I was thirteen years old when I started my first job, back in 1983; I was still at school but worked in a small supermarket. My job was sorting and packing empty one litre glass soda bottles that had been returned by customers for their deposit of 0.20 cents for each. They were sent out for recycling but had to go back to the specific soda companies like Coke-a-Cola, PepsiCo and Woodroffe (now owned by Asahi/Schweppes), so they needed sorting. It wasn't too bad as far as jobs go and I earned about $35 a week working around 2-3 hours each night after school. About six months later I doubled that by moving over to the larger supermarket chain in town and eventually picked up a few more hours and a better hourly rate so by the time I was seventeen I was earning around $150-$160 a week after-school.
I started paying my parents board and lodgings as soon as I started earning and learned some valuable lessons around the value of money and of the reward for effort ethos; working for my own money, and having to pay my own way in many aspects from that point, was a great learning experience. When I moved out of home (kicked out) at seventeen and a half and got my first full-time job earning far more money than before I knew how to handle it and was (mostly) sensible with it.
Mr. Bonkers and his entrepreneurial ways
A few days ago, I was on a video chat with Mr. Bonkers, my four year old nephew, and took the opportunity to ask about his new job. His dad had told me about it a couple days earlier but I wanted to hear the story first-hand.
From a young age, my nephew would go to work like his dad. He'd act out various work scenarios and take it very seriously; it was fun to watch his imagination at play.
So, I wasn't surprised to hear he had decided, at four and a half years old, that it was time for him to get a real job. My brother had to think fast and he came up with collecting bottles and drink cans for recycling which still have a deposit amount built into the purchase price. Return them to a recycling facility and they count them and pay out the deposit for each, somewhere between 0.05 and 0.20 cents depending on the type of bottle or can. Mr. Bonkers took to it like a millionaire waiting to happen.
My Nephew is approaching it more as a business than a job to be honest and has been out and about working on gaining customers, business development. So far he has got five customers: The neighbours on either side of their house, his day care centre, his violin teacher and his parents of course. He's planning an expansion into such areas as his swimming centre and the Japanese restaurant that his mum's friends own. I'd say he's on the right track, don't you think?
I asked what happens in his job and he gave me a full technical explanation:
I go next door, go up the stairs, knock on the door and ask if they have any bottles. If they have bottles, I put them in my bag and then go home.
That seems simple enough.
My brother was telling me the first time Mr. Bonkers went out working it took him about four attempts to get to the front door of the neighbours house; he'd get to the neighbours gate, walk back home, go back to the gate and look up at the house, go back home and so on. Finally he made it to the door and the neighbour was accommodating and handed him a couple empty bottles. Of course, my brother had it all pre-arranged for him with both neighbours and the new business expansion has been pre-arranged also. The cool thing is though, is that they're getting my nephew to take the lead.
I wish I'd been there to see him make his first transaction. Apparently he looked so cute dragging his bag along to the next door neighbour's house, a bag bigger than himself.
On my video chat I asked what he will do with the money and, to his credit, he said save it...which he promptly followed up with, and then buy Lego. Yep, he's surely my nephew with comments like that!
I can't help but think back to my own youth when I did similar things. I'd work around home and earn a coin or two and sometimes see the neighbours and help there too. It helped that I grew up in a small rural town and everyone knew everyone. I'd walk around the area going to houses and asking if there were any jobs to do and most would have something I could help with. It taught me many lessons and I'm really glad to see that my brother is doing the same thing with his own son.
Work ethic is something I believe should be instilled in a person from a young age along with the ethos of reward for effort.
It doesn't matter what we are working towards, be it money, respect, accolades, qualifications, promotions, employment, a place on the team...it doesn't matter what it is, effort should be applied - there should be no free rides; It's through applying effort, persistence, consistency and other such attributes that good things come. We live in a world where the expectation ethos is rife and in which people seem to feel they're owed something just for turning up, it happens here on Hive also. It's wrong though, and I feel it will lead many down the wrong path...It already has I think.
I'm glad to see that my nephew is being taught a few lessons and that he's really enjoying the process. Sure, he's still young, but he'll remember these experiences and the lessons will sink in so he can draw on them later in life like I did.
Did you have a little job as a small kid, doing chores for a few coins maybe? Did you have a part time job when you were young and if so did you learn anything that stuck with you into your adult life? Feel free to comment below if you'd like.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default; tomorrow isn't promised so be humble and kind - galenkp
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Any images in this post are my own.
