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A 3-hour weekend project. $12 in supplies. Five neighbors. A real customer at the end.
Split a bulk bag of soft dog treats into small paper bags—about six to eight bags from one $8 club pack. Each bag holds enough for a few days of rewards, not a month of pantry clutter.
Name your price before you knock: $3 per bag on the first weekend. If neighbors ask for a deal on two bags, you can do $5 for two—still well above what the supplies cost per bag.
Your first real customer might be a parent you already know. The pitch is simple: “I’m selling small bags of dog treats—three dollars—for dogs on the block.”
$3 per bag first weekend; optional $5 for two bags if someone asks.
Smile, say “totally okay—thanks anyway,” and go to the next house. No convincing, no pushing.
The setup (Saturday morning)
Lay out bags, treats, and labels on the kitchen table.
Fill each bag with the same amount so the product looks intentional.
Write your price on the label with a thick marker—large enough to read on a doorstep.
The walk
Start with houses that have visible dogs or dog toys. Ring the bell, step back, and use your pitch script. If no one answers, move on—this is a numbers game, not a confrontation.
If someone says “not today,” say “okay—thanks for answering” and leave. That’s still a successful knock.
The money moment
When someone says yes, take exact change if you can. If they offer a five, make change from a small stack of ones you brought on purpose.
After you sell your first bag, debrief for two minutes: What did you say? What landed? What would you tweak before the next house?
Money skill
Unit cost → price → margin, in one notebook row.
Lesson
Starting small beats optimizing forever—one knock teaches more than another hour of planning.
Questions
This week’s money skill is unit economics at a kid scale: total supply cost, number of sellable units, and a price that still feels “fair” on a doorstep.
The lesson isn’t maximizing profit on day one—it’s learning that small, repeatable sales beat one perfect sale that never happens.
After the walk, ask:
Which house felt easiest to approach—and why?
Did the price feel too high, too low, or just right after the first sale?
What would you change before you go out again—product, route, or pitch?