Girl Scouts and Brownies, two Woman Entrepreneurs

girlscoutsI was a Brownie and a Girl Scout.

My Mom was my brownie leader.  It was a weekly event where a bunch of young girls from 7-10 got together and did projects.  That is what I remember and not much else.  I do remember we did one campfire at the end of the year and that was pretty cool.

We moved when I was 9 from Ann Arbor Michigan to Arlington VA.  I joined the Girl Scouts at my new school.  I don’t remember why I stopped but I did at one point.  I admit I was mostly about trying to get as many badges as possible.

Needless to say selling the cookies was something I was quite good at.  So when I saw these cute girls selling their cookies the other day I had to stop and buy not one but two boxes.  I only had enough cash for two but am certainly I would have been a sucker for more if I had the cash.  Samoas have always been a fave.  They had a new one called tagalongs with chocolate and peanut butter.  One of these young ladies told me it was her favorite so I was sold.  They even have a gluten free choice now.

Each box is $5.  I know all of the funds raised goes back to the troops but to me the best lesson is learning how to sell.  Keeping track of your cookies and moving as many as possible.  Being creative on where you sell them.

These two girls chose a choice spot in front of a grocery store.  I hope they killed it.

Comments (Archived):

  1. Amy Gross

    LOVE this! My mom was my Brownie leader and now I am my daughter’s troop leader. Our troop is rocking the cookie sales because each girl is motivated and understands how those funds help our troop help others.. and enjoy a little celebration ourselves. Our boxes are $4 and our small troop is at 2161 boxes and counting….

    1. Gotham Gal

      2161. that’s awesome!

  2. bsoist

    I spend way too much on girl scout cookies every year. 1) cookies are my favorite food, 2) those a pretty good cookies, and 3) I cannot resist a young person pounding the pavement like that.Saw a bunch in front of the hardware store the other day. I thought it was a premium spot. The place was mobbed with people picking up snow shovels. 🙂

  3. Sofia Papastamelos

    Shout out to all the awesome parents that enroll their girls in the program (including my own) and willingly give up their basements and garages to store all those cookies! 🙂

  4. LE

    My stepdaughter sells girl cookies so if I see someone soliciting I give them some money but don’t take the cookies.Being creative on where you sell them.There have been cases where teens are collecting money for various reasons. What I typically do is tell them that if they guess my age within 5 years I will double what I give them. And inevitably (because in my mind I look young for my age) they always guess wrong. Much lower than 5 years. Which gives me an immediate ego boost. And I can’t hand over the money fast enough and get a buzz which lasts for about an hour.What I have found is that kids that are in their teens have a hard time with “older”. If you are 50 they think you are 35 because to them 35 is really old.Anyway, along the lines of “creative” what I would do is instead of saying “do you want to buy girl scout cookies” say “if I guess your age correctly will you buy girlscout cookies?”. Then just have the kids say “29 years old!!!” to anyone who looks “older”. They will laugh and feel so good they will buy the cookies anyway. Plus it’s a good icebreaker.

    1. Gotham Gal

      hilarious

    2. Donna Brewington White

      You certainly believe in getting your money’s worth.

  5. awaldstein

    Great stuffLargest disconnect with kids selling stuff, with musicians on the street with anything impromptu is that I never have cash.If I had a kid selling cookies, I’d lend them a phone and a square. Guaranteed a much larger return.

    1. Gotham Gal

      Totally agree. I only had $10 on me. I wish they did Venmo.

  6. ShanaC

    Yum

  7. David Belt

    Best quote:”Needless to say selling the cookies was something I was quite good at”You are still good at selling cookies for causes!xxxxx

  8. Donna Brewington White

    What strikes me is that there is no mom in the photo (maybe in this case she was off to the side?) At the tables I see the moms are quite visible (and dads at the boy scout popcorn table). While I understand the safety aspect sometimes I feel like the parents are too engaged in the transactions for the kids to gain the most value from the experience.Our son is an avid lemonade seller. He has become quite successful at it. He has learned quite a bit about product, marketing and customer service but still has a lot to learn about the financial end. This year we will reinforce the lessons about P&L. As his investor ROI goes out the window but the money spent can be considered tuition. 😉

  9. pointsnfigures

    Love the Girl Scouts and their cookies. I also like this: http://lemonadeday.org/ Anything to teach kids the lessons of entrepreneurship early-even if they don’t become entrepreneurs. They take it into their corporate lives, and pass it along to their kids. We need more Junior Achievement programs at middle and high schools.