{"id":17811,"date":"2026-10-02T04:06:50","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T04:06:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=17811"},"modified":"2026-10-02T04:06:50","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T04:06:50","slug":"teens-business-selling-2-product-led-to-over-25k-last-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=17811","title":{"rendered":"Teen’s Business Selling $2 Product Led to Over $25K Last Summer"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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  • The teen couldn\u2019t sell his ice cream on the pier, so he took Troupe\u2019s Treats onto the water.<\/li>\n
  • In summer 2026, he upgraded his freezer and boat to grow the business \u2014 and broke new records.<\/li>\n
  • He looks forward to operating his business again next summer, and pursuing other professional interests. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

    Maryland-based teenager Brian Troupe, now 16, was on a boat ride with a neighbor when business inspiration struck.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Image Credit: Troupe\u2019s Treats. Brian Troupe. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    The man mentioned that someone used to sell food to boaters, cooking it one location, then delivering it to another. Troupe loves being out on the water, and he wanted to make some extra money. So he started brainstorming.<\/p>\n

    \u201c\u200aI thought quite a bit about how I can kind of sneak past some food certifications and not have to have a sink on a boat and all of this extra equipment,\u201d Troupe tells Entrepreneur. <\/em>\u201cAnd still having something that a lot of boaters don\u2019t have on their boat.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

    It\u2019s not unusual for boaters to carry sandwiches, chips and similar snacks on board, Troupe notes. However, frozen treats, like ice cream, are less common \u2014 because a lot of boats don\u2019t have freezers. Then 15 years old, Troupe decided to run with the idea.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    He purchased a freezer with funds he\u2019d earned doing chores, stocked up on ice cream and opened Troupe\u2019s Treats for business at the end of a pier on the Bohemia River in July 2025. Unfortunately, things didn\u2019t go exactly according to plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \u201c\u200aI sat there hoping for the best, and it was the worst,\u201d Troupe says. \u201cNobody came by. Absolutely nobody would pull up anchor and stop. So I learned from that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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    Image Credit: Troupe\u2019s Treats<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Troupe\u2019s Treats saw nearly $6,000 in gross sales in 2025<\/h2>\n

    Troupe realized he didn\u2019t need to wait for customers to seek his product out \u2014 he could bring it right to them. The young entrepreneur used his savings to invest in a small jon boat, which cost about $700, and outfitted it with bumpers and extra equipment for about $120 more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    The first weekend of sales immediately validated his new strategy. Troupe priced his offerings at $2 apiece and brought in about $400. As the summer unfolded, Troupe averaged $800 per weekend selling from the jon boat, hitting more than $1,200 on his best weekend ever. He closed that summer season with nearly $6,000 in gross sales.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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    Image Credit: Troupe\u2019s Treats<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Going into summer 2026, Troupe was ready to make some changes and grow his business even more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    He upgraded from store-brand to premium ice cream products, like Magnum and Klondike bars, and charged $3 for them. He also invested in a larger freezer and a bigger boat, the Sea-Doo Switch. The Switch could handle more range, allowing him to go from visiting just one location to four in multiple rivers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    The teen has also implemented some creative strategies along the way in response to one of the biggest lessons he\u2019s learned so far: \u201cGrowth isn\u2019t more customers,\u201d he says. \u201cGrowth is finding out what fails when you have more customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Addressing a logistical challenge<\/h2>\n

    One logistical hurdle Troupe needed to overcome? The less-than-straightforward transaction process on the water.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \u201c\u200aImagine trying to give somebody an ice cream with waves crashing, and you\u2019re sitting here trying to balance on a boat, and you\u2019ve got another person trying to balance on a boat while not dropping money or credit cards into the water,\u201d Troupe says. \u201cIt becomes a comical scene.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

    So Troupe leaned into his nautical theme and bought fishing nets to streamline the exchange. With about a foot-and-a-half wide net and long handle, Troupe can transport six items at a time to his customers. Then they can place their payment right back inside the net.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Bringing $2 bills on board<\/h2>\n

