Work Builders – Dad's Blog

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here and lots has happened. This last summer our family relocated from upstate NY to Knoxville TN and along with us comes Ryan’s Work Builders business. With all of the activity that surrounds moving to a new home, adjusting to a new school and finding new friends, thoughts of his Easy Builder building block business have been a little secondary but he’s still managed to fill an order here and there. His little brother Collin is excited to step in and help now too.

Today was a short school day for Ryan and that opened the door for us to find our way to a local bank where he set up a new savings account. One more step in the transition from NY to TN! After a little research online looking at banks he chose one close by that offers a “Looney Tunes” account for kids. Every so often he’ll get a newsletter just for kids and they gave him his own Piggy Bank just for opening the account.

Over the last few weeks Ryan’s been keenly focused on some new ideas, big ideas. The biggest hurdle he’ll have to overcome is cost, so he’s been churning our plans to overcome that left and right. The coming weeks and months could get a bit interesting, we’ll see.

Last night Ryan visited the executive offices of SOS Shelter and donated 65 sets of his Easy Builder building blocks for their use. Ryan was greeted by five members of the SOS Shelter board and staff. It was a happy visit and fun for Ryan to complete his goals of distributing toys for the holidays again this year.

These 65 sets of building blocks were the result of Ryan’s second Work Builders Block Party and the help of 175 volunteers who attended this year. Roughly two weeks ago Ryan also donated a similar number of building block sets to Toys for Tots. His donation to Toys for Tots happened at his elementary school with all of his second grade classmates there to see.

If you would like to support Ryan’s efforts to help charity, your tax deductible donations will support the Work Builders Block Party! Get all the info here!

One year ago at just six years of age, Ryan Steadman started his own business, promised to share 50% of his earnings with charity and inspired a community charity project attended by over 100 volunteers! This year at seven years old he has done it again, his second Work Builders Block Party.

It would be hard not to be proud of any son who takes such initiative to help others much less one doing so at 6 or 7 years of age. He has remained true to all his pledges giving half of his earnings to United Way and finding ways to give to other charities as well. His second Work Builders Block Party charity event, which happened just two weeks ago, out performed the first with greater attendance (175) and more building blocks for charity (1,800).

So, what is next for this pint sized entrepreneur? Well, second grade. I can tell you that he has not lost any interest in his Work Builders business or helping charity. And the Work Builders Block Party? He has every intention of doing another one next year and making it bigger!

We’re off to a great start towards pulling off the Work Builders Block Party again this year. But there is one more piece to this puzzle I am anxious to put together. How do we pay for it all?

The first Block Party was a whirlwind that happened over a span of two weeks time from concept to event date! I didn’t have time to worry about how the costs were getting covered. I was focused on making it happen and happen it did. This year promises to be as big or bigger and the costs will grow accordingly.

So how do we pay for it? Soliciting donations seems like a reasonable idea. The effort is all for charity after all. But, Work Builders is not a non-profit and anyone asked to contribute will want to know their donation can be a tax deduction in the spring. It only makes sense.

So I started asking a few questions earlier this summer. I asked people who know more than I, “How do you become a non-profit?”. The answers were not encouraging. My take after numerous conversations is that it would take a lot of work and significant costs to make it happen. It seemed prohibitive.

Then I happened to spend 5 minutes talking with the right person and everything changed! There may be a way. Anyone who works extensively with non-profit organizations would probably know this but it was a revelation for me. If we work closely with one of the non-profits we plan to support, we can solicit donations (to that organization) which are held for our use! Wow!

There are deeper details to the whole thing but the net result is that it opens the door for two great things to happen. First, we can generate funds which will pay the costs of our event. And second, we may be able to generate greater funds which can benefit our charity in an even larger way! As they say, it’s a WIN-WIN!

So, we are trying to put this relationship together and keeping our fingers crossed that this will work. If it does I am sure you will be hearing about it.

If you would consider helping us with a contribution (or know someone we should contact) please contact us here! As soon as we have a solid plan for making that happen we will be in touch. Even small contributions will help a lot. I hope you will consider it.

During the Work Builders Block Party of 2009 Ryan came to me at one point and said, “Daddy, I want to do this again next week!” Well, we didn’t do it the following week, but we ARE doing it again in the following year.

