SQUID FLIP: The Kid Who Started His Own Furniture Flipping Business

One morning in late July, I received an email about a kidpreneur named Owen Simoes. Kid entrepreneurs are popping up all over the place. With so many free resources available to build their own websites, along with their cracker jack tech and social media skills, it’s no wonder kid businesses are having a great big moment.

Owen’s dad introduced me to Squid Flip, Owen’s furniture flipping business. (Hello! You had me at ‘furniture flipping’).  And a KID run flipping business to boot—well, I couldn’t look away. I set up a time and called Owen at his Concord, New Hampshire shop. We chatted about what kind of pieces he flips, what kinds of tools he uses, how much help he gets from his parents and best of all, how he’s  learning valuable business skills. For Owen to run his business, he has to borrow money from his parents to purchase the potential flips, pay for some shop space in the basement of his Dad’s office building, and pay for booth space when he goes out in the community to sell his wares.  There alone, Owen is learning firsthand the very basics of being a business owner.  In our conversation, Owen shared with me how he determines if a piece is worth purchasing for a flip. He considers the cost, labor, materials and his potential profit on the piece. Before he buys, he mentally runs the numbers in his head. His mom helps him with pricing. They see what pieces are selling for online, and then usually price them a bit lower.

Owen is now 13. He started his business when he was 10.  Close to three years in, he’s been written up in The Boston Globe, has appeared on Good Morning America, and most recently he appeared on PBS’s Design Squad Global. Like all good entrepreneurs, he’s already spotted and met the need for a coordinating product within his market–an alternative to spray paint. He began making, mixing and selling his custom chalk paints. Aligned with the Squid Flip brand, he calls the paints Squid Ink. Each color is named after a familiar New Hampshire location or theme. Using his own paints on his flips, as well as selling the paints to his customers pretty much feels like Entrepreneurship 101; a very clever start to an industrious kidpreneur venture, I’d say.

You might see Owen at the flea market of all flea markets–Brimfield, held three times a year in Brimfield, Massachusetts. Brimfield runs this year from September 3-8. He told me if he does get a space, he’ll only be there a few days, he doesn’t want to miss too much of the beginning of his first week of school.