In this conversational interview, a young entrepreneur named Alana discusses her fledgling paper‑airplane business, Imagination Airways. She explains that she currently makes three distinct airplane styles, each printed with an inspirational message such as “You’re beautiful” or “Get after it.” Alana plans to produce about ten of each style, using standard printer paper, and to sell them for $2‑$3 each. Her sales strategy involves setting up a small table at a park, displaying the planes in clear plastic boxes, and using a hand‑made sign that reads “Imagination Airways.” She considers practical issues like wind blowing the planes off the table and how to secure them, and she mentions needing help from her parents for online sales, packaging, and sourcing materials. Alana also references other kid entrepreneurs (her friends who sell rubber‑band bracelets) and reflects on the meaning of being an entrepreneur. The interview captures her enthusiasm, the collaborative role of her family, and the early‑stage planning of product design, pricing, marketing, and operations.
Chapters
I can hear you now. How are you?
I'm good. How are you?
I'm well. I'm well. I wanted to check in on something you told me about a while ago. You said that you were going to create a paper airplane making business?
Yes.
How is that going?
It's going good.
So are you making paper airplanes?
I am. I have 3 ready right now.
And do you fly them yourself, or are you trying to sell them, or what are you doing with them?
Right, right now I'm trying to make more so I'm ready if they want like a lot.
I see.
So I'm trying to make—
I see. And is there anything special about these 3 paper airplanes? Are they all the same? Are they different? What's your design strategy?
They have like inspirational notes on them, like know you're beautiful, get after it.
Could you speak a little bit more loudly? I didn't hear that.
They have inspirational notes like know you're beautiful or get after it.
Oh wow, that's very cool, that's very cool. Was that your idea to put inspirational notes on the paper airplanes?
Yes, but also my dad and my mom helped out with the idea too.
Okay, I think that's a really great idea. So you've got 3, and how are you going to sell them once you get them made?
My dad's thinking maybe online, internet, or I'm just gonna try to find a place.
Do you know how to sell things on the internet at all?
No, but he's probably going to teach me.
Okay, that's a really cool idea. So you're going to create a business where you make paper airplanes. Are you the only person that makes them? Does your whole family make them? Who actually makes them?
I make them.
Okay, and then do you think that these are going to be for kids or for adults or who's going to buy them?
For me, I think it's going to be for kids to like play at the park or something.
Do you know how much you would sell them for?
Maybe $2 or $3.
$2 or $3? Um, and would you buy one if you were a kid?
I would because I would think that they were— that, um, it's really fun.
Okay, this is exciting. Do you like the idea of selling face-to-face? Do you think you could sell a paper airplane to another kid?
I think I could.
So suppose I'm a kid on the playground. How are you going to sell me your paper airplane?
Well, they would probably like come up and ask me for one, and I would ask what kind of style, and then they would they'll want that one and then I would give them one and then they would give me, um, how much it costs.
So you're thinking that you would be out there, would you be playing with them yourself or would you just be holding them in your hand or would you have a table?
I was thinking that I could like have a table or something.
Okay, um, do other people sell things like that at the park?
No, I haven't seen one in a while actually.
Okay, so you'd be the only person in the park selling and you'd have this little table and would you have a sign?
Yeah, I would.
What would your sign say?
Probably like Imagination Airways.
Imagination Airways?
Yeah.
Is that, is that a name you just figured out or did your whole family develop that one?
I made it up.
You did? I think that's really great. Imagination Airways. Did you make it up just now or have you been calling it that for a while?
I've been calling it that for a while, actually.
Okay, so you actually have a name for your company. So you have a table and a sign and it says Imagination Airways. And how many paper airplanes are you gonna have on this table?
I don't know. I'm just, I'm gonna see when I make the right amount.
Okay. I would be worried about the wind blowing the paper airplanes off the table. Have you thought about that?
No, but that's a really good point.
So, how do you think you can keep the paper airplanes from flying off the table?
I'm thinking that the ones I'm going to sell, I can put it like in a bucket, like below that has like a cover.
Okay, and that would, that would solve them. That would solve them from blowing off the table. But I would think part of the appeal for kids is that your airplanes look cool. Would you say your paper airplanes look cool?
I mean, kind of.
So if they're in a bucket. So you have a sign that says Imagination Airways, but all the planes are in a bucket. How are the kids going to know that they're cool?
I could probably like put up examples of each of the 3 kinds and then I could put them in a clear box.
Okay. You were a little bit quiet right now. I heard you're in a clear box. Did you say, what did you say after you put it in a clear box?
Like I could put, um, I could have 3 clear boxes and I could put each of, one of each of the 3 kinds for like examples and then put it on the front.
Got it, got it. And so when you say you have 3 airplanes, you mean you have 3 styles of airplanes right now? Is that right?
Yes, but I only have one of each right now.
Okay, one of each. So you, we've got the table, we've got these boxes, these clear boxes. Are the boxes gonna be plastic or glass?
Probably plastic, because then it's, it probably would be harder to break.
