Claire Biggin, age 12, can be found on most Saturdays in the summer at the Meridian Mainstreet Market selling baked goods and crafts from her business, Sprinkles of Joy. She’s often joined by her two younger brothers and her mom at her booth, but she does all of the preparation herself. She spends upwards of six hours each week in the kitchen baking and packaging her cookies, cakes and other items. She also makes crafts, her latest of which are flower pots and Idahome signs. Even though Claire only recently joined the Meridian community in March of 2020, she’s already giving back. She donates 10% of her profits to the Idaho Food Bank, a fact that is proudly written on her business card. Donating to local charities was something that started when, at age six, she participated in Lemonade Day, a program aimed to help foster life skills, character, and entrepreneurship in kids. “They told us to set aside money for charity,” she said, “and my parents kept that going through other businesses. I feel like it’s the right thing to do.” Claire wants to expand her business by adding pancake mix and chili mix to her booth at the market, all while continuing to donate to local charities.
Jacob Blackburn, age 12, spends most of his Thursday afternoons in the summer washing garbage cans around his neighborhood. He uses a pressure washer, a long handle scrubbing tool, and dish soap to get the job done. He spends at least ten minutes on each garbage can he washes. He got the idea after seeing other kids in his neighborhood doing something similar. He goes door-to-door handing out fliers advertising his services. The fliers have his contact information, as well as before and after photos of the garbage cans he’s cleaned—proof of his ability to clean them effectively. “I think getting work is good for me,” he said, “it gets me outdoors, rather than watching TV or playing video games.” Jacob’s ultimate goal this summer is to save up for a dirt bike. Jacob’s parents agreed to pay for half of the $5,000 bike, which leaves Jacob to earn $2,500. With Jacob’s current price of $10 per garbage can, it will take cleaning nearly 250 cans for him to get his bike. After he reaches this goal, Jacob plans to save up for a cell phone. To do that, he’s going to partner with his brother and expand by adding lawn mowing to his service list next summer.
When 15-year-old Abby Reinhardt isn’t doing extracurricular activities like student council, she designs, prints, and sells greeting cards, calendars, and other items on her Etsy shop, Daisy Jane Paper Co. Abby is a self-taught artist and learned through watching videos online. She makes beautiful designs and was encouraged to open up a business to sell her work. When COVID-19 hit, she found herself with some free time and decided to set up her shop. She got to work on not only designing her items on her iPad using the drawing app Procreate, but also on researching how to make her Etsy site appealing. She launched her shop in October of 2020 and has since made 36 sales. “I’ve learned a lot of valuable lessons from it,” she said, “like how to talk to customers and making sure I’m getting things done on time.” While she’s only partway through her time at Rocky Mountain High School, Abby is saving up the money from her business for college. She wants to attend BYU Provo. While she isn’t entirely sure what she wants to study yet, she’s considering graphic design among other majors. She plans to continue Daisy Jane Paper Co. at least until she graduates high school and possibly into college.
