Ed Plein's Story which he calls the "O" Zone Now the "$" Zone "Concession sales has always intrigued me. While attending the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire in 1988, I ran a brat stand during homecoming weekend. The amount of money we made in 2 days was astounding and has haunted me for the past 15 years while trying to "make it" in the corporate I.T. world. While attending the winter carnival at the St. Paul ice palace in January, 2004, I noticed a long line of lunatics waiting for 30 minutes in 10 degree weather to get their bag of mini donuts. Since my wife was one of those lunatics, that gave me the opportunity to study the operation for 30 minutes and do some rough calculations in my head about how much money they were pulling in. I learned a lot that night by watching and also learned some things I would do differently.

Student Entrepreneur of the Year award Goes to Samantha Nickerson of Nova Scotia

We had no money to invest and already had significant debt, but still had excellent credit. So I decided to go for broke (literally) and start our mobile donut concession business (without my wife's initial consent) by buying our trailer and equipment with the last $30,000 credit we had on (gasp!) credit cards. We thought we could just waltz into all the county fairs and set up our trailer. Our first year in business we must have made 200 phone calls to get into 6 events, 4 of which were duds. But, it was a start and we stuck with it. It's now the end of our second year and we now have numerous good events throughout the summer and also raise thousands of dollars in fund raisers. The turning point for my wife was when I took about $2,500 gross from an awesome weekend event, walked into the bedroom where she was reading a book and threw the $2,500 (all in tens and twenties) in the air and let them all rain down on her. With a lot of grit and determination, I have almost doubled my annual corporate I.T. salary and we are looking at being totally out of debt in the next 4 years instead of the next 25 years. Thanks, Lil' Orbits! The picture is our stand this past July 4th, where we had a 40 person line for 4 straight hours." Ed Plein Bringing Some Cheer to Nursing Homes Each year the three of us (Ed, Galyna and Cleo) dress up as Mr. and Mrs. Santa and Santa's helper (Cleo) and pass out bags of fresh mini donuts to the elderly people in several hursing homes in the area. You should see the thankful surprise in their eyes when they open their bags and munch on those tasty morsels. It's a great feeling to spread some cheer to the confined. Try It!

Excerpts as published by Lighthouse News, Bridgewater, NS.....A young businesswoman has been recognized for her entrepreneur abilities. Samantha Nickerson, 16, was awarded the Student in Business Entrepreneur of the Year award through the Celebrating Community Innovation Awards sponsored Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. The event on November 18 rounded out a two-day conference with a gala banquet where six awards of excellence were presented recognizing innovation and volunteerism. Miss Nickerson, a Grade 11 student at Park View Education Centre, was recognized for her business, Lil' Orbits Donuts, a mobile donut machine. Throughout the year, she attends special occasions and exhibitions selling her hot, mouthwatering treats. The night of the awards in the Annapolis Valley, Miss Nickerson was nervous. She knew that she was one of three finalists before she went. But when her name was called as the recipient of the award, she was surprised. "There was like 300 people there," said Miss Nickerson, who managed to say a few words when she received the award. With the award, she was given $700 worth of advertising with EastLink Cable. Miss Nickerson was able to get her business off the ground the first year and expand in the second through two loans from the Students in Business (SIB) program. In her second year, she purchased a new donut-making machine which doubled her productivity. Word is also getting out about her treats. In addition to summertime exhibitions and events, this year she will be doing Park View's winter carnival. Her business has not only provided a good income for Miss Nickerson, it is also beginning to open opportunities for her. Even though Miss Nickerson is only in Grade 11, she was approached by Acadia University because of her early developed business skills. (Photo by PAULA LEVY) Editor's Note: Our sincere congratulations to you, Samantha. We just love to help people help themselves Ed Anderson