Tag Archives: Steve Searfoss

by Jennifer Reed/ bookjunkiez | March 21, 2024 · 5:00 am

KidVenture: Through the Maze Virtual Book Tour

KidVenture Vol. 3

Middle Grade Fiction

Date Published: 03-30-2023

Chance, Addie and Sophie launch a new venture when they get lost in the
country and stumble on the idea of starting a corn maze business. They
quickly discover that while it’s easy to rush into a maze, finding
your way out is hard. They will need to convince an investor to fund the
venture, persuade a reluctant farmer to let them build their maze on his
corn field, and figure out a way to work with his headstrong nephew. Along
the way they will realize just how little they know about planting corn,
designing mazes and writing business plans. Through many twists and turns
—and dead ends— they will learn how to keep a partnership
together and what the true job of a leader is. There’s only one thing
harder than finding your way out of a maze: creating a maze people want to
get lost in.

EXCERPT

When I get really lost, usually I ask for help. This time
though, I was feeling so disoriented, I didn’t even think to
ask for help. Fortunately, help came to me.
I went for a walk right after lunch and my blow-up with
Cody. I told my sisters I just needed to clear my head and
I’d be right back. I like going on walks when there’s too
much to think about. The walking makes me feel like I’m
making progress, even if the thoughts are still stuck in me
and unorganized.
I must have been walking longer than I thought. I had
drifted off Farmer Tannenbaum’s property and was walking
on the dirt road, back to town.
I was almost at the alpaca farm when a car stopped and
asked if I needed a ride.
“Dad?” I was surprised to see him. “What are you doing
here?”
“Hop in, Son.”
I opened the door and complied.
“Where are we going?”
“Fire department.”
“What?”
“Working on getting a permit from the Fire Marshall,” my
dad said. “Why don’t you come with me?”
“How did you know I was on the road?”
“I didn’t,” my dad chuckled. “I’m just as surprised as you
are.”
“Oh.” And here I thought my dad knew I was in trouble and
came to fetch me. I kind of liked that idea.
“I just came by to get some signatures from Brock,” my dad
explained. “And ask him about water sources and fire
prevention measures.”
“I see.”
www.kidventurebook.com
KidVenture Vol 3: Through The Maize – Long Excerpt
“Let me tell you, dealing with the county is a lot easier than
dealing with the city.”
“Did you see Addie and Sophie?”
“Yeah.”
“How are they doing?”
“Oh they’re fine,” my dad said nonchalantly. “Cody put
them to work clearing what will become the parking area.”
“Oh.”
I didn’t know whether to be mad that Cody was making
decisions without me again, or relieved that Cody was still
on board and the maze project was still moving forward.
“You ok?” My dad peered over at me as he turned onto a
new road. “I was surprised not to see you there.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I just needed to clear my head.”
“How’s it going, working with Cody?”
“It’s alright, I guess.” I looked out the window.
“Really?” My dad wasn’t satisfied with my answer. “There
seemed to be some tension between you the other day.”
“I just got annoyed because he wanted to take credit for
my idea.”
“What was your idea?”
“I said we should move the bridge so it’s easier to see from
the road.”
“That is a good idea.”
“I know!” I suddenly got animated. “It is a good idea, and it
was my idea, but then he wanted to take credit for it.”
“Why is it important you get the credit?” my dad asked.
I hadn’t thought about the reason why. It seemed too
obvious to think about.
“Because — I came up with the idea,” I probably sounded
a little annoyed. “So I should get the credit.”
“What’s more important to you, that you have a successful
business, or that you get credit for your ideas?”
www.kidventurebook.com
KidVenture Vol 3: Through The Maize – Long Excerpt
“Well, both.”
“Pick one.”
“Why do I have to pick one?”
“Just pick one.”
“To have a successful business.”
“That’s right,” my dad said, turning onto yet another road.
At this point, I didn’t know if the fire station was really far
away, if we were lost, or if my dad was driving in circles so
we could keep talking. It didn’t matter to me. “I made you
pick one because more often than not, that’s how it works.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Your job is to make sure the corn maze business is
successful, right?”
“Right.”
“You’re the leader.”
“Um…” I wasn’t sure what to say.
“Are you the leader?”
I still wasn’t sure what to say.
“This whole idea, this venture, came together because of
you,” my dad said. “So let me ask you again, are you the
leader?”
“Yes,” I said unevenly. “Even though Cody doesn’t act like I
am.”
“That’s because you’re training him to act like you’re not
the leader.”
“What?” I almost shouted. “How can you say that?”
“Well let’s break it down,” my dad said. “Why did you
suggest moving the bridge closer to the road?”
“Because, that way, more people will see it as they drive
by,” I sat up in my seat as if I were in court and giving a
sworn statement in my defense. “And if more people see it,
more people will want to come to the maze. It’s free
advertising.”
“Yes, it is. So you suggested it because it’s what was best
for the business, getting more people to the maze. Right?”
“Right.”
www.kidventurebook.com
KidVenture Vol 3: Through The Maize – Long Excerpt
“Or did you suggest it just so Cody could be impressed by
your acute business sense and strategic acumen?”
“Come on, Dad,” I said. “You don’t need to mock me.”
“Fair enough,” he said. “Did Cody agree to move it?”
“Yes.”
“Because he saw it was a good idea. In other words, it was
something that would help the business.”
“Yes.”
