Where Did All of the Paperboys Go?

by Kyle David on March 2nd at 1:43 pm EST

When I was 11 years old, I got my first job as a paperboy/newspaper salesman and it was one of the best experiences in my life.  I credit those early mornings filled with rain, sleet, snow, with teaching me a great deal of business discipline and work ethic.  It also taught me a lot of lessons that I still find myself reflecting upon.  For an 11 year old kid, it was a real character builder. 

Now, at least through my eyes, the newspaper benefited substantially by my employment.  They had a loyal customer base (I retained all of my deliveries except one in three years) as well as increased one (I was a hell of a newspaper subscription salesman).  This was a win-win relationship.  By any economic standard it was skewed in the newspaper’s favor. 

For all of these reasons, the first thing I did upon moving to a home of my own was call to have the local paper delivered.  And young Chuck, used to deliver with a smile.  I continued to pay my $6/week to get the local paper more because I was supporting the paperboy, rather than the paper.  (In fact, I was more often paying for a recycling chore.)  However, amid cutbacks, they fired the paperboy and I subsequently canceled the paper.  For the $20/week + tips, was this really a meaningful cutback?  Many people may find that a dollar saved is a dollar earned. (Remember when it used to be a penny?) I found this cutback absurd.

In thinking about this, I thought of all of the valuable business lessons that I learned and how I still use them today…

Value is in the Eye of the Beholder

My older brother had the route before me.  While he was just as disciplined, his heart wasn’t in it and collections were painful for him.  He wanted to get rid of the thing to the first person who would take it.  At the time, I wasn’t old enough, so I agreed to take the route over as long as he was the face of the operation until I was old enough.  I saw opportunity.  This wasn’t just a paper-route, it was weekly access to people whose lawns I could mow, driveways I could shovel, and yards I could rake.  Eventually it became Kyle’s Paper Delivery, Lawn Mowing, Babysitting, Yard Raking, Snow Shoveling, Christmas Light Hanging, and (eventually) Computer Fixing – Company.  I had a loyal customer base and likely the only 11 year old in suburbia with a pager.  When I was eventually old enough, I formally took it over, with a larger subscription base, up to date collections, and customers that called me first when something needed to be done.  (I was able to increase babysitting revenue by fixing computers while the kids were asleep.  It was a gold mine for an 11 year old.)

There is Power in a Well-Worded Contract

When I started my route, the paper was an afternoon delivery which meant that I could come home from school and start on my route.  It was quite convenient because I had all afternoon to deliver the papers.  The extra time gave me the opportunity to rake a few lawns while I was working my way up Sentinel Road.  However, word spread of my eagerness and I had increased my subscriber base by almost 50% in my territory (and won a small fleet of bikes and skateboards to prove it).  However, the newspaper dropped a bomb one day.  They were switching to morning delivery.  The claim to fame of the local paper is that it was always brought to your door.  There was no way that I could deliver that many papers to the door, before school, and still have enough energy to make it through the day. 

However, then I got an idea.  A lot of my subscribers got the city paper as well in the morning that was always at the end of the driveway.  They were going to have to go to the end of the driveway ANYWAY.  So I wrote a letter to my clients explaining my predicament.  I couldn’t continue the route if the paper had to be at the front door.  I enclosed a contract that released me from door-delivery and allowed me to bag a dry paper at the end of the driveway.  I agreed to a reduction in tip.  (I’m sure I also insinuated that if they ever wanted their kids to be cared for or their computer to work, they better sign up, but it was a long time ago.)  I only had one cancelation and a stack of releases. 

A couple of months later, one of the route inspectors must have spotted me tossing papers.  My route manager confronted me.  Imagine their surprise when I whipped out a file of releases with signatures.  The power of a well-worded contract is indisputable. 

Have a reliable #2…

There was never a stage where I wasn’t a workaholic, however there were always inevitable trips and reasons that I couldn’t deliver the paper myself.  Finding a substitute was easy, but finding a reliable substitute was not.  Papers would be poorly bagged and wet, not on-time, or not at all.  The kids in the neighborhood just didn’t get it.  They were killing my reputation and when I wasn’t tossing the papers myself.  As a result, I had a hard time concentrating on whatever I was supposed to be enjoying on “vacation.”  Then finally, I found someone who got it.  He and I became business partners on many lemonade stands and car washes.  We enjoyed a great partnership, I got to enjoy vacations and time off, and my customers never knew that I was gone.  In fairness, he knew he was good and charged a premium, but he was worth it.

Now it wasn’t just skills in running a business that I acquired, I sure learned a lot about sales too, but that is a post for a different day.