I love Popcorn Season, and the fact that my unit can earn up to 40% in commission isn’t even one of my top 10. Each day I’ll share – in no particular order – one reason why I feel this way.

Popcorn teaches delayed gratification and discipline

I know, it’s hard to think about Cub Scout Summer Camp or Bear Creek Summer Camp once school starts. We’re all juggling a lot right now, for sure, but that doesn’t mean we should ignore our future.

There’s a special feeling knowing that you’re working toward something and there’s a stretch of time to get to it, but like that semester report in school, or taxes, it’s much easier to start chipping away at the goal now than to wait and rush. Saving for your future, or for summer, is good practice and not something that youth get to opportunity to do in their daily lives.

I’m dating myself, but when I was younger and needed an answer to something, I’d have to go to the library to do research…which meant I needed a plan to get there. Either my parents drove me, or I waited until I had a break in my day to duck into the school’s library. If I wanted to watch a movie, I had to make a plan to go to Blockbuster to rent it.

Nothing was on-demand like it is with Google and Netflix…every gratification I sought seemed delayed!

Not so much anymore. To make a plan and do the work early, then wait, is not quite the same for youth today as it was during my maturing years. While life is certainly more convenient with recent leaps in technology, there are some things in life that just cannot be rushed. You cannot simply hit the enter key, or ask Alexa for things like building savings, preparing to enter college or the trades, or making a major purchase like a car or house.

When a Scout puts in the work and earns their own way, they know it, and the experience is completely relatable to the sorts of things life will soon require of them. We know it, but they might not fully understand the value of the lesson. What they know is that they feel a certain kind of peace knowing that they will be going to camp. Sure, it won’t happen this month, but they can be confident it will come summer because they’ve already done the hard part – paying for it, or at least a chunk.

Self-discipline means giving up what might be comfortable (like the couch) to be a little uncomfortable (like pulling a wagon full of popcorn on a hot Texas day), in hopes of doing amazing things in the future (insert the adventure here)…all by raising support through popcorn sales.

Interested in raising support with Popcorn? Visit the Alamo Area Council Popcorn Page to find out more.

I love Popcorn Season, and the fact that my unit can earn up to 40% in commission isn’t even one of my top 10. Each day I’ll share – in no particular order – one reason why I feel this way.

Popcorn sales offer a lesson in retail economics & profit margin

If you’re not familiar with our family, we have two Scouts in the program. My daughter, currently an Arrow of Light, has been the top earner in our Pack for the last three years. She’s paid for her own Scouting fees, camp, and the items necessary to complete her uniform. She’s also earned gift award cards in an amount high enough to purchase herself a hoverboard. Her younger brother, currently a Bear, has not really grasped the entrepreneurial spirit as strong and is happy to simply sell without any particular goal other than to get his patch. Typically, he just goes along with whatever, and happily works the show and sell table because we’re there.

However, this year, after a few trips to the Mussleman Scout Shop and drooling over a new compass and wood crafts, he’s decided he needs to earn some serious money. I swear, I thought he understood the purpose of all this, but apparently, I did a better job explaining it to my daughter than to him. Our first two-hour wagon sale commitment resulted in $230 in sales, which I was happy about…but he was ecstatic!

“Mom, I’m gonna buy so much stuff at the shop! Do you know how much stuff I can buy with $230?!”

Oh, boy.

Now, there was a lot to unpack here, but we started with the basics. “We have to pay for that popcorn, bud.”

“But I worked really hard to sell it,” he asserted.

“Yes, and someone else worked really hard to pop it and package it. Then someone else loaded it on a truck, and someone else drove it to you. All those people need to be paid for their services, or else you wouldn’t have anything to sell in the first place.”

At eight years old, I had an opportunity to describe the process from production to distribution, and wholesale vs. retail pricing in a way he understood. Sure, I kept it simple, but since it applies to him, he paid closer attention and asked questions that led to a much deeper conversation.

After he accepted the reality of his situation, I didn’t stop there. I hit him with a blow about budgeting, bills, and discretionary income. (Because, why not, eh?) He loves being a Cub Scout and going to camp, so when I explained he needed to contribute to his Scouting activities and the amount he had earned to apply to his upcoming adventures, he quickly confirmed he needed to dedicate more time to popcorn sales. We’ve successfully moved from the mom-makes-me-do-it sale to the I-want-to-do-it passion his sister has. As I type this, I see the list on the fridge of all his ‘bills’ and what needs to be paid before he starts upgrading or adding to his 6-Essentials.

This was his idea, not mine.

I’m just here to help him fulfill his potential…and his budget.

Interested in raising support with Popcorn? Visit the Alamo Area Council Popcorn Page to find out more.

I love Popcorn Season, and the fact that my unit can earn up to 40% in commission isn’t even one of my top 10. Each day I’ll share – in no particular order – one reason why I feel this way.

Popcorn sales offer an opportunity to learn public speaking

Think about this for a moment.

Who does your Scout typically talk to? Family, friends, and acquaintances, right?

Who have you instructed your children to avoid? Strangers…aka people they don’t know.

As a parent, I want to keep my children safe, but if there were an emergency and they needed to call 911, would they talk to the operator on the other end? Would they answer the door when the EMT’s arrived, or be able to tell them what happened? I mean, they are strangers.

Does your Scout order their own meal when you go out for dinner, or do they tell you and you tell the server because you know how to talk loud enough over the chatter in the restaurant?

There is value and real skill in talking with someone you’ve never met. It’s a muscle that needs to be flexed every once in a while, and if your family is anything like mine, you tend to hang out in the same circles routinely. We create safe spaces for our children to be silly yet instruct them to be proper in public which includes in many cases, not talking to strangers.

I’m sure we agree there are times when that’s not the case, but when do we get the opportunity to let our kids practice?

Approaching someone they don’t know causes anxiety for sure, but after a few minutes – or thirty – we see the ice crack and melt from Scouts selling at a storefront or going door to door. Do not be fooled, those first few times are painful y’all, but if you stay positive and keep encouraging your Scout, they find their courage.

My favorite thing to do is practice with new Scouts at a storefront. Sometimes the parents are as nervous as the kids because it’s new to them too, so I stay for the first little bit, walking in and out of the store so the Scout can practice their pitch with me. Soon we’re on to phase two: talking to someone else. As one would expect, it’s not great, but you can see the Scout pushing against fear. All they need is that one person to stop. What they don’t know, is I’m looking for that person too. When I spot them, I don’t come on strong, but invite the customer to help us out.

“This is Felix, and he’s never spoken to someone he doesn’t know before, and he’s having a hard time, well, you see what’s happening here…”

This usually gets a knowing nod and smile from the customer.

“Would you mind if he practiced his pitch with you? You don’t have to buy anything, but you’d really be helping Felix come out of his shell if he could just talk with you for a moment.”

Of course, they’re gonna do it!

Now, at this point, we have a one-on-one conversation – a safe one where both parties agree to have patience with the other. I get on one knee and remind the Scout what we rehearsed in the twenty times they practiced with me. They usually repeat the phrase, mustering the courage to tell the person next to us (as if they don’t know exactly what’s comin’).

I mean, come on…does it get any cuter than this?

Yeah, we’re getting this sale for sure.

I know it.

The customer knows it.

The only one who doesn’t is the kid struggling with eye contact and volume.

I’ll warn you, this only works once or twice before the kid ruins it – I mean *clears throat* learns how to be successful in conversing with strangers.

In the grown-up world, we call this public speaking…and these Scouts might not have the chance to learn it this young without a table of popcorn next to them. Every sale encourages them from that point forward, and suddenly they’re talking to everybody.

Even the ones who don’t speak back…but we’ll get to that story later.

Oh, and for those of you paying attention, yes, this is the same Felix from the first article I wrote this week, but from two years ago during his Tiger year. The picture above is of him after his second Show and Sale where he sold $380 in a two-hour shift. From that day forward, I’ve implemented this training with every Scout new to the popcorn fundraiser and it’s smiles all around!

Interested in raising support with Popcorn? Visit the Alamo Area Council Popcorn Page to find out more.