“So there’s your credit right there,” my dad said. “Cody
moved the bridge after you suggested it.”
“Yeah but—”
My dad cut me off. “So at that moment, you were the
leader. You had an idea, Cody saw the merit of the idea, he
followed your lead, and moved the bridge, right?”
“Right.”
“So why is it important that he also give you credit
publicly?” My dad lingered over the word also.
“Because then he tried to pass it off as his own idea,” I
protested. “And that’s not fair.”
“Do you want things to be fair, or do you want to have a
successful business?”
My dad turned to look at me. It was a good thing we were
on a deserted country road and there were barely any
other cars around.
“Pick one.”
“Successful business,” I muttered.
“I wish things were always fair, and we always got the
recognition we deserve,” my dad said, not unkindly.
I just grumbled.
“Why do you think Cody tried to take credit?”
“I don’t know.”
“Think about it.”
My dad pulled into the fire station and parked. He kept the
motor running so we could keep talking.
www.kidventurebook.com
KidVenture Vol 3: Through The Maize – Long Excerpt
“Did Cody take credit because he wanted to hurt you?”
“Um….” I hadn’t really thought about it. “I don’t think so.”
“Maybe he was excited,” my dad said. “Maybe he was
excited and wanted to share the idea. Or maybe he just
wanted to impress his uncle.”
“His uncle?”
“Yes, Brock is his uncle.”
“Oh.”
“You didn’t know that?”
“I think I forgot.”
“Yeah, he’s his uncle. I’m sure Cody wanted to impress
him, just like you wanted to impress me.”
I gulped. I really hadn’t thought about it, but now that my
dad said it, I recognized the truth in what he was saying. I
did want to impress my dad. I had a great idea and I
wanted my dad to know it. Especially after feeling helpless
all day hauling wood and being Cody’s glorified assistant.
“Son, I know it was your idea.” He patted me on the back. I
mean he literally patted me on the back. “And I know it was
a good idea.”
“Thanks.” It did feel good to hear that. I needed the boost.
“Think about it, maybe Cody just wanted his uncle to think
he had a good idea.”
“But…”
“I know. It’s not fair,” my dad agreed. “But try to imagine a
different way.”
“A different way?”
“What if you had let Cody take the credit?”
“Um…”
“What if Cody got a chance to impress his uncle, and be
excited about building the bridge? How would Cody feel?”
“Good, I supposed.”
“Would he be more or less excited to work on the business
and help make it successful?”
www.kidventurebook.com
KidVenture Vol 3: Through The Maize – Long Excerpt
“More.”
“Would he be more or less likely to want to offer ideas after
that?”
“More.”
“And Cody knows it was your idea. But letting him take
credit, would that make him more or less likely to want to
follow your lead next time?”
Suddenly I didn’t feel so good. “More.”
“Instead…” my dad continued —I was grimacing at this
point— “instead, what has he learned from this
interaction?”
“That it’s a competition.”
“Exactly,” my dad said. “You’re training him to think it’s a
competition, only one person can get credit, so you’d better
guard your ideas carefully and only express them where
everyone can see that they’re yours.”
I sighed loudly. “I see that now.”
“You’re training him to see you as an adversary and not as
a leader. For him to win, you must lose.”
“That’s terrible,” I said. “I did that?”
My dad nodded seriously.
“But all I said is that it was my idea.”
“Yes,” my dad said sympathetically. “But saying that is also
saying all these other things.”
“What can I do?”
“You’re the leader, Chance,” my dad said. “Keep your eyes
on the prize.”
“The prize?”
“Growing the business,” my dad said. “Do that, and you’ll
get lots of credit.”
“I will?”
“First time you hear a family say they’re at your maze
because they saw the bridge…well that’s credit enough.”
“True,” I agreed. Sort of. It wasn’t that easy. “But Cody
doesn’t respect me.”
“How do you know that?”
I was silent.
www.kidventurebook.com
KidVenture Vol 3: Through The Maize – Long Excerpt
“He moved the bridge, didn’t he?”
I nodded.
“That’s respect.”
I nodded again.
“Listen Chance, if you want to be a successful leader, you
need to treat people how you want them to be, not how
they are.”
“What do you mean?”
“How do you want Cody to be? Do you want him to be
someone excited to work on the business, eager to share
ideas, someone who gets to go home every day and brag
to his uncle how many great ideas he had?” my dad held
up his hands and used air quotes when he said he. “Or do
you want him to be someone resentful, who doesn’t share
ideas, who’s not excited to work on the business, someone
who believes the only way he can get recognition is if you
don’t?”
“The first, obviously.”
“Then treat him like the first, even when he’s acting like the
second.”
I looked at my dad skeptically.
“Try it,” he said. “I can’t guarantee it will work, but I can
definitely guarantee the second approach will not work.”
www.kidventurebook.com
KidVenture Vol 3: Through The Maize – Long Excerpt
“I see that already.”
“We train people how to treat us by how we react to them,”
my dad said. “You’re training Cody to act like your
adversary because that’s how you’re reacting to him. Like
an adversary.”
“But it really does feel like he’s my adversary.”
“So stop treating him like one.”
“What should I do instead?”
“Treat him like someone who’s a really valuable member of
your team.”
“Like a partner.”
“Like a partner,” my dad said. “And partners let partners
take credit.”
I still didn’t like that part.
“And you know what?”
“What?” I answered.
“If you’re the kind of leader that lets other people take
credit for your ideas, most of those people are going to
love following you.”
“They will?”
“Sure they will,” my dad turned the engine off. “Because
they get to be heroes in their own story.”

