The Bookless Club: How did you scramble some money together as a kid?

In the months ahead you're sure to see them.
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Yes, it's time to prepare for the onslaught of fresh-faced darlings seated behind small, curb side tables. Their signage will read lemonade even though the drinks on offer may be Crystal Light or Kool-Aid. The pricing will vary between embarrassingly low — say, 10 cents for a cup — to shockingly high — a brash request for $4 for some watery fruit punch.
Even if you're not the slightest bit thirsty, you'll shrug and comply. The 10-cent drink, however, will garner a hefty tip.
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There's something about warm weather that spawns a mercantile impulse in children.
I don't know what to attribute it to — maybe Facebook Marketplace, or Etsy — but of late, I'm encountering a different type of roadside commerce. And it's a far cry from the jug of juice and stack of cups.
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You couldn't miss it. He'd clearly understood the three rules of real estate: Location, location, location. He'd set up near a traffic light so people had no choice but to stop. There was an alleyway beside him so cars could easily pull over. There was even a bus stop promising a steady stream of potential customers. Lots of options here.
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I had to stop. Turns out he was selling rocks.
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He had geodes, cave calcites, amethyst crystal clusters, lava, and more. He was, indeed, 10 and he was selling geological specimens. I asked him about a few of them. He had a surprising amount of information.
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'How much is that one?' I asked, pointing at a pretty rock covered with sparkly druze crystals.
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'$60,' came the reply.
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I raised my eyebrows and cocked my head.
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My daughter was riding her bike when she spied the tot and the table. Stopping for kids behind tables is a congenital defect in my family, so she stopped. The kidlet, maybe six or seven years old, was selling dahlia tubers. She explained that the tubers came from her aunt who lived up the Valley and that there were two colours to choose from.
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My daughter chose the three pack of Chimacum Nadjae dahlias. They were advertised on their hand-labelled paper bag as being 'warm 4' coral blooms'. The price was $25. As she handed the freckle-faced vendor the cash she found herself wondering if she was getting fleeced by a preschooler.

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• Global News

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Winnipeg Free Press

5 days ago

• Winnipeg Free Press

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Winnipeg Free Press

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AI-powered platform Botaplace aims to make selling products online effortless

Akeem Adebisi wants to change e-commerce. The Winnipeg entrepreneur is one of the founders of Botaplace, an artificial intelligence-powered online platform that aims to make selling products online effortless. Whether users are solo entrepreneurs, resellers or small businesses, Botaplace purports to give them everything they need to launch, promote and manage their store — all in one platform. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS Akeem Adebisi and his wife Bunmi run Botaplace. Sellers upload a photo or description of their product and an AI assistant generates a listing and social media-ready videos for advertising. 'Our mission is simple,' said Adebisi, 45. 'We want to level the playing field and give businesses the same global reach and marketing capability that a big box retailer has.' Users can access the platform by visiting or by downloading the app. Sellers upload a photo or description of their product and 'Bo,' Botaplace's AI assistant, generates a listing and short, social media-ready videos for advertising. Additionally, Bo creates secure payment links that sellers can share on social media or by email and text. The Botaplace dashboard also tracks inventory, fulfillment and shipping. The result is a selling platform that does away with the need for advertising agencies, payment gateways and fulfillment centres, Adebisi said. In Adebisi's estimation, online selling platforms like Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji are designed with the buyer's experience in mind. Botaplace aims to help retailers sell more units by getting their listings in front of buyers who are already searching for those products on the platform. 'Then you can relax and think about your business and how to grow it,' said Adebisi, who runs Botaplace with his wife, Bunmi. Born and raised in Nigeria, Adebisi moved to Winnipeg 10 years ago to reunite with family and to pursue his dreams of helping society and creating a better life for his children. Botaplace is not the software engineer and IT professional's first online platform. Three years ago, he launched AjoPro, an app that helps people from racialized communities save money to meet their financial goals. After coming up with the idea for Botaplace, Adebisi purchased Ready Made Solutions Inc., a Calgary-based software company with around 10 employees, to help him create the platform. (He declined to disclose the terms of the deal.) 'I do have strong faith… that Bota will transform the way people sell,' Adebisi said. 'One of my strongest beliefs and hopes… is that whether you're selling on Amazon or Shopify, or selling to traditional marketplaces, that Bota can amplify your reach.' It's exciting to see what people can do with AI and Botaplace sounds like 'a really good use of it,' said Harry Roy McLaughlin, founding chairman of the Manitoba Association of AI Professionals. 'That seems to be where a lot of technology, especially with AI, is going: being able to have a more natural interaction with AI and it being able to take actions on your behalf,' McLaughlin said. Botaplace has a supporter in Zita Somakoko, president of Black-Manitobans Chamber of Commerce. At a difficult time for Canada-U.S. trade, Somakoko is promoting the platform to chamber members as a reliable customer relationship management tool. 'Bota is… offering a solution for entrepreneurs that is made in Canada,' she said. Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter Adebisi hopes Botaplace becomes popular in the keystone province and beyond. 'The relationship between (Canada) and the United States is becoming very unreliable and we need people to look at other ways of selling their products,' he said. 'We have high hopes for this product and we think it's going to be something Manitobans can be proud of.' Botaplace takes a 15 per cent commission based on the original selling price entered by the seller. It makes additional revenue if sellers pay to boost their listing. The app has been available on Google's Play Store since May and became available on Apple's App Store last week. Aaron Epp Reporter Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. He was previously the associate editor at Canadian Mennonite. Read more about Aaron.