1 Million Pennies In 100 Days

How do you define "Innovative Thinking"?  How many times have you heard the term "think outside of the box"? One day while riding the train into work, a young man walked back and forth selling his candy throughout the car.  Now this is not unusual as four out of five days I see at least one person, usually two selling something on the trains.  But this young man had something a little different.  If you weren't interested in his five cent candy he would counter with "I'm collecting one million pennies in one hundred days, can you help"? 

In this post, I'm going to share my thoughts as I walked away from that encounter and why I think this was a smart idea.

Los Angeles County has an immensely large homeless population so the amount of people out panhandling or trying to sell items no one else would want in order to obtain food, drink or drugs is over the top.  Hardly a few days will go by without someone asking to obtain favor.  To make matters worse for the homeless, many of the guys and gals who approach me look speak and act as if they are perfectly capable of obtaining some sort of employment most likely because they are not homeless at all but capitalizing on the "Good Neighbor" most of us would like to be.  Yet for whatever reason, that corner spot in the downtown area has the capacity to produce a better income than a part time position at the local shopping center.  Of course the current employment situation or rather lack of employment is obvious to all.  However, Mr. Million Pennies was on to something.

1.   For starters, he was definitely thinking BIG.  

2.   He had an immediate counter to the 1st "NO", asking for something most of us pay little or no attention to.  

3.   He carried a handmade but artistic sign which he only displayed after a prospect declined the five cent candy. The sign said the same words he spoke out loud and was attractive enough to make everyone want to pay closer attention.

4.   He was polite and respectful to everyone at all times.

5.   He spoke as if it was a Personal Project he had been working on and NOT a source of income.

6.   Nobody really likes pennies.  Pennies can be a nuisance when you're looking for silver through the debris at the bottom of a purse or back pack. Pennies aren't even full copper anymore. Pennies were 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc until 1982, when the composition was flipped to 97.5 percent zinc and 2.5 percent copper.

7.   How often does anyone leave home without at least two pennies in their fist full of pocket change?  

8.   Most of us have jars of pennies somewhere around the house and those jars just keep adding up. But how many of us actually spend the effort to cash them in?

9.   His request is for you to give away something you don't really want in the first place. If it's available why would anyone say no?

10. One million pennies in one hundred days is $10,000. in a little over three months.  The chance that he will reach that goal (providing it is indeed a true goal) is slim.  But how much in donations would he actually receive, one thousand or two?  What if he does reach his goal?  For a street hustler could $36,000.00 in a year be so bad?**

As difficult as making a living can be for the disenfranchised, I think this gentleman came up with a great idea to obtain some form of income.  Although there is considerably more work involved when it's time to cash them all in for a more convenient form of currency, it seemed far more people were willing to give away pennies than they were willing to purchase five cent candy or just give change away to a random stranger.  His idea was unique, sound and appeared to work at least somewhat.  I walked away wishing him the best.

What would it take for each of us to come up with a simple yet effective life altering idea?  If you are a business owner, what one thing can you tweak that will increase your bottom line?  If you are a single parent, what simple move can you take that could potentially make your life a little less stressful?  

Sometimes it only takes one little movement to make all the difference. 

As always, share your thoughts and comment.

By OddCollard

**(numbers are not meant to be exact)

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