With Passion & Perseverance, You Can Even Sell a Rock

By Eric M. Meyer, Lessons Learned as a Young Entrepreneur

Most kids played soccer, danced to the Backstreet Boys, or spent hours with the newest and greatest video gaming platform – SEGA Genesis. But I had a different interest and it didn’t make me popular; in fact, it made me a complete nerd. But I was a passionate and proud nerd.

When I was nine years old, I had a love for rocks – fossils more specifically. My grandmother first got me hooked; she would show me a couple of fossils she had found throughout her life each time I came over to visit. I loved the thrill of going out to local creeks with my Dad on the weekends and finding pieces of history; things that used to be real living organisms that been neatly preserved by nature and were now ‘frozen’ in time. My mother saw them as invading her home.

Sooner or later I had a basement full of fossils - trilobites, horn coral, sea sponge, brachiopods - the list goes on and on for many square feet of damp basement carpet. I brought them in to my class for a presentation one day and was surprised to find that my classmates along with my teachers shared my interest in fossils. This realization came at the perfect time; for my mother was ready to throw them all back into the creeks they came from in an effort to reclaim her storage space. If people are interested in these fossils that I spent months collecting from all over the region, perhaps they would consider buying them. “Yard sale,” I thought. So I researched them but didn’t see how I was going to be able to get enough customers to make it worth my while. I decided instead to sell my fossils in another way.

I contacted a local shop on Main Street Geneseo that sold some books, toys, cards, presents, and natural goods. I asked to speak with the store owner. We sat down and I explained my love of rocks and my idea to sell them. I told her why a yard sale wouldn’t work – I needed more traffic. I put myself in her shoes and thought “what am I getting out of this?” So I formed an argument explaining how it would benefit her business, and convinced her that having my booth set up outside her shop would draw attention to her store and would make it look like something unique like a sale was going on. She agreed then and there, and I was on my way to making my first buck.

My mother was willing to drive me down every Thursday and drop me off with my old fold-up table, boxes of rocks, and lawn chair (it was the least she could do – after all, she was the one who wanted them gone!). I began selling the fossils and people loved them. Unfortunately, I wasn’t selling them as fast as I would have liked. That’s when the Geneseo Summer Festival caught my eye.

The Geneseo Summer Festival was an event in July where people from all around the county converged in our historic community, and more importantly on Main Street, to celebrate the town. If I could find a way to be on Main Street for that weekend, I knew I could increase my sales tenfold. The current store I was using had its own elaborate summer festival display on the sidewalk, forcing me to find a new alternative. I wanted a good location that every single family had to walk past on their way to the main events in the park. I rode my bike up and down the street and noticed a small parking lot next to the local newspaper building. I didn’t recall any festival booths there in prior years. I found out who owned the lot – a man by the name of Mike Bishop who was an entrepreneur himself. He welcomed the idea and granted me the space for my fossil booth.

Now I had to get serious; this was my big opportunity. I had the location, I had the product, and I had thousands of potential customers who would be walking right past me. Obviously at the age of nine I hadn’t a clue about marketing techniques, but I did know that I needed to do something to draw people to my table. I purchased large bouquets of balloons, made a big poster teaching the history of fossils, and posted colorful signs around the street informing people about the booth. I also used this as an opportunity to expand my product line. Understanding my new main market for this weekend would end up being families, I introduced a series of dinosaur-themed toys to my booth such as Yo-Yo’s, tattoos, and figurines. I also hired one of my friends to help man the booth with me, anticipating increased business. As a final touch, we both sported new home-made “Eric Meyer’s Fossils” shirts.

While I did anticipate new business, I was never prepared for just how large the crowds actually became. The day came and people began buying fossils and dino-toys left and right. Parents bought them for kids, others bought them for themselves and teachers bought them for their classrooms. People were listening intently as I told them about the piece of history they were purchasing; it wasn’t just a rock. I told them about the region the fossils came from, explained the process of fossilization, and elaborated on how these fossilized organisms functioned when they were living.

After speaking with a customer about a piece of coral, I looked up and saw that fifty others had gathered around my small booth to learn about fossils. Who would have ever thought rocks could be so interesting? Certainly not my mother.

I ended up generating hundreds of dollars of revenue on that day alone – and of course, being a nine year old, that felt like a million bucks. What made it feel even better was the fact that I earned every dollar of it out of my own hard work. My first experience with the thrill of success on the main street of my hometown would forever shape my life and taught me the true value of a dollar. Understanding from a real-life experience that I was in control of my ability to succeed and make a buck was liberating and life-changing.

The unlikely path of a kid who loved rocks to becoming a salesman at the local summer festival was not realized out of apathy or waiting for opportunities to come my way. Instead, even as demonstrated in this small story, it took a plan, goals, dedication, and passion; characteristics that I soon learned were critical to success in business and in life.