The truth about a can of worms

My 10-year-old son had his first taste of the business world this week. Weeks and weeks of excitement finally turned into reality yesterday when he put his skills to the test by getting involved in an Entrepreneurship Programme offered at his primary school. The programme is a wonderful initiative from the school, whose aim is to introduce the scholar to entrepreneurship at a young age.

His idea? To sell silkworms to his classmates, with mulberry leaves as an added, cheaper purchase. A small box is thrown in for free.

The sales choice is a popular decision with me, as we have hundreds of silkworms in shoeboxes after embarking on this path years ago. Selling silkworms means less mouths to feed, which means picking less mulberry leaves from the side of the road after work or before school.

So becoming an entrepreneur sounds pretty simple, right? Wrong. The school takes this initiative very seriously. You have to apply to earn a licence, there’s a lengthy document detailing the dos and don’ts, and you need to market your product.

Once you have ticked all those boxes, the rest is up to the child to shine.

After taking up the task, my son started asking some solid questions.

“What do you mean I have to give 10% of my profit to the school for fundraising?” he said.

“Well, for every R10 you make you must give the school R1,” I replied. “Also, you need to pay your mom for all the boxes she bought for your project, and once you have paid all your expenses, only then do you start making profit on your idea.”

He replied: “I suppose I have to pay my sister too, because some of the silkworms are hers?” he said. “Sounds like I won’t really make any money.”

And with that, he found out how tough the world of business and entrepreneurship really is, even before making his first sale.

With what has been unfolding at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture this month, it seems there are a number of people that could learn a lesson here.

Startling revelations about how influential businessmen and politicians leaned on banks to bend their rules is hugely concerning. Almost every day the Guptas are linked to yet another scandal or dodgy deal.

Some of these people should go back to primary school to learn about legit entrepreneurship.