Posted on 07/01/2004 11:44:51 AM PDT by esryle
Last year, the 8th grade students launched a manure business. And the company's success is spreading beyond all expectations. In fact, business is so good the students are about to get some national exposure.
What began as a school fund raiser has exploded into a lucrative business for Skylar Schipper and Coy Funk.
"Pretty much you go scoop it and then you just bag it up and sell it, that's the gist of it," Schipper said.
These teens own and operate "Manure Gourmet," marketing a buffet of organic manures.
"This is actually elephant manure," he said. "Anybody who likes gardens or gag gifts for Christmas."
On the Internet and in retail stores they sell llama, horse, camel droppings, poop-pourri gift boxes and other novelty items.
"Chip chimes," said Funk. "We haven't sold one, but everyone thinks they're so cool."
The duo has earned their success, shoveling a mountain of manure 47,000 pounds so far. These entrepreneurs clean out barns and circus tents across the state to replenish their inventory.
They've even expanded their work force to a dozen employees whom they call the "poo crew."
"It'll put us through college and buy us cars," Funk said. "That would be cool. Nice cars."
Jay Leno recently caught wind of their business and invited them to appear on The Tonight Show.
When it comes to number two, it's good to be number one.
"...When it comes to number two, it's good to be number one..."
Their motto should be, "Number one in the Number two business"
My best friend who's now a dentist had a much better name for this exact type of business that he did when we were in high school:
"Moo Poo"
These kids ought to go to the Democratic Convention. They'll really bag tons of s**t there.
Selling the cow sodas didn't work out though.
Something like this was the subject of an After-shool TV movie. The kid starts selling cow manure. Local business rival gets the local tax man to go after the kid for not paying taxes. In court, kid comes up with his defence. His father had already paid tax for the feed, paying on the manure would be double taxation, or something like that. Silly, I know.
Capitalism at is finest!
God, I love this country!
I remember seeing that years ago. Dont remember the name though. Theyre liable to attract attention they dont really want though.
First off, in a lot of places theyll be required to carry some form of insurance on any employee. Theyll be required to get some business license of some sort. Then, unless they sell their stuff as some sort of individual novelty item or something theres a little state agency that deals with weights and measures that usually comes into play at some point.
We had a boss that was involved in several businesses. One business created lots of cedar sawdust. So hed sell it (people wanted it for some reason) for $1 per 5 gallon bucket. Oregon weights and measures shut that down because selling by the bucket wasnt legal had to be sold by weight or standardized volume somehow (something that would insure that each bucket contained identical amount). It ended up being a pain in the butt, so they just burned it which required a permit too.
Thats the sort of stuff theyll have to deal with.
Ping
it will all work out in the end.
Every year, when the circus plays at MSG..they sell the elephant manure to the locals..who swear by the stuff..it's the funniest thing to see all these Mercedes and BMWs, backed up to the Garden...in the delivery entrance...with their trunks open, a plastic tarp in the trunk, getting piles of elephanyt s**t loaded on...go figure?
BTW..love the tag line...
Reminds me of a cow pie throwing contest I won in Wyoming as a kid!
That is great for them. I am happy with this kind of schitt happens.
FMCDH(BITS)
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