Young Entrepeneur

I was at CrossFit this morning during Open Gym to do my knee-hab. Open Gym is unstructured and folks are working on whatever skills they need or working on workouts they missed. One of my fellow attendees had his 2nd grader with him. I've seen her before but haven't really spoken with her.

As I was working my knees, she trotted over to me and asked if I would like a bracelet. For sure I want a bracelet! What colors do you have? As soon as I heard my favorites; green and purple, she knew the assignment.

I checked in with her once to see how the bracelet was crafted and to ask about the upcoming school year. She checked the bracelet around my wrist a couple times because, "You don't want it to be too tight or it will snap in a couple days."

I got through with my rehab, packed up my gear, and walked over to her for one last check. She was connecting the final links, and said, "Would you like this first bracelet to be free or would you like to pay for it?"

Isn't that fantastic phrasing? Such a delightful way to give me options, while also inviting me to recognize she is creating a product that is worth money.

"How much does it normally cost?" I asked.

I am not sure she gets this question very often because there was a pause for some thought.

"Normally the first bracelet is one or two."

"What about after that?"

More puckered eyebrows of deep thought...

"After that it's five."

Though I am unsure how her business model of "buy-more-pay-more" will work out in the long run, I was glad to pay $5 for my one-of-kind, hand-crafted bracelet.

As my favorite Nashville neighbor told Yessa when we felt like she had paid Yessa too much money for house and pet-sitting, "You are worth it and you deserve to be paid for your time."

I love the lessons the next generation has to teach us. You can be kind and still know your worth.