Announcing the Work Builders Block Party 2010!

The Work Builders Block Party is a community volunteer project and YOU are invited. Our project is to make as many sets of Easy Builder building blocks as we can in one day. Then ALL of them are donated to local charity.

Once again this year Ryan has decided to support Toys for Tots and SOS Shelter with the building block sets we make. Last year we were able to donate 51 sets of kids building blocks to each of those charity organizations. This year we hope to do even more with your help.

Here are the details:

What: Work Builders Block Party
Where: Binghamton University, Fine Arts Building, room FA212
When: Sunday November 14, 2010 10am-3pm
Who: EVERYONE is welcome!
How: You can sign up online RIGHT NOW!

We hope you will come and help us make some happy holidays for children who need it. Come when you can, you don’t have to be there start to finish. If you can make it for an hour or a few hours we will be glad to have your help!

I hope we will see you there! Mark your calendar for Sunday November 14!

Part of the fun in this business for Ryan and I has been to watch where his Easy Builder building block sets actually go. A while back I added a fun map to his website which shows just that, the destinations to which he has shipped the block sets.

Naturally, most of his orders have been right here in the central New York area. But as you can see his orders have shipped nationwide, and not just to family either!

People have had fun showing us how much they are enjoying the block sets too. So far we have seen some photos of children enjoying the building blocks and even spotted a YouTube video of some kids opening up their Easy Builder building block sets on Christmas morning! I am not sure who had more fun, the kids opening their presents or Ryan watching them do it on YouTube!

If you would like to share your experience with Easy Builder building blocks with us please do. Send Ryan an email and let us know how the blocks are being enjoyed. We love seeing the pictures!

After saving for the last few months, Ryan’s hard earned profits had grown to the point where it seemed time to make his donation to United Way of Broome County. So, yesterday I picked him up from school and we headed over to the United Way offices here in Vestal, NY to do just that. Ryan had decided on his own long ago that he would give a full 50% of his Work Builders profits to United Way. This was his first chance to put that plan into action.

Last week I contacted United Way to let them know Ryan wanted to make his donation. They were already aware of his charitable activities supporting Toys for Tots and SOS Shelter as well as his intentions for supporting United Way once his profits accumulated. In fact they have been very supportive of everything Ryan has been doing helping to spread the word and even buying some of his blocks.

When we arrived there were already two TV camera crews there and two more would come shortly thereafter. There was also a reporter from the local newspaper who had come for the story. They took a little time to interview Ryan as best you can with a six-year-old and he shared a bit about the day’s donation and how he had raised the funds. At one point Ryan was surrounded by four TV cameras and a photographer. That was without counting me. I did come prepared with camera in hand and took a few photos of my own! Ryan seemed to take it all in stride. I was able to find the news report done by News 10 Now online. You can view the video here.

Next Ryan got to meet Mr. Alan Hertel, Executive Director of United Way of Broome County, who was looking forward to meeting Ryan and would personally accept his donation. Mr. Hertel waited patiently as did the room full of news crews as Ryan carefully counted out the money he had brought to donate, $60.00 in all. Ryan then gave his donation to Mr. Hertel and in return received a receipt for his records. I’ll talk with him more about that later. Mr. Hertel talked with Ryan a bit about how his donation helps United Way and some of the things United Way does for our community. Before he was done, Mr. Hertel also bought a set of blocks from Ryan. A nice surprise that added to the fun.

When Ryan left the United Way offices he had a smaller stash of money in his shiny money box, but I do believe he had a bigger smile than the one he arrived with. He really enjoyed making his donation and I enjoyed watching him.

Up until now any money Ryan has managed to accumulate from his Work Builders business or the catalyst Lemonade Stand he and his brother ran last summer, has been kept in a shiny “money box”, a very nice jewelry box his mother gave him. After discussing it off and on over recent weeks, Ryan and I headed off to the bank so he could open up his very own savings account!

With his money box in hand Ryan was excited to head into the bank. Given his choice of what bank he would like to use, he chose the bank closest to our house so that “we can get there fast if we need to”. As we walked into the bank he also commented he was glad to finally see what the inside of this bank looks like. We drive past it all the time.

