By Carly Okyle
When Bella Weems was 14 years old, she wanted a car—despite the fact it would be two years before she could legally drive it. Many of her friends were older, and they were passing their driving tests. Moreover, a friend had let Bella drive a very old white, stick-shift truck on some land the family had. When she told her parents, they told her she’d have to pay for it herself.
Bella turned to babysitting but after months of caring for kids, she only had $350 to show for her efforts. At that rate, she thought, she’d never save up enough money in time. Again, she expressed herself to her parents, noting the frustrations of labor-intensive work for low pay. Rather than suggest a second job or offer money in exchange for completing chores or maintaining a particular GPA, her mom and dad offered to match the money she saved from babysitting so she could start a business.