About the Author

KidVenture stories are business adventures where kids figure out how to
market their company, understand risk, and negotiate. Each chapter ends with
a challenge, including business decisions, ethical dilemmas and
interpersonal conflict for young readers to wrestle with. As the story
progresses, the characters track revenue, costs, profit margin, and other
key metrics which are explained in simple, fun ways that tie into the
story.

Contact Links

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Tagged as KidVenture: Through the Maze, Middle Grade Fiction, Steve Searfoss

by Jennifer Reed/ bookjunkiez | April 7, 2023 · 5:00 am

KidVenture: There’s No Plan Like No Plan Virtual Book Tour

KidVenture: There's No Plan Like No Plan banner

KidVenture Vol. 2

Middle Grade Fiction

Date Published: 02-23-2022

Chance & Addie are back for a new adventure. Riding high off of the
success of their first business, they decide to launch a new venture, this
time shoveling snowy driveways in the winter. They are full of confidence:
they have a team of kids, a shed full of shovels, repeat customers, and,
best of all, a great plan. But sometimes the perfect plan can get in the way
of adapting to something as fickle as the weather. Will they learn to be
flexible and figure how to make this new venture work? They’re losing money
fast as new challenges pile up faster than the falling snow. Perhaps a
curious new partner can show them the way.

EXCERPT

I ordered a chocolate milk and a cookie. I know it wasn’t terribly professional of me to be drinking chocolate milk at my first official meeting with an investor, but I couldn’t resist. It’s chocolate milk. Who doesn’t love chocolate milk? And Dad was paying.

Ok so it wasn’t exactly an official meeting. Not really. I knew that Dad met weekly with Mr. Dubois at the coffee shop to go over the progress of their venture. I asked Dad if I could come along and at first he said no, but after much pleading and begging he finally agreed, but only if I could sit quietly during the meeting as they had important things to talk about. And then he offered to get me a cookie and chocolate milk, assuming that would keep me occupied and quiet.

