Modern Newspaper Delivery Boy = Kid’s YouTube Channel?

While reading the intriguing autobiography of successful investor and mathematician Edward Thorp, it was mentioned that he was a newspaper delivery boy. Warren Buffett was famously a newspaper delivery boy, and still conducts a newspaper-throwing contest at annual Berkshire shareholder meetings. Coincidence?

Newspaper delivery boys and girls had to develop responsibility, dependability, self-motivated, and people skills (they often had to do the bill collecting). I don’t know if there are any such paperboys/papergirl positions left in the country. Here’s a nostalgic write-up about what it was like: Whatever Happened to the Newspaper Delivery Boy?

According to various sources, these famous business leaders, actors, activists, scientists, and even presidents were also paperboys. (I guess gender stereotypes applied? Kathy Ireland is the only girl on the list.)

• Walt Disney
• H. Ross Perot
• Bob Hope
• Ed Sullivan
• Danny Thomas
• John Wayne
• Bing Crosby
• Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Herbert Hoover
• Martin Luther King Jr.
• Harry S. Truman
• Ed Sullivan
• Isaac Asimov
• Tom Brokaw
• Wayne Gretzky
• Jackie Robinson
• Kathy Ireland
• Tom Cruise

I wasn’t a paperboy, or especially entrepreneurial when I grew up. Sometimes I would hoard my lunch money and just go hungry until I got home in the afternoon, but that was about it. I suppose I didn’t have a lot of wants, so I didn’t need a lot of money. I do remember being impressed by the kid in our class who bought candy in bulk from Sam’s Club and sold it individually to students.

What is the modern equivalent of a paperboy? I propose the YouTube video channel. If you are an entrepreneurial kid who wants to develop the skills that will help you navigate the business world in the way that newspaper carriers did in the 1970s, these days you probably have a YouTube channel. A lot of them seem to review toys, but others act out skits, cover travel destinations, or discuss current events. Here are the applicable skills:

• Responsibility and dependability. You may not have to show up every day at 5am, but if you don’t create content regularly, you won’t grow an audience.
• Self-motivation. There are probably some pushy parents out there, but I think your passion for the subject will show through in the videos.
• Media creation skills. You will learn the technical skills required to set up equipment, edit audio/video, and all that behind-the-scenes stuff.
• Talking in front on a camera. You must communicate clearly with your audience. This is similar to talking in front of a group of people.
• Advertising negotiations? Some of the bigger channels have brand sponsors beyond just the pre-roll YouTube ads. The kids may have to get involved with these discussions.

There is a lot of inconsistent information about YouTube revenue. From the shocking This 6-year-old makes $11 million a year reviewing toys on YouTube to the more balanced Can Vloggers Really Make a Fortune? to the buzzkill ‘Success’ on YouTube Still Means a Life of Poverty. I’m sure a small percentage are doing awesome, but most are not. Isn’t that how it always works for creative pursuits? JK Rowling is rich, but most fantasy authors are not. But hey, if you’re a kid and making $100 a month and having fun creating something (all while learning useful skills shhhhh), isn’t that a pretty nice accomplishment?

Any readers out there with children who have earned money from YouTube?