Neither of us could resist the three young entrepreneurs.

My associate, Steve, and I were calling on some life insurance prospects in Carroll County, Iowa on a beautiful sun-lit summer afternoon in the early 1980s. The ten-year old boys proudly displayed a hand-written a sign proclaiming:

"Kold Kool-Aid. Only 25-Cents!"

We pulled over and handed them a buck, telling them to keep the change. I congratulated them on their endeavor and waited for the Kool-Aid. In a moment they handed us the first glass. I handed it to Steve.

He began to drink his as I awaited mine.

I looked at the little business people and they looked back at me. I looked some more and they looked back some more.

Recognizing that I wasn’t going to win the staring contest after a few moments and suppressing a grin, I asked, "Well?"

"Well what?" replied a red-headed boy.

"Well, when do I get mine?"

All three looked at me as if I didn’t have a clue about managing expenses in a start-up operation.

"It’ll be just a minute, Sir," Spokesman Red replied, "We can’t give you yours until your friend gets finished with the glass!"

Steve spit his mouthful of the ‘Koolest Kool-Aid’ in Carroll County all over my windshield in hysterical laughter as I thanked the youngsters and returned his still half-full glass for their next unsuspecting customer. They didn’t understand my sudden change of heart about being thirsty but looked on it as an extraordinary piece of luck. In essence, they had now received enough money for four units of their product and only had to deliver one. Capitalism run amuck!

My friend and I still smile about that incident lo these many years later. We appreciate a valuable lesson learned. Long before the cliché "thinking outside the box" came into existence, these three dudes were all over the concept. Disregarding the potential health hazards their activity posed, the little monsters had a mission and completed it with zest and zeal. I applaud their creativity.

Even though I paid four times as much as I should have for that glass of Kold Kool-Aid, it was the best buck I ever spent. What a bargain for the lesson I learned about effective budgeting and cost control. They should be giving seminars to small-business owners on running a tight ship and fiscal responsibility. Warren Buffet would be proud!

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