Mr. Dubious arrived in a huff, quickly declared he was sorry he was late, plunked his briefcase down on the table and hurried to order his coffee, but not before shooting me a what-are-you-doing- here look. He returned a moment later with a tiny coffee cup. It looked like it held just a couple of sips, really one decent gulp. Yet he managed to sip at it throughout the meeting, gripping it fussily with his index finger and thumb, while his other fingers fanned out as if to announce to the world, “not now, go away.” His eyebrows had grown angrier since the last time I saw him. They were blacker, bigger, meaner and closed ranks into an impenetrable wall every time he took a sip of his espresso.

I tried to follow the conversation as best I could, but I have to admit I was pulled away by my cookie. There was a big chunk of macadamia in the middle. Who likes macadamia? If you ask me, it’s just an excuse to not put more chocolate chips into the cookie.

So at first I was eating around the giant nut strategically, thinking I’d just leave it on my plate when I was done. But then I realized there was a nice chunk of chocolate next to it, so about halfway through I switched gears and decided to nibble at the macadamia, and mix a bite of nut with a bit of chocolate and so, yes, maybe I

did get a little distracted and didn’t quite catch everything they said.

I did hear them talk about stock options and pricing models and cost basis and something about a vesting period, which I assumed meant they were supposed to wear vests for a certain amount of time, though I’m not sure why. I made a mental note to ask Dad about it later.

The meeting was over before I knew it. I hadn’t even finished the cookie! There was still a half-eaten chunk of macadamia left on the plate, taunting me. Everything I had planned to say to Mr.

Dubious went out the window.

“Wait!” I exclaimed, just as Mr. Dubious was standing to leave. He turned to me, his two eyebrows moving like searchlights to find the culprit who had disrupted his exit.

“Can I ask you something,” I said nervously. “Mr. Doobie—” I started to call him Mr. Dubious, realized my mistake as the word was coming out, tried to switch to Mr. Dubois and instead ended up calling him Dr. Doobie. Not a great start to my sales pitch.

He just nodded.

“Mr. Dubois,” I said, regaining my composure, making sure to pronounce his name as flawlessly as I could.

“Yes, that is my name,” he said flatly, shooting a questioning look at my father.

“I have a proposal,” I said, speeding up, realizing I didn’t have a lot of time. “Look, you’re obviously busy and I don’t want to waste your time.”

“Yes, let’s not waste my time.”

“I was wondering if you wanted to invest in my new company.”

He just stared at me. If it was possible for his eyebrows to jump off his face and strangle me, I’m sure they would have.

“It’s a…a…a new business.” I needed to focus and stay calm. I resolved to look at the spot on the wall above his head so I wouldn’t get intimidated.

“It’s a snow shoveling business. We’re going to make a lot of

money. And I wanted to…uh” I made the mistake of looking back down at him. I quickly looked back up at the spot on the wall. “…and I wanted to give you the opportunity to participate in this great, um, opportunity.”

Mr. Dubious smiled widely. I couldn’t tell if he was smiling because he liked the idea, or if he was smiling in anticipation of the bloodbath that was to come. It was hard to get a good read on him, between glancing at him and the spot on the wall above his head.

“What makes it a great opportunity?” he asked. Dubiously, I might add.

“Because we already did it once,” I said, mustering the courage to look him in the eye. “Over the summer, with our pool cleaning business. It’s the same idea, only for winter. So there’s really no risk, because you know I can do this.”

“How do I know you can do this?” The smile, if anything, widened. “Because I’ve already done it once before.”

“And how do I know it wasn’t just luck?”

“Luck!” I practically shouted. Now I was offended. “It wasn’t luck. You wouldn’t say that, not if you saw how hard I worked.”

“You can work hard all day digging a ditch,” Mr. Dubious said calmly. “That doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.”

“But…but…”

I couldn’t think of what to say. I was literally speechless. I had rehearsed my pitch to Mr. Dubious over and over again in front of the bathroom mirror, trying to anticipate what he’d say. I thought he would ask me questions like how many people we had on the crew and if we had shovels. You know, real questions. Important stuff. Not this luck stuff.

“But we have a plan,” I said, regaining my footing. “A real plan. It’s a good plan. Want to see it?”

About the Author

I wrote my first KidVenture book after years of making up stories to teach
my kids about business and economics. Whenever they’d ask how something
works or why things were a certain way, I would say, “Let’s pretend you
have a business that sells…” and off we’d go. What would start as a
simple hypothetical to explain a concept would become an adventure spanning
several days as my kids would come back with new questions which would spawn
more plot twists. Rather than give them quick answers, I tried to create
cliffhangers to get them to really think through an idea and make the
experience as interactive as possible.

I try to bring that same spirit of fun, curiosity and challenge to each
KidVenture book. That’s why every chapter ends with a dilemma and a
set of questions. KidVenture books are fun for kids to read alone, and even
more fun to read together and discuss. There are plenty of books where kids
learn about being doctors and astronauts and firefighters. There are hardly
any where they learn what it’s like to run small business. KidVenture
is different. The companies the kids start are modest and simple, but the
themes are serious and important.

I’m an entrepreneur who has started a half dozen or so businesses and
have had my share of failures. My dad was an entrepreneur and as a kid I
used to love asking him about his business and learning the ins and outs of
what to do and not do. Mistakes make the best stories — and the best
lessons. I wanted to write a business book that was realistic, where you get
to see the characters stumble and wander and reset, the way entrepreneurs do
in real life. Unlike most books and movies where business is portrayed as
easy, where all you need is one good idea and the desire to be successful,
the characters in KidVenture find that every day brings new problems to
solve.

raised eyebrows

“I don’t invest in plans, Young Mr. Sterling.” And just like that, the smile went away. “I invest in people. Show me you can do this twice, and then it starts to get interesting.”

He nodded curtly at my dad and then hurried out the shop. I looked down at my cookie but had lost all interest in nibbling at the chocolate riding the big nut.

As we drove home, I was sure my dad would be mad at me for jumping on Mr. Dubious like that, when I was supposed to sit quietly and just listen. But he wasn’t.

“I’m proud of you Son.”

“You are?” It always takes me by surprise when he says that. “Why?”

“For asking Mr. Dubois to invest.” “But wasn’t it pretty much a disaster?” My dad chuckled.

“I can’t believe I called him Mr. Doobie.”

My dad laughed. “It’s going to be hard to sit in a meeting now and not think of him as Mr. Doobie.”

“Sorry Dad.”

He looked over at me and smiled widely. I’m glad he was amused. “A real disaster.”

“Well, maybe,” he said. “But what matters is you spoke up for yourself. Mr. Dubois can be a hard guy to talk to, I know.” “You do?” It had never occurred to me that perhaps those meetings with Mr. Dubois were hard for my dad too.

“He’s tough, no nonsense,” my dad continued. “You really have to have all your ducks in a row before you talk to him. He always seems to ask the one thing you didn’t prepare for…” my dad trailed off.

We drove around quietly for a few more blocks. I thought the conversation had receded into the rear view mirror. Then my dad spoke again. “But you know, I love meeting with Mr. Dubois. He keeps me sharp. I always come out of those meetings smarter.”

As my dad pulled into the driveway, I tried to think about why it bothered me so much that Mr. Dubious had been so dismissive of my new venture. It really bugged me and I couldn’t figure out why. I followed my dad into the house as he hugged my mom and played peek-a-boo with my baby brother.

I think maybe I wanted Mr. Dubois’ approval because he respected my dad.

What do you think Mr. Dubois meant when he said he doesn’t invest in plans, he invests in people?

Is this a great opportunity?

Would you invest in Chance’s new venture?

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Tagged as KidVenture: There's No Plan Like No Plan, Middle Grade Fiction, Steve Searfoss

by Jennifer Reed/ bookjunkiez | December 14, 2021 · 5:00 am

KidVenture Virtual Book Tour

KidVenture Vol. 1

Middle Grade Fiction

Date Published: 01-26-2020

photo add-to-goodreads-button_zpsc7b3c634.png

Chance Sterling launches a pool cleaning business over the summer. Join
Chance as he looks for new customers, discovers how much to charge them,
takes on a business partner, recruits an employee, deals with difficult
clients, and figures out how to make a profit. He has twelve weeks to reach
his goal. Will he make it? Only if he takes some chances.

