Transcript for the Piece Audio version of Kids' Money-Making Schemes

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Money from birthdays and allowances ? that money comes with strings attached.
Waiting for a birthday to roll around can be painful.
And agonizing over chores around the house is just not that much fun.
Kids have no control over that cash.
Making money may seem like a necessity to most adults, ?but to some kids, getting their hands on a few bucks is more of a thrill.

Man, I remember when I had ten dollars ? ten dollars could get you anything in the world when you?re ten and you have ten dollars.
That?s 27 year old Nick Townes - he grew up in Washington DC.
In fact, when Nick was ten years old, his uncle gave him a lawn mower - even though Nick and his family lived in an apartment building. Trying to turn a buck, he started mowing lawns in the neighborhood.
Nick and Tia Gram are lounging on Morgan State University?s campus on a sunny afternoon. They say, if you were willing to take a chance as a kid, there were always a few games you could join that might turn a profit your way?
Yeah the big thing with us was playing TUNK ? and some people rolled dice in the back of school or it was paugs or jax if you want to take it all the way back.
Natalie Smith is from Baltimore. She?s a proud kid entrepreneur ?
She went into business with her family.
When I was 7, my mom made fruit cups and me and my siblings would make the kool-aid, put them in the freezer and collected the money at the front door.
Yeah, when I was young I lived across the street from a university.
That?s Mike McQuestion ? he lives in Baltimore, but he grew up in Milwaukee.
WE used to go to the game and walk around under the grandstands and grab people?s empty soda bottles and sell them for money.
When you were little did you have any money making schemes? Oh yeah I had a few.
Erin Cermak, another local businesswoman, tells her story -
I had a lemonade stand ? I should preface by saying
I had a big family ? I was one of six.

Track 48 seconds
Music
Recently Erin Cermak ? the woman who set up a lemonade stand INSIDE her family?s house ? helped her two sons start their own roadside business.
When you pull up to their house, sitting on the edge of New Hampshire Ave., you see a six foot post with six slanted signs nailed to it. They read -

people and gentlemen get your worms here
10 cents a worm

That?s six year old Enzo Fiore, who along with his brother ? four year old, Otto, have become the fastest worm catchers in Howard County. They?ve made it their business to catch and sell worms. Lucky Worms as well as Monster Worms ? that?s the name of their worm store.
To help interview these budding businessmen, standing barefoot in their front yard ? my nine-year old curious niece came along. Kailey Anderson -
35 seconds
Why worms? Otto really liked worms ?he liked worms so much that he decided to put worms in his pants ? with ice. How man worms did he put down his pants? Like 30.
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Their mother, Erin, stands over the boys while they giggle and tell the story of how they got into the worm business. She cringes and squints at the memory. They were on the back porch one wet Spring afternoon when Otto pulled down his pants and showed worms crawling all over his legs. She says at first she was totally grossed out. But he charmed her -
He said Mom, I just love worms.

After getting over the shock - and humor - of the situation, she plucked the worms off her four year old and pulled up his pants.

Then she did what moms sometimes do when their kid does something weird. Like in the movie, ?Little Miss Sunshine? - she just went with it.

Otto?s worm obsession was turning into his first money making scheme.
Pretty soon, every time it rained, the two brothers would grab their flashlights and start digging through the mud.

My reporting assistant, Kailey Anderson had a few questions.
Where do you find the worms and how do you collect them? We have two places ? near the garden ? you?ll find a bunch wood and then you?ll find rocks. So, you look for the wood and the rocks and then underneath?are the worms ? yeah!

Otto and Enzo squat down by a bin full of dirt to demonstrate their worm catching technique.

So you dig with your hand - here?s a worm, and there?s a worm and see? Like that?

The bin the two brothers are digging through contains their worm stock.
After they catch the worms, they drop them in this bin and cover it with a slab of wood.
Next to the bin, is a stack of empty, clean baby food containers ? the storage for their customers? worms.
And, there?s an old-fashioned metal box - for the money, of course.
Kailey -

How much money have you made? What are your hours? We?ve made 114$

That?s right- the two brothers, with their Mom?s help, have made 114 dollars.
At ten cents a worm.
Apparently, the 7-11 convenience store up the street from their house made a huge purchase.
And after the 7-11 owners bought them, they marketed them at their store ? as good for your compost bin, good for your garden.

Now Kailey wanted to know a little more about the business end of things for the owners of Monster Worms?

What do you do if you don?t feel like working that day? WE play a game.
We only work on Saturday.

Erin, their mother, says that on Saturday mornings, she stops doing all the stuff that clutters up a weekend morning - like emptying the dishwasher, mowing the lawn, and folding laundry. Instead, she and her sons hang out in the front yard. They throw the football around while waiting for customers to pull into the driveway. Enzo says the worms attract all kinds of nature lovers ? from gardeners to fishermen.

They catch really big fish

Enzo and Otto are just two worm catchers trying to get their slice of the pie, but they rule their backyard like they are the kings of their universe:
They?re riding their bikes in the woods near their house, looking for spots that they have yet to dig up?and when they do find some fresh territory - they drop to their knees and start playing in the dirt. This is how they work.

Digging : huh! Look see that one!

For the Signal, I?m Mary Rose Madden with assistance from Kailey Anderson

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