    Once Troupe started charging $3 for his premium products, he encountered another challenge: coming up with exact change on the water. The new price point meant people needed $2 back more often, he explains, and sometimes he ran out of $1 bills.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    So Troupe began bringing $2 bills on board. Not only did it ensure his customers got exact change, but it also served as a fun learning experience for younger kids who\u2019d never seen the bill \u2014 and as a savvy way to stay top-of-mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \u201c\u200aLater down the line, if they go to look into their wallet and see that there\u2019s a $2 bill, it makes somebody think back to the interaction they had with me, [serving as] a memorable marketing tactic,\u201d Troupe says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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    Image Credit: Troupe\u2019s Treats<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Using humor to navigate sold-out products<\/h2>\n

    Additionally, Troupe has fun with another all-too-common business conundrum \u2014 selling out of certain items.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Not wanting to leave customers with a negative impression when some treats aren\u2019t available, Troupe started to place \u201cI\u2019m in a pickle\u201d stickers next to sold-out items.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    But he also took it a humorous step further, purchasing a jar of pickles in case someone does want to substitute the briny snack for a sweet one.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \u201c\u200aIt just kind of became a joking thing, and if anybody actually really wanted to order a pickle, it\u2019s the same price as my ice creams,\u201d Troupe says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    The teen entrepreneur doesn\u2019t want to disappoint boaters\u2019 canine companions, either. He offers free pup cups to customers with dogs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Troupe\u2019s Treats broke $25,000 in gross sales last summer<\/h2>\n

    Troupe\u2019s smart business strategies paid dividends this past summer. On an average weekend, Troupe\u2019s Treats saw about $1,800, surpassing $2,100 on its best. Gross sales broke $25,000 for the 2026 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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    Image Credit: Troupe\u2019s Treats<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Troupe plans to operate the business next summer and says he can \u201c100%\u201d see himself remaining an entrepreneur \u2014 but he has another major career ambition, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Since he was seven years old, Troupe has been fascinated by roller coasters and the engineering behind them. He attends the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) expo each year to network with the businesses that design and manufacture roller coasters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Troupe attends a trade high school, focusing on engineering. At this time, he plans to forgo college and leverage his network and skill set to land a role in the industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \u201c\u200aI can even see myself, once I\u2019m a lot older, passing [Troupe\u2019s Treats] down to somebody to give another teenager the same opportunity that I had,\u201d Troupe says. \u201cBecause this opportunity has really provided me with a lot of education, experience \u2014 and a lot more than I could have ever thought.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Mentorship leads to a collaboration with Kii Arens<\/h2>\n

    Troupe encourages young entrepreneurs who want to start a business of their own to connect with mentors who might help them hit milestones they couldn\u2019t have imagined.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    For instance, one of Troupe\u2019s mentors knows the artist Kii Arens, who\u2019s created work for stars including Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney and Dolly Parton, and happened to mention the teen\u2019s ice cream business.<\/p>\n

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    Image Credit: Troupe\u2019s Treats<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    \u201cIt wasn\u2019t a pitch or a request for artwork,\u201d Troupe explains. \u201cHe just thought Kii might get a kick out of the idea of a 16-year-old selling ice cream from a boat. Apparently something about it caught Kii\u2019s imagination, because the conversation eventually turned into him creating an original piece inspired by me and Troupe\u2019s Treats.\u201d<\/p>\n

    But perhaps the most valuable piece of advice Troupe would give to young entrepreneurs is this: Always leave room to fail. He goes back to his \u201clemonade-stand\u201d-like first attempt at the end of the pier. It flopped; he made $0. But he wouldn\u2019t be where he is today without it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \u201c\u200aIt went the worst it could have,\u201d Troupe says. \u201cLuckily for me, I didn\u2019t let that stop me. I looked at it as, This is a problem. Where is a solution? <\/em>Once that solution was found, it was smