| The Knudson Brothers |
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Snack sales give brothers taste of business By Cecile Wehrman (This article appeared in the Crosby Journal on June 19, 2004.)  Three Crosby boys are getting a taste of the working world, running a snack machine business at their parents' pea processing plant.Ryan Knudson, 13 and brothers Lance, 9 and Noah, 6, were excited about the idea when a used vending machine became available for use at Superior Grains. The boys' parents, Les and Becky Knudson, saw the venture as a good opportunity to introduce their children to the very real world of loss, supply and demand. "I think it's important to teach kids at a young age that just because someone paid a buck for something it doesn't mean you made a buck," said Les. Becky liked the idea, too, because "we felt it wasn't appropriate for the company to own it." The plant employs about 20 people and also gets a lot of traffic from truckers and farmers hauling commodities. When people buy a snack or a sandwich from the refrigerated machine in the office, they may not think twice about how the snacks got there. But the boys thought long and hard before signing a loan to buy the machine. "Ryan had to design a business plan and look at break even points. He had a couple of different scenarios when he went to the bank," said Becky. Little Noah's signature on the loan papers was unique in Farmers State Bank history, Becky said, requiring two lines to accommodate his first grade writing style. Their parents co-signed the loan, but part of this deal requires the boys to learn what it means to be a responsible to a bank, not just to mom and dad. "We thought it would make them more responsible if they had to pay someone other than us," Becky said. "It's worked really well. They realize if their machine is empty they may not be able to pay their loan." "There's been times when we've not had a lot of food," Ryan admits, because they didn't think far enough ahead. Not old enough to drive themselves, they have to rely on mom and dad for transportation to pick up their supplies. They've already experienced the panic that comes from stocking a product no one is buying. The boys wanted to dump the product or discount it, but Becky advised them to hold fast. Sure enough, the less than popular candy did eventually make its way out of the machine. What have they learned from the experience? "Stock what sells," Lance says. "Reeses," Noah answers, because several varieties of that candy have sold very well. Besides snacks, the machine holds sandwiches that can be heated in the office lunch room. All three boys participate in the ordering and stocking, though Noah says he did a little more than his share while his brothers were busy with hockey last winter. They were able to take their first profits from the business in April, about seven months into the operation. Noah bought some toy cars and Lance is saving up for some goalie gear. "I've already got my hockey stick for next year," Ryan said. "I think it's kind of opened their eyes a little bit to be in business," Becky said. Ryan, especially, has developed a cautionary stance, concerned not to take too much out of the business lest they be unable to meet an emergency like an expensive bulb replacement or a cooling system gone haywire. In fact, at first he didn't want to take any profit until the machine was paid off -- another year or more, but his parents convinced him it was important to keep his partners happy, too. "The experience is more important than the money," Becky feels, but the money, after all, is a big part of what makes the work worthwhile. |