The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-05-05
Bows With a Business.
What Two Boys Have Done
Other Boys May Do $3.50.

something which people need, and
then let them know that you can sup
ply it. Of course, there are certain
standard kinds of business of which
every boy thinks-selling newspa-
pers, or running errands, for exam
pie. But the really alert boy wants
to invent a business of his own.
Here is what a couple of boys of
my acquaintance have done in a bust
ness way:
The best business boy I know is
James Conroy, of Plainville. Like
most boys, Jimmy had increased his
spending money by shoveling snow,
but in Plainyille most of the side
walks had taken care of themselves.
This last winter Jimmy decided to ex-
tend his business and hire other boys
to do the shoveling. So, late in No
vember, he went from house to house.
politely explaining that he proposed
to make regular season contracts for
%shoveling snow, just as the man who
cleans the New York streets does, at
so much a cubic foot. He showed
that it would be much more satisfac-
tory to know, every time it showed,
that the shoveling would be done, and
just how much it would cost, without
waiting to make a bargain with any
one who might come along. BY this
time people were interested, and
when Jimmy measured their walks
and showed them how much a three
inch snowfall would cost, most Of
them signed his contract.
Meanwhile Jimmy organized at
school a shovel brigade of boys who
agreed to report to him at the first
snowfall, to work at a fair, fixed
price, and to keep or working until
his last sidewalk was finished.
Jimmy assigned each boy to a house
and waited for the snow. Fortunate
ly, it came on Friday night, and
Jimmy could use his brigade all day
Saturday. Of course, some boys
shirked, though that did not hurt
Jimmy, for he paid only for work
done; but it was a busy day for him,
seeing that the walks were promptly
cleared, and collecting his payment.
The next storm was so heavy that
it nearly. swamped Jimmy; but he
rose to the emergency, hired several
men who preferred sure work to SIM
ply hunting for a job, and he made a
good profit, for, of course, the more
snow there was, the better for Jimmy.
In the spring he saw that the
same system could be applied to
moving lawns; with better results,
too, for he could give steady work to
two men. So he made contracts for
the season, basing his price on the
number of square feet in the lawn.
The last time I saw him he told me
that he intended to try to get the
work Of cutting all the lawns and
shoveling all the sidewalks which be-
longed to their small city!
Then there is Joe Sargent, Of Mon
roe. Monroe is a summer place"
near a big city. Every night the bust
ness men come out from the city, and
many Of them, though they do not
care to keep horses, prefer to drive
from the station to their homes along
the shore. Formerly, if they were
fortunate, they found a disagreeable
liveryman or one of his untidy sta
bleboys waiting for the train. Some
times there were no carriages at all,
and sometimes, worse yet, when a
carriage was ordered for a particular
train, no carriage came and the bust
ness man lost his train-and his tenn
per. too. Of course, people grum-
bled, but what could they do? They
had to hire of Jones and take their
chances, or else walk.
Last summer I found on the sta
ton platform an alert boy, about
thirteen years old, whose Carriage,
sir?" sounded earnest and inviting.
When I smiled, in some establishment,
the boy seized my suitcase, placed it
carefully in an old carryall and
darted for another passenger. I
looked at the team. Everything,
horse, harness, and carryall, was old,
but everything was clean and we'll
polished. Decidedly, the new stable
was worth trying, and I wondered
who had started it.
Soon the boy returned with an.
other passenger in tow, climbed
aboard, and clucked Get up"
Whom do you drive for?" I asked.
For myself, sir" was the answer.
"You see, it's vacation, and I thought
perhaps people would ride with me
if 1 started in business. So I took
our old horse and hired this carry
all. I hope I may have your trade,
sir, this summer. 1 won't miss any
trains, if I can help it,"
He had my promise on the spot.
Many of the cottagers tried him, and,
finding that he could be relied upon,
became regular customers. Joe soon
had more work than he could we'll
do with his one team.
Then some business men dubbed
together and lent him money to buy
a second team. This was not charity,
for it was worth while to be sure of
catching the train, and Joe never
failed. By the end of the summer he
had bought the carryall and more
than paid for the second team. This
year he plans to start with three
teams, and soon he will control the
livery business of Munroe.-Walter