Musing on little entrepreneurs, big business.
I never have any cash….
I have had my share of Swisher Sweets -- but never have had this much cash.
This weekend was the Madison Christmas Tour of Homes. Once again the time for entrepreneurs young and old to try to make a buck.
Meet Tom and Will Eskew, my shrewd businessmen neighbors, masquerading as Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer.
They sell silmax, mistletoe, quince and chinaberry limbs for profit. Greenery for suckers (er folks) to deck their walls and halls.
What the heck is smilax you say?
Smilax is what people around here use for garland to drape over their door.
Lovely smilax.
The Hall - Eskew pad with smilax....
The girls were across the street selling hot chocolate.
Tom spotted some potential customers walking their way.
Walked right by the hot chocolate.
Tom looking over the spreadsheet of today's sales. (Complete truth.)
The smilax stand on the other hand was hopping.
Tom explaining the correct way to root smilax to Sarah.
This nice lady bought some mistletoe.
Then walked across the road and got some hot chocolate.
Okay….I finally had to get some chinaberries myself.
They were three dollars a branch but Will said they weren’t moving so he let me have a few more.
Good grief. If I'd been thinking, I'd had my daughter grab the Swisher box while the Eskew boys were occupied.
All in all, subtracting the advertisement they placed in the paper, they had already cleared about $90. (And I think they were the best patrons of the hot chocolate stand across the street.)
So what to do with my chinaberries?
This is what I came up with.
If you are around Madison tomorrow — the Eskews will be manning their greenery stand.
How do you decorate your halls? Fresh or artificial greens?
SO beautiful! I wish I could buy some smilax and chinaberries — neither of which I’ve seen for sale in Maine. They are amazing! I love the arrangment you ended up with. Do you think that Tom and Will would be interested in starting an export business to Maine? I’m more than ready to be in charge of the Northeast territory! 🙂 And for us? ALWAYS fresh greens — it’s “winterberies” (red) that are our usual, and I think I know how I’ll arrange them this year, thanks for the idea!
Nothing says x-mas like a smooth Swisher Sweet.
Sam was on our corner (with Hannah Kate) selling bags of pecans. He did quite well. He decided he will start collecting pecans earlier, next year.
Btw – Thanks for the magnolia – I can help you decorate your house with greenery – for free- if you want me to help you. You know I enjoy that sort of non-productive thing for some silly reason.
-Trish