Beyond The Dead

Every month or so, our school opens up a glass front case in front of the cafeteria and calls it the "School Store." They sell pencils, erasers, notebooks, key chains, and other little trinkets for $0.25 to $1.00. My boys look forward to these school store days so they can buy 100 tiny erasers for 50 cents.

My entrepreneur Luke has figured out a new use for the school store. He buys highlighters for a quarter and then resells them to people visiting our house for $1.00.

He has made his room a store. His desk is the display case. He has bags full of change. He has made signs of all of his inventory and what the cost is. If you are looking for a glow-in-the dark bat that cost a dollar but is being resold for three, now you know where to go.

He even has a name for his store. He wanted a Halloween name because he only wants his store to be open around holidays and Halloween was the next upcoming holiday. I suggested Ghoulish Goodies. He said, "Too lame." I suggested Dracula's Castle. He said, "Too old school." I don't even know what that means. I said, "Well what about something like 'The Other Side'?" And he said, "I know! Beyond the Dead!" I don't know if I'd shop at a store with that name, but I obviously had no acceptable options so he went with it.

He even gave me a job. He told me that I could be in charge of making the change. But, I got fired less than an hour later because I wouldn't let him have candy before dinner.

A compelling name, a varied inventory, seasonal hours, low overhead, a no-nonsense approach to managing, a 500% markup. I think I have a successful business owner in the making.

So, if you stop by for a visit be prepared to leave with something from the store. Luke is a very persuasive salesman. And he has thirteen dollars in profits to prove it.