The world is changing fast, and with it, the way children grow up. As a result, more and more of them are interested in becoming their own boss – a child entrepreneur.
What is a child entrepreneur? They’re kids who have identified an opportunity within their community or industry and then taken action to build a business around it. These young people are driven by ambition, creativity, and tenacity – qualities that can take them far in life.
These hardworking kids often start small businesses such as lemonade stands or mowing lawns for neighbors – activities that teach them valuable lessons about money management, responsibility, and customer service at an early age. It also gives them self-confidence as well as skills for future employment or academic pursuits down the road.
Today, I’d like to introduce you to Tucker. This is Tucker’s unique story, told by his dad.
Tucker is a 12-year-old businessman with an unusual journey and a unique world perspective. His business journey started with a single golf ball when he was just 9 years old. Now, that first golf ball has evolved into multiple flourishing businesses.
At 9 years old, Tucker felt hopeless. He was failing in almost all aspects of typical 3rd grade school life. With numerous challenging and sometimes misunderstood learning disabilities, including severe dyslexia, dyscalculia, and apraxia, he struggled in school and life without the ability to read, write, effectively communicate, or even count past 10. Life felt unsurmountable for Tucker until he quit trying to fit into a typical 3rd grade box and just started following his passion.
Loving the outdoors, where learning came more naturally, it’s no surprise that Tucker’s unlikely journey in entrepreneurship and learning started by fishing golf balls out of a river in his own neighborhood. After discovering that the lost golf balls polluting his local river possessed value to golfers, he began collecting, cleaning, and reselling them.
Tucker is the CEO of Tucker’s Treasures, an eBay store where he continues to sell thousands of items, including vintage and contemporary toys, video games, antiques, a wide variety of other unique items, and of course – golf balls! Tucker loves to find value and homes for forgotten items. He specializes in large bulk buys and bought out his first eBay business and a storage unit at age 10. Tucker’s experience is valued in the reseller community, and he has been called in to consult on the valuations of collections and entire estates.
Additionally, Tucker loves to help other kids find their passion and is on the Leadership Committee of the Loudoun County Kids Collective, a local group that supports kids in entrepreneurship. He is also a member of the Kids Business Academy Mastermind Group, a national network of kid CEOs that collaborate with one another. Tucker is currently exploring partnering with local charities he can aid with his expansive reselling network.
Wow! What a fantastic journey! I was so impressed when I met and photographed Tucker. He is just as dedicated and committed as many adults to making his dreams come true – and he’s only 12 years old. I cannot wait to see where his journey will take him!
Follow along here:
https://www.facebook.com/TheKidPicker/
https://www.ebay.com/str/tuckersvintagetreasures
When I talked with Tucker before photographing him, he had a clear vision of what his dream portrait should look like.
We started with a photo on a plain background. Then, I started gathering things I could use to make Tucker’s vision come alive.
These are some of the over 200 bits and pieces that went into creating Tucker’s dream portrait below.
Would you like to see your own vision come alive? Let’s chat!
