Launching a business takes effort
Olivia Waddington
I have started a few business ventures, but I didn’t follow through with most of them. But there are two I worked on and was able to get established.
When I was little, my dad bought me lambs to bottle feed and sell. After doing that for a while, I upgraded to raising bum calves. I bottle fed them, then fed them grain after weaning them, and eventually sold them as feeder calves. I did this for quite a while. When I was 9 years old, my dad helped me buy my first two heifers. I was very excited to have my business started. Eventually, we realized these cows weren’t very tame, so we sold them and bought a milk cow.
The first year, the cow didn’t produce a calf. I was so disappointed I was not making money as easily as I thought I would. The next year, we bought a different milk cow with a beautiful heifer calf at her side. I was really happy. To profit more, I bought three bum calves to raise with the milk cow. I had to go out in the morning and evening to feed the cow, milk her to provide for my family, let two calves in at a time to nurse, clean the cow’s udder and then clean the stall.
For the next three years, I bought bum calves, raised them on the milk cow and sold them for a small profit. By buying, selling and trading, I eventually had one milk cow and five purebred registered Hereford heifers. I am now getting a good calf crop and I get a good profit, because I don’t have to buy bum calves anymore.
I also have a small homemade beauty product business called Balm Bay Products. It started as a small idea of selling bath bombs until it grew into making several different products. I buy ingredients, bought the rights to the palm tree beach photo for my labels, designed the labels, plan and pay expenses. Eventually, the payoff came as I travel to craft fairs and sell my products. I am also working on getting my products into some small local stores.
It isn’t easy starting a new business, but it can pay off. Although you might be discouraged, tired and in debt, as I was, try and try again, because the payoff can be worth the effort.
Olivia Waddington, 14, enjoys writing, reading, caring for animals and time with friends and family. She is the daughter of Caleb and Tamera Waddington, members of Slope Electric Cooperative.
