For kids, summertime offers
education in wage earning

By Becky Tiernan, Tulsa (OK) World
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News

TULSA, OK - If your 12-year-old is nagging you to buy him a pair of $159.99 Nike Air Pippins, suggest he try on a pair of work gloves instead.

As the school year winds down, many area pre-teens and teens are looking to the summer months as an opportunity to line their pockets.

And that's good, says David Peters, a Tulsa social worker. ``Any time you ave kids age 11 and older that are motivated to be productive, it's a good thing.''

Parents and children alike reap enormous benefits from young entrepreneurship.

Part-time contract work such as baby-sitting or lawn care helps develop a sense of responsibility and teaches kids how to manage money, Peters said. ``These are values that will provide them a strong footing down the road. ``I see teen-agers that say, `gimme, gimme, gimme,''' he continued. ``It's the fault of parents, because parents just give them the things they want.

``These kids have no sense of responsibility. They don't know how to handle money or budget money,'' Peters said. ``They know they want $150 tennis shoes, but have no idea what it takes to pay for these things.''

When a child pays for those high-priced tennis shoes or that car -- even partially -- he has some ownership, Peters said. ``And if they have ownership, they take better care of their things and are more appreciative when they receive gifts.''

Although a strong proponent of the work ethic, Peters said hard work should be balanced with an active social life.

``I do see a few kids who are so entrepreneurial -- have so many things going on -- that they have no life,'' Peters explained. ``Sometimes, that entrepreneurial spirit can become such a strong force that a child can lose the social aspect of just being a kid.''

David Korb, an 11-year-old member of the Young Farmers and Ranchers 4-H Club in Broken Arrow and a lawn care entrepreneur, is particularly careful to limit his work load.

``I've been trying to hold the yards down to two or three a day, so I can still spend time with my family,'' Korb said. ``And I want to take some field trips with the Astronomy Club of Tulsa.''

Into his second summer as a lawn care specialist, Korb is tackling his business with renewed vigor since attending ``Know How to Mow,'' a conference offered earlier this year by 4-H and the Tulsa Garden Center.

``Know How to Mow'' gave students the basics of lawn care and safety, stressed responsibility and touched on marketing, cash flow and many of the business aspects of mowing lawns, explained Jennifer Sterling, Urban 4-H program specialist.

``Because they're not old enough to drive or get jobs in retail or the food industry, they're forced to be more entrepreneurial,'' Sterling said. ``Lawn-mowing and baby-sitting are the two most popular summer jobs for kids ages 11 to 15.''

Currently, Korb has several regular customers, but hopes to expand his clientele in the coming weeks. At $15 to $20 each yard, within two years, the young businessman will earn enough money to realize his dream -- a computer.

Patrick McMahon's earnings are used to purchase camping supplies. McMahon, 13, is a seventh grader at Union Sixth and Seventh Grade Center and one of approximately 350 Tulsa area pre-teens and teen-agers who became Certified Baby-Sitters last year, according to Dannie Schultz, marketing specialist for health and safety services at the American Red Cross.

``We've been offering the program since the mid-1980s,'' she added.

The program provides children ages 11 and up with basic first aid training, safety, resources for emergencies, how to fill bottles, change diapers and entertain children with age-appropriate activities.

McMahon, who also is a Boy Scout, took the course through St. Benedict's Church in Broken Arrow. He uses his skills as a responsible negotiator and team player to aid families with boys, said his mother, Theresa McMahon.

``There are lots of families who have boys and want boys to baby-sit,'' she said. ``Patrick is used to responsibility because he's the oldest of four children.''

Occasionally he will splurge on a game of laser tag with his friends, but generally Patrick has proven exemplary in staying focused on his financial goals, Mrs. McMahon said.

He repays his parents for Boy Scout Camp Garland fees through baby-sitting his three sisters, Patrick added.

Although the ``business'' part of baby-sitting isn't part of the Red Cross curriculum, Lori Walz, church coordinator for the St. Benedict's class, felt that pricing and marketing were important issues.

``I told them to talk to the person for whom they'll baby-sit and then give them what you feel is a fair price -- before you agree to baby-sit,'' Walz said. ``So many kids that age are shy. Some people will take advantage of this.''

A poll of six area parents, who regularly hire baby-sitters, revealed an average acceptable rate of $3 per hour for one child and $1 an hour for each additional child.

Baby-sitters who drive and have their own transportation can add $1.50 to the final bill. If a baby-sitter is asked to perform other functions -- such as ferrying children to appointments or cooking dinner -- additional pay should be commensurate with those responsibilities.

Although lawn care and baby-sitting are most popular, they aren't the only entrepreneurial businesses area teens and pre-teens enjoy.

Sometimes, a particular skill or interest will lend itself to entrepreneurial success.

Last summer, Binoy Agarwal, a senior at Memorial High School, created a web page for his school. ``We use it as a way to let people know what's going on,'' he said.

``We've had 1,300 hits on the site,'' he continued. ``I've had alumni from London and Madagascar wanting information on former classmates.''

That was Agarwal's first attempt at designing a web page, but the avid computer buff has decided to develop this skill into a full-time summer business.

``I've talked to Mike Fine from Fine Airport Parking,'' Agarwal said. ``A friend and I have been working on a web page for him and we've been working on his computer system at his house -- reformatting the hard drive.

``I wasn't planning on designing web pages as a business. I was going to get a job at a bank or something,'' he continued. ``But I kept getting referrals. This is so much more fun.''

At $25 an hour, Agarwal will be financially prepared to tackle life as a college freshman.