You were an industrious young lad, weren't you? It must be something in the KP genes. Of course, you can possess it and do nothing with it, learning how to reign it in and work for you is a skill.
I did have a part-time job when I was younger, but I think what most stuck with me are the lessons that we were taught along the way that made us succeed in these jobs and in life. Your appearance tells a lot about who you are. Dressing funky is fine, but, doing it for a job interview is not. While you may think this is a no-brainer, it really isn't for many people. If nothing else, behaving appropriately is another one of those things that seems clear cut, but, really, it is not. I think my parents raised us. To be honest and use a moral compass.
I would love to see this young nephew in about thirty years... Let's meet up here and you can reevaluate him. :)
Hi, Galen!
I have a good work ethic I guess, that doesn't mean I'm a slave to my job though, just that when I'm working, I apply effort. I think that is part of my nature and also partly due to my experiences. Those lessons I learned working at those supermarkets and doing those other chores as a younger kid have all paid dividends and together with the experiences I had into my twenties and beyond...yeah, I like to think they all combined to bring me success.
You say, behaving appropriately, and I think lessons that lead to that should begin early and as they are built upon it becomes part of the person. Sure, we don't always fly straight as an arrow, but that moral compass will always push or pull us in line if it's highly developed.
Mr. Bonkers is a good lad. He's a kid of course, but has some really nice qualities and I see some valuable traits in him that, once developed will pay huge dividends. I'll not be around in thirty years, but if I was I think I'd be feeling great pride for him.
Reward - and it's counterpart, consequence - absolutely need to be taught at an early age. Good for the boy. Good for the parents! Saving for Lego is a definite achievement.
I'm not a parent however I know many who are, some of which don't seem to have the time to spend with their kids; thrusting a device in their hands so they can play candy crush isn't parenting and will come with consequences down the track. I'm glad to see both my brothers putting in some effort with their kids and the results are plain to see.
Indeed it is, and even at my age I still do it. Lol.
It's such a confusing world today. Even in a good neighborhood it may not be safe for kids to do the things we did when we grew up. I tell my kids about how my brother and I started businesses together and they say, "Dad. We don't live in the 80s like you do."
Your brother was wise to oversea and set up clients for his son. Parents in the 1970s were generally not involved with their kid's lives and actually didn't know where we were half the time.
There is sometimes a conflict in raising kids to give them room to grow, but also giving them a safe environment.
I was talking to my brother yesterday and he was updating my on our budding business tycoon who seems to be quite focused on gathering revenue. It's so good to see him taking some initiative and getting excited about working. Sure, he want's Lego to be the ultimate rewards but who cares what it is (at the age of four) if he's taken the responsibility to earn it for himself.
Mr. Bonkers has a good start 👍
I am wondering about the reaction of your nephew when he will find out about the simulation he was being an entrepreneur in created by his parents.
Also, it's such a early age. I wonder about the cuteness overloaded when he knocks on doors. While it seems beautiful, it's dangerous to do a similar experiment or training in some parts of Pakistan.
When you gifted him enough legos, he was surely fell in love with them. I will be eagerly waiting for what lego toy he will buy with him first payout.
Good luck to my little entrepreneur. Sending love from Pakistan to my little angel!
A message to my little angel is: Don't burnout, one little step at a time and all will be fine.
This whole exercise is about the learning experience and it's all been pre-arranged by my brother. My nephew would never be allowed to knock on random doors and wander about without supervision, it's far too dangerous, probably for different reasons than in Pakistan, but dangerous all the same.
I'll probably do a post on his progress eventually and maybe also for when he buys his first Lego with money he earned himself.
He's really a good kid and is learning some great lessons, developing his personality, and gaining valuable skills that, once part of his nature, will help him navigate what's going to be a very complicated world when he's older.
You must be the inspiration of your hardworking nephew, Sir. You started working at 13 and then him at 4 years old. Wow! So amazing. I could not imagine how a kid could think like that while with his dad, and I could say that he is possessing a great work ethics.
As an old proverb goes, that is, "train up a child the way he should go, and when he grows old, he will never depart from it".
Mr. Bonkers is so inspiring. Surely not all kids are like him. I must say that he is a future millionaire! !PIZZA
He's a good kid and my brother does a really good job instilling the right attributes in him and helping him develop. Time will tell how he grows up and what type of adult he will be, but he's off to a good start.