EXCERPT

Chapter 1
Midnight Blue
If anyone tells you that kids can’t start a business, don’t listen to them. They can. I should know, because I did. People sometimes ask me how KidVenture started and how it got its name. Well, I’ll tell you. It all started the summer before sixth grade. All I remember about that summer is that it was hot, so hot I thought I would melt. That and my sister Addison kept annoying me. You could say I was boiling and steaming that summer.
My dad told me he would pay me ten bucks to clean the pool. It was a pretty good deal. I’d take a net and scoop out all the leaves and dead bugs that had landed in the water. It took me about two hours to clean the pool so I 3gure I was making about 3ve dollars an hour. Not bad for a ten-year-old kid.
I thought it was going to be a one-time gig, but the following week my dad asked me if I wanted to clean the pool again.
“But I already did,” I said. He told me to go take a look. I couldn’t believe it. The pool was full of leaves and dead bugs again. I had spent all the money I made from cleaning the pool the week before on a slingshot, two comic books and an ice cream cone. I needed the cash so I said yes.
Next thing you know, I’m cleaning the pool every week and making an easy ten bucks each time. After a couple weeks, I realized I could save my money and buy that bicycle I had seen one time at that big sporting goods store on Wilson Street. The bike was super cool. When I looked at the sticker, it said the color was midnight blue. I didn’t know what that meant, except that it sounded dangerous and I liked that. I asked my dad if we could get it and he said, we’ll see, which is the grown-up way of saying No, but I want to let you down easy.
The bike, the dangerous one, cost $225. Which is way more money than a ten-year-old could ever hope to get. That is, unless said impoverished ten-year-old had a job, which I now apparently had. “It’s going to take forever to save up for that bike,” I said, after I had just 3nished cleaning the pool for the second time, and my dad handed me a crisp ten dollar bill.
“No, not forever,” my dad retorted. “You’ll save up $225 in no time.” “Not when I’m only making ten bucks a week.” I started to feel sorry for myself and walked away.
Then I turned around. “Dad, how long will it take if I save all my pool cleaning money?”
“You 3gure it out,” my dad said, and handed me a paper and pencil. “But I hate math!” I protested.
“Well then you’re right. It will take forever,” my dad said and returned to reading his newspaper.
“Oh all right,” I sighed. “Hand me the pencil.”
I started scribbling some numbers.
“Twenty…Twenty-two…Twenty-three! No, wait. Twenty-two and a half weeks!” I shouted excitedly.
“How many months is that?” my dad asked.
“Ugh. More math? Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
My dad has a way with words. I began scribbling numbers again. “Let’s see, four weeks in a month, approximately, so that works out to…” I mumbled.

“Five-point-six-two-3ve months.” I said triumphantly.
“That’s right,” my dad smiled. “So about 3ve and a half months.” “Wait…” I said dejectedly. “Oh no!”
“What?”
“That’s 3ve and a half months, if I don’t buy any more ice cream.” “True.”
“Better call it six months.”
“Six months is not a long time,” my dad insisted.
“It is!” I scowled. “At this rate I might was well just wait till Christmas.”
A couple more weeks went by, and even though I dreamed of mint chocolate chip ice cream almost every night, I had managed to save all of my pool money. I had $30 tucked away in my bike fund when I suddenly had an idea.
I went straight to my dad and declared, “Dad! Dad! I have an idea.” He put his newspaper down slowly and raised an eyebrow.
“Yes?”
I could barely contain myself. “How about you pay me $20 for cleaning the pool!”
“$20?”

“Yes! Yes! Twenty buckaroos. I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner. Twenty dollars for cleaning the pool instead of ten.” “Hm….I like it.”
“You do?” I have to admit, even as excited as I was, I wasn’t really expecting the conversation to go so well.
“You’re negotiating,” my dad said. “I like that.”
“Great!” I exclaimed. “Wait, what’s negotiating?”
“It’s what you’re doing now,” my dad said. “Asking for more.” “Great! Awesome. So, is that a yes?”
“No.”
“But why not? I’m negotiating, just like you said.”
“Yes,” my dad said. And then he smiled. I recognized that same smile. It was the smile he had when he told me when I was three years old that Santa had made a wrong turn somewhere east of Winnipeg on his way to our house and there would be no Christmas presents that year.
“You’re forgetting that I’m negotiating too.”
My mom had her own smile. It was the smile that immediately told my dad to stop making the children cry on Christmas Eve.
“And I want to know,” my Dad continued, still smiling, “why would I pay more for the exact same pool cleaning service you’re already providing for the handsome sum of $10.”
I had to admit he had a point. Where was Mom? I could really use her help right now.
“You raise an interesting question,” I said, trying to sound as serious as I could. “I’ll have to think about that and get back to you.”
I couldn’t sleep that night. I was thinking about what I could do that would be diDerent than just the same pool cleaning service I oDered. What could I oDer my dad that would be of more value, so I could charge more?

What do you think?
How could you charge more
for the same service? What would you do
differently?

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