Yeah, and it's easier to carry and stuff too. So you've got plastic boxes showing off. I'm thinking it's hard to get really clear plastic. That's why I thought about glass, as glass is very clear, but plastic is easier to move around and much, much safer. So do you know if there's a plastic that's clear enough to show off your airplanes?
I actually don't know.
Okay, so ideally we get pretty clear plastic. We've got the sign. Does the sign just have words or does the sign have pictures on it?
Yeah, it's gonna have pictures on it.
Of your paper airplanes or you or both or your whole family?
Um, like maybe like an airplane soaring across the sky.
Ah, okay, imagination always, and an airplane Swooping across the sky, is that a real airplane or paper airplane?
A real airplane because like it's basically airplane except these are made out of paper.
I see. So you want kids to kind of imagine that they're flying real airplanes. So imaginary airlines and then you have a real airplane, but then in your boxes you have paper airplanes. And do you have anything else at the table or is that the whole table setup and design?
Um, I'm actually kind of thinking about it.
Any ideas?
Um, not right now because I'm, because I'm kind of on this step to like making them. Then I'll be working on the sign, then I'll be working like how to set up the table.
Totally makes sense. I mean, one of the reasons I'm asking you questions is hopefully to help you think about it. I like to visualize So when I do projects, and I would say starting a company, starting a business is a project, a new project, I like to visualize how I'm going to do it. So when you talk about, um, you know, Imagine Airways and the sign and the table, I'm actually creating like a picture in my mind of what your table looks like. Um, do you do something similar?
Like, what do you mean by similar? Like, do I do anything else?
Well, no, are you imagining your table and what it looks like in your mind?
Actually, yes.
Okay, that's what I mean by visualize. Yeah, what's that?
Like, like me with the table in the park with airplanes and then like kids or buying them to like play with.
Exactly, exactly. And then when I visualize it, Then that's when I visualized, oh, uh-oh, without airplanes in boxes, they could just blow off. And, you know, when I visualize it, I thought, okay, she's probably gonna have a sign. But I couldn't picture the sign. So I was asking you what the sign looked like. And you've kind of told me what the sign looks like. So we've got a pretty good picture of what it's gonna look like. Is there anything else you can think of we should, and I say we, it's really your project. Is there anything else you should think about in terms of getting your sales table set up?
And like where to get the boxes.
Mm-hmm.
And like where to find that material.
Yep, yep. How many, do you know roughly how many of each style of airplane you want to have ready before you set up your table?
Like how many?
Yeah, do you want 2 airplanes, 5 airplanes, 10 of each model, 50 of each model, 3 of each model?
Maybe 10 of each model and then when I'm sold out, I can get ready to just pack up and maybe play.
Okay. And do you use, you know, a regular piece of paper like for a laser printer? Is 8.5 by 11. Do you use a regular 8.5 by 11 sheet of paper or do you use some special paper?
Actually, I just use like printer paper, yeah.
Okay, and did you design these 3 styles or did you learn them from somebody else or how did you figure out these 3 styles?
3 styles? So I just like I know, I know how to make a paper airplane, so I just, and I thought of a really cool idea to like sell it, and then I started making them.
Yep, do you have any of them handy where you can show me one? Like, all right, that's great, go get it. Oh, that's very cool. I would say that's, I think of that as kind of a classics Do you have any of the other two styles handy?
Uh-huh. There's this one.
Go after it. So the first one said go get it and this one says go after it.
Get after it.
Yep. And what's the third one? Know you're beautiful. Excellent, excellent. And so you do the artwork and you make the airplanes and you write the titles on it and everything. So you are the entire producer of the airplanes.
Yeah.
So you're going to produce 10 of each. And then with the table, do you know if your mom and dad already have a table you can use or would you need to go buy a table?
This computer is actually on the table that I'm thinking that I could bring. We just need to like clean it up.
Oh, excellent. So you've already got the table. Basically, as soon as you get the airplanes done, you're ready to do this. Is that right? Mm-hmm.
I just need to find a way to strap the examples down other than boxes because it would be really hard to find that material to keep the airplanes down.
Yep, yep, that's very cool. Do you know any other kids who have started businesses?
My two friends, they're sisters, their names are Penny and Piper. They started like a rubber band bracelet making business.
Very cool. How did that go?
Good. They sell at our gym. A few kids bought, including me. Um, at least I bought like one or something, um, because it's really cool.
Do you have an example of one of their Rubber Band Bracelets handy?
I do, but it's up in my bed.
Okay, we'll catch it another time. Well, great. So, um, do you remember what an entrepreneur is?
Like somebody who starts a business.
Exactly. So do you think you're an entrepreneur now?
Yes.
Okay. All right. In which case, I'm really excited to hear about all the details of your business. I'm visualizing the business and visualizing Alana the entrepreneur, and I look forward to hearing how it goes. What are you going to do the rest of the day today?
Today we might go to Bubble Park to play or and maybe go to Novolta, um, maybe so Dad can work and maybe I can work on paper airplanes.
Terrific, terrific. Well, have a wonderful day and I really look forward to hearing how the business goes, okay?