Once inside we waited a few minutes and were then helped by a nice lady named Gigi. She explained the details of the “Starter” savings account which Ryan would have and we took care of the paperwork. After considering his options carefully, Ryan decided that an initial deposit of $10.00 would be good and so it was.

So now with his savings account in place, Ryan likes that his money will “grow” in the bank. Hopefully he won’t be too disappointed when he sees what that really means with a small deposit and frighteningly low interest rate. But he is learning some lessons about how to handle money and that is a good thing. Plus it counts as an achievement for him as a Cub Scout too, so he’s got that going for him…

As we exited the bank Ryan’s naturally inquisitive nature drew him to the impressive large metal vault door. Unwilling to leave without at least a rudimentary understanding of what that was and how it worked, his curiosity was satisfied by another helpful bank employee who offered him a quick look inside and brief description.

All in all a good learning experience for Ryan. Now he knows where to keep his money safe!

If I have had to do anything proactive throughout the process of assisting Ryan as he has started up his Work Builders company and building block business, it has been to keep the reigns pulled in a bit. You see, building blocks are not his vision for Work Builders. Not by a long shot.

The trick so far has been to keep him focused on a product simple enough that we can reasonably make it by hand, with a somewhat sketchy selection of tools to work with. His plans for product offerings are extensive and in some cases rather involved. But here is one we may be able to work on without too much in the way of retooling, or breaking the bank.

Ryan’s brother Collin has a birthday on January 5. This year he turned 4 years old and boy was he looking forward to that! You see, when you are four years old “everything’s fun!” as he puts it. In any case, Ryan decided to make a present for Collin’s birthday and that is what you see pictured here. Ryan’s bus. Some time ago Ryan had been playing around with some building blocks one day and it struck him that they looked like a bus. He’s been pondering that idea ever since.

The bus is made from materials we already had on hand, Easy Builder building blocks! I admire his resourcefulness using materials we already had. The only thing we had to get specifically for this bus was the wheels. His plan was to glue the blocks together paint them yellow (paint we also already had on hand) and draw on the details that would make the bus look good. Collin’s birthday was a perfect chance to build his prototype and give it a test run. I think he did a great job!

If he does decide to go ahead with this as a new product for Work Builders there will be some details to work on for sure. As you can see from the second photo, all four wheels don’t sit nicely on the ground and that is a detail not lost on Ryan. So we’ll need to do a better job with that. Also it adds some time and expense to be gluing the blocks together and such. We might find ourselves discussing other options for building materials. But these are things you learn when you build your first prototype, right?

So for now Ryan is pondering this bus as a new product offering. For the future, he has been writing down other ideas in a planning notebook. One he had me get at the store expressly for this purpose. In his planning notebook… All I can say is that he has the book broken down into sections each one containing a list of other products he is considering for production, soon.

As for me? I’m still holding the reigns, a little.

During the course of the Work Builders Block Party I had the opportunity to meet and speak with so many people I would not have otherwise ever met. There were lots of interesting people in attendance from many different demographics.

One of these people presented what sounded to me like a great idea as he viewed our volunteer project from his own perspective. I wish I had made note of his name to give him proper credit but unfortunately I did not. The person I am speaking of is a Binghamton University student who mentioned that home for him is in Brooklyn, NY. This young man took a moment to tell me how impressed he was with our charity project and that he was enjoying being there with us very much.

We were talking outside where the spray painting was going on as he was spray painting a set of blocks he had just finished sanding. I commented that at the days start I was concerned with the idea of bringing spray paint onto University property and had hoped that we would not somehow wind up responsible for graffiti on school property. The last thing I wanted to see happen was to be the catalyst for mischief. Thankfully, no such mischief happened.

Then he came up with an interesting idea. Mentioning how it was fun to see all these people using the spray paint for a good cause, he thought of all the graffiti artists and “taggers” in the areas surrounding his hometown. He said, “Wouldn’t it be great to invite all of those people to get together and use their spray paint for something positive like this!” Cool idea! As he thought of it more he seemed to think that would be pretty great.

It struck me how Ryan’s great idea was now generating a new idea from this enthusiastic BU student. I can not guess whether this student will ever try to follow through with that idea or not, but just knowing that Ryan’s idea might lead to others was a cool feeling.

Graffiti for Good… Somebody run with that!