Oh, Mr. Bonkers is the sweetest thing. Though, I don't think he'd like me to call him that. I should think he'd reach up to give me a sound knock on the head for using the term 'sweet' on him. Lol.
But you all should watch out though, that's an Elon in waiting. You can tell the business affiliated ones from little and I hope there are pictures and videos to remind him when he goes big that he started this long ago.
Some might say, he takes after his dearest uncle. I was never the business one, though I can recall organizing singing shows with my sisters. A one hour show went for about a dollar, dutifully attended by my parents and the neighbours. Fun times.
We call each other bonkers, we wear it like a badge of honour and always have a laugh when we begin our video chats with, g'day Mr Bonkers!
I think it's a really cool thing for parents to introduce their kids to adult concepts as kids, in the right manner of course. My parents did it with me and my brothers do it with their kids...both my niece (@smallsteps) and my nephew are great kids.
Since I was a very young girl, I worked in my maternal grandmother's grocery and candy store. I would have about 10 years after I got home from school, I would go to work, I would take care of putting what they bought in the bags, and they would tip me for it, and on Saturdays, I would receive my payment.
I gathered money, and then I opened my first savings account with the help of my mother, it was the beginning of the sense of saving and how to manage my money to this day.
Very good evening, Galen 🤗
You have had a similar experience to that which I had then, and I think it's such a great head start on life. A kids brain is a sponge and to get the right thoughts in there early on is almost certain to ensure they stick.
You are very amazing. As a child, I have never started to make money. You were even able to make up to $150 in a week. That is where greatness starts from. There is no doubt that you will become a great person.
It was quite normal for young people to have after school jobs back when I was growing up. These days automation is removing most of those jobs the the youth of today spend their time doing whatever it is they do, probably not much I guess. We will grow and develop commensurate to the experiences we have and I think my nephew is off to a good start.
Brings back memories of doing my morning and afternoon paper rounds as a youth. I also had a side hustle selling porn mags at school as none of my friends were brave enough to buy them themselves and technically weren’t old enough. I knew this one newsagent though where they just wanted ykur money so i would grab the magazines off the top shelf walk up to the counter and look the lady dead in the eye and hold out a five pound note. We both knew Imwas too young but we both also knew she would take the cash. Imwould sell them to my mates for a hefty mark up. Ahhh the days before the internet
Paper rounds were a thing here too, I never had one as I did other things, but it was a common thing.
I like your little side-gig, that was smart. These days the kids just take nude pictures of themselves and send them via text message I guess, I'm not sure if money changes hands...chlamydia probably does though.
Eh eh I would say that he was very precocious, starting to do business at four years old is not bad, he has the road paved ahead of him, I am sure that a great future awaits him.
Among other things, he already knows what to do with money, two excellent choices, savings and lego ... it really looks like you!
In any case, at his age I certainly wasn't so enterprising, but I soon started to find small jobs, already at 15 I was doing house moves and also leafleting; occasional jobs on call but still allowed me to scrape together some money to put aside.
It's all about teaching him some valuable life-lessons and I think it's working really well. We spoke about his little business and he seems excited about it, is not afraid of the work involved and is keen to save the revenue for Logo...Smart kid.
I loved having some money as a kid. I was able to buy people things without having to ask and, because I pretty much paid my own way in many aspects, I learned independence, ownership and responsibility.
Yes, in fact, I believe that the main thing about the little jobs you do as a child is just that, learning some important life lessons.
You learn how to save money, how to manage yourself and how to manage money and independence... plus you can buy lego which never hurts 😉
Many lessons are learned as a kid and I think the ones around work-ethic is important...as is buying Lego. 😋
I was never able to work at an early age, as I was always in a boarding facility where pupils and students can only do as their told.
However, work ethics is something I will very much love to teach my children, because I know first hand the effect it causes as an adult.
Your nephew is one lucky kid.
Work ethic is certainly important and it can be taught or acquired in many ways. If you have a think about it, I'm sure you'll come up with some excellent ways to teach your kids and when they're adults and their lives are their own they'll thank you for it.
I remember working on saturdays when my school arent on holidays. But when we are, i like to go with one of our neighbor, to do a hard job.
I was around 13 to 14 i think, but i looker muscular and fit for the job even tho may dad was against it. I still went because I saw other older kids doing it. although they were older, we are almost the same in size.
It was a very hard job to do(its a building work with all the sand,cement and stuff) but I do learned a lot from it.
Not really about the money for me because I had to use that to get myself pain reliever drugs most times due to my body aches and headaches sometimes. But i learned to grow with the pain and with time it became easy, even though they paid me shit money because I was small I didnt let that bother me I just do it to either prove to myself that I can do whatever I set my mind to.
Learning how to deal with hard work is a good lesson for a kid growing up. I also think going back time after time to a job that is a little difficult is a good way to generate persistence and staying power. It's good that you endured the hard work, despite the low pay and that you've learned some lessons along the way.
I remember my first "side hustle", I used to sell MP3 and MP4 players back in fourth grade, that's where it started at least. It went on till 8th grade, soon enough the whole school was coming up to me to purchase these things, sometimes even giving custom orders to find them a certain device haha.
Later a friend and I opened an "official" business online. We would import earphones, music players, anything related to music. We were way ahead of our time with this tech/music business and the online marketplace too. Sadly, after a year of growth some new investors and partners got involved, and then some of their impulsive decisions led that business downhill.
Having the drive to do such things as a kid forces the brain to think differently I believe. It brings responsibility, injenuity and creative thought that can help later in life as happened with you and your business expansion. Sitting in front of a video game as a ten year old teaches a person the wrong things, it's best to be out an about experiencing the world and building valuable skills.
That's the truth. My hustle mentality back then paved the way for me, acting as the foundation, and to this day that foundation still remains strong.
Good or bad, too much exposure to a certain thing is never good, balance is key. Back then I've had my fair share of videogame experiences too, but I also made sure that I had some real life goals and hobbies too.
I'm not a fan of video games, never really was. I never saw it as productive or interesting as life always held more interesting things for me.
Everyone's got their own set of hobbies and preferences, like videogames are a on and off thing for me. Whenever I'm spending most of my time at home, it's videogames or reading for me.
We really don't have too many outdoor options here. The very few scenic miracles we do have are all hundreds of kilometers away, and even that search for nature and peace is killed because of the unbearable traffic, absurd costs and an out of control capital city population. That's why most of the people here seek refuge under their own roofs.
Back in those days when I was doing part time work, I remember my pay was around 6 SGD per hour (equivalent to 4.50 USD per hour). Definitely way more now. It was more of a data entry job, which didn't require much thinking, but I guess it was an eye opener to see what the working world was like - interacting with colleagues that you see 10 hours a day, jostling with the crowds during lunch hours in the business district, etc.
You we are doing data entry when you were just a kid?
Was a teenager by then, hehe!
I think it was too early to do a job. It means you have started working from the early age..
If you don't mind I wanna know the reason to move out of home.
What!!! It seems impossible but your nephew seems intelligent and business minded.
I am hopeful that he will be a very good businesses in the future and shine in life.
It's never too early to begin learning lessons that will carry one forward through life.
My mother told me to leave. She was angry with me for something and that was how she dealt with it. She didn't expect me to actually leave, but I did and never went back. The best thing I ever did, although starting out in the world at that young age wasn't easy. I made it work though, and learned many things along the way.
Also, you use the word wanna which is not a word in the English language. The correct ones are, want to. Using the right words will make you seem more intelligent and your writing more interesting. Just a suggestion.
No mother expects it. I am sure your mother was very sad when you left. Besides, I think it was hard for you to take the decision. And facing so many difficulties at such kind of young age means you were brave.
wanna= want to, I knew about it but till now I thought "wanna" was also correct. Thank you for correcting me and for giving suggestions. From now I will use the correct one🙂.
Without the fact, it's difficult for you to comment on it all I guess. Thanks for trying though.
I grew up on a piss ant poor Pensyl-Tucky dairy farm. So by 10 years of age. I had mastered driving, (tractors) and many other farm related hands on labor intensive back breaking skills. I am sure some child labor laws were broken also.
Will work for food was a way of life back then.
Growing up in the country is different than the city thankfully, I know what I would rather. You learned work-ethic from a young age and still apply it today.
Thank You.
I have never been afraid of hard work. But these days I would rather do easy work and less of it. 😂
Fkn-A bro.
$PIZZA slices delivered:
@pinkchic(3/5) tipped @galenkp (x1)