The Stick
The Stick
Whenever I go to the pet store to buy Blanche her food I seem to gravitate to the squeaky/chewie aisle. Why? I don’t know. I guess it’s the Grandma mentality. Consequently we have squeakies in every shape imaginable from bunnies to ducks to bones and so on.
The squeakies are taking over my house. So last week on my kibble run I bought a package of rawhide sticks. Puppies need to chew stuff, and if they don’t have their own things they will chew anything of yours they can get their teeth on.
Well, back to the package of sticks. If I would have given Blanche a side of beef it would not be as wonderful as her stick. It doesn’t squeak, it’s not colorful and it just lays there. It’s a STICK!!! She loves her stick and it is her favorite possession.
Blanche and the Stick
This all leads me to imagination and creativity. Blanche has found so many creative ways to play with the stick and this reminds me of children who can take the simplest of things and with imagination and creativity they repurpose these things to fit specific needs.
So many times we underestimate the ability and creativity of our kids to come up with solutions to problems. Kids are great at solving problems because they are clear thinkers. Their minds are unfettered with theories, mortgage payments, providing for daily needs and so on.
One of the things I enjoy so much about Biz in a Boxx is watching our kids go through their workbooks, use their imaginations and solve problems while having fun and learning. They bring their creativity to fruition while building a strong foundation for future endeavors.
If only Blanche were a human child I am sure “the stick” would be on the market as a pointer, a doorstop, a paperweight, a board game that involves throwing and catching or even an object d’art.
Blanche and the Sofa
Before I left for Chicago Ms. Blanche learned to jump up on the sofa. My sofa is shaped in an “L” and is approximately 25 feet of sitting space or if you are a five month old miniature schnauzer its 25 feet of walking and chewing space. I knew it was inevitable that this accomplishment would happen one day and so it has.
See, Blanche isn’t one of those graceful types of dogs. Her nephew, Dooey, a yorkie, has really long legs. He can jump high in the air and curl up in a little ball because I think he has no spine. Dooey rarely falls. Blanche falls all the time. She’s klutzy. She’s a little pudgy, too.
Dooey
I wish you could have seen the look on Blanche’s face, and the posture of her body when she finally made it up onto the sofa by herself. She was as proud as proud could be. She had a feeling of accomplishment, a feeling of achieving something. I don’t know if dogs have self esteem issues or not, but let me tell you Blanche’s self esteem is over the top right now.
Blanche on the sofa
It’s the same feeling you see in kids when they accomplish something positive by themselves. It’s the look I see when I attend a trade show of our young entrepreneurs after they have completed their workbooks and have brought their ideas to market.
This is not a feeling you can buy or give someone. Self esteem is something you earn by yourself for yourself. With a good business skills foundation, some imagination and some high self esteem young entrepreneurs have limitless possibilities.
Blanche Marks Her Territory
Mark my territory?
This week I had to leave for Chicago. It was a family emergency because no one in their right mind would vacation in Chicago this time of year…especially someone from Arizona!
Blanche was off to Melissa’s house to spend the week with the Dipschitz family and Dooey. With such a large group I guess little 5 month old Blanche felt it was necessary to mark her territory, and I understand she ‘staked’ out a lot of property.
So this gives me another opportunity for Blanche if she were a human child and not a canine child. Signs!!!! Wouldn’t a sign saying “this area is the property of Blanche” be so much better than a puddle on the floor?
What a great business for a child to start. Signs. Kids starting businesses is not a new concept. They have great imaginations, are clear thinkers, and are creative problem solvers. Young entrepreneurs as young as seven are solving problems and meeting needs. I firmly believe that if Blanche were human she would find a puddle on the floor distasteful and I know she would put up a very clever sign in its place.
Young Entrepreneurs and Remote Controls
Now that I am a widow I have found that one of the perks of living alone is being in charge of the remote control….well, at least until recently. Blanche and I seem to be fighting for it now. Blanche wants to chew it and I want to change the channels.
I leave my chair for just a few minutes and when I return…its gone. Now what I cannot understand is that someone (Blanche) who cannot seem to grasp the concept of pooping outside can grasp the concept that she only has a few minutes to hide the remote control before I return to my chair and manage to have the blank “huh?” look on her face.
Kids and dogs are really good at grasping concepts. Both are very clever and I think we underestimate the ability of both. Obviously, dogs are not opening chains of stores or inventing e-businesses, but kids are. It’s amazing how many kids and teens or young entrepreneurs are becoming wealthy through their creativity.
Kids have great ideas, but in most instances they have no idea what to do with them because they are not taught business skills in school nor are they encouraged by their parents to pursue their ideas because of their age. They are unintentionally being done an injustice.
Kids should start building a basic knowledge or foundation of business skills at an early age and the earlier, the better. Blanche is already on her way to becoming a young entrepreneur and if she only had thumbs she’d probably be making a remote control for herself.
Blanche’s Mom
Accidents and Unintentional Entrepreneurs
My three pound dog is now five months old and weighs 15.3 pounds. Her baby teeth are falling out and being replaced with “big girl teeth”. You know, the kind of teeth that can chew through wooden chairs, wooden tables, stucco and probably cement. “Chewies” now disappear in a day instead of one per week.
Housebreaking is now much better with the occasional accident happening and accompanied by the blank look. The look that says, “I have no idea who did that.” Perhaps a stranger broke into the house and left that puddle on your best rug!!
As I started thinking about the Blanche accidents that have occurred in my home over the past few months I got to thinking about accidents in general and about all the people out there who have become accidental entrepreneurs or unintentional entrepreneurs. With the current decline of the US economy and 10 percent unemployment many folks have become unintentional entrepreneurs.
People seem to want the security of owning their own businesses and having some control over their own destinies. How do I know this? Because here at Bix in a Boxx we have many people purchasing our product which is intended for the 7 to 19 year old market for themselves. In fact, our oldest young entrepreneur is 62 years old.
So if you have an idea or service you would like to bring to the marketplace check out our website at www.bizinaboxx.com.
About Blanche
Blanche
This is Blanche.
Blanche is a three month old Miniature Schnauzer, although I have to question the purity of that statement. I got her from a guy on the west side of town whose own dogs mixed and mingled a little too much. I’ve had Schnauzers before, but Blanche’s coloring is a little strange. At first I thought the beige colored hair was just dirt until I washed her a few times and the color remained. Other than her hair color, she’s all Schnauzer and full of character.
Blanche came to live with me after my beloved Miss Bubba (also a Miniature Schnauzer, but with good hair coloring) passed away at the age of 13. Bubba was the best dog one could hope for and as I train Blanche to be a good dog, I regret all of the times I called Bubba an asshole.
Blanche also has four nieces and nephews – Maddie, Rodney, Dippy (known as The Dipshitz) and Dooey. (Blanche has two more nephews but they are cats and cats don’t count. Cats vomit on carpet.)
Dippy, Maddie and Rodney
Dooey
Blanche is an entrepreneur at heart. Each day she exhibits the classic signs of a young entrepreneur and one day I hope to be living in the lap of luxury, having had Blanche take care of me in my old(er) age.
These are the stories about Blanche the Entrepreneur!
