, instead she watches "The Big Idea with Donnie Deutch", Donald Trump is her hero and at the foot of her bed you'll find an issue of Fortune or Entrepreneur magazine. I'm quite certain that the day will come when she sits across the kitchen table and asks for a mere $40,000 to start up some whacky business that will revolutionize the way people think of dish soap and it probably will.