By Marci Lutsky
Normally in late June my kids are decompressing from a busy school year filled with nonstop activities. They would be going to the beach, visiting with family and friends and enjoying lazy mornings. If we weren’t in the middle of a pandemic, my kids would be looking forward to attending several weeklong camps ranging from art to sports. However, this is not a normal summer. As we found ourselves faced with a summer of no plans due to social distancing, we needed to get creative with how to fill our time. After throwing around a lot of different ideas, they decided to launch their own business called Adventure Twins.
Their concept is this-they create rustic soap and hand sanitizer dispensers with different designs. What started off as a fun idea has turned into so much more. They are learning about how to create and run a small business. It’s been such a fun process and I would encourage other kids with an idea to try to make something of it!
Once the kids, along with the help of their dad, figured out how to paint the jars and they found appropriate lids to serve as pumps, there were several more steps they needed to go through before being ready to launch. They needed to come up with a business name. Adventure Twins was an obvious one for kids who are always seeking out their next adventure! They needed to calculate costs and figure out the most cost effective places to buy their supplies. They needed to come up with a marketing plan. There was so much information to keep track of so they needed to learn how to create and maintain a spreadsheet. Before long their spreadsheet had different tabs and was color-coded (color coding a spreadsheet is very fun if you are nine!). They also needed to create social media pages for their business on Facebook and Instagram. Since my children don’t have their own social media accounts, we were able to help them with this. Also, we decided as family that a portion of the profits would be donated to a non-profit.
Once they got everything set up, it was time to launch their business. We started promoting their soap and hand sanitizer dispensers on social media wondering if anyone would want to buy them. Much to their surprise, the orders started coming in. In the two weeks since they launched Adventure Twins, over thirty-five dispensers have been sold! The kids are thrilled with their business venture. It’s giving them a major sense of accomplishment, helping to fill the long hours of summer and also helping them earn money to buy themselves things they want instead of having to ask their parents. It’s been such a joy to watch them learn and grow. If you have children who are looking for a summer activity, encourage them to start a business. Think about what they enjoy doing or making and turn it into something profitable. It will give them a sense of pride to know that they earned money themselves!
To learn more about Adventure Twins, you can visit them on Facebook and Instagram at @adventuretwinsvt. They will be donating a portion of their profits to an organization called For the Love of Dogs which is a shelterless dog rescue. I’m so proud of what my kids have created and look forward to continued success with their business!
Marci Lutsky is a local mom of nine year-old twins and can be reached at veggingattheshore@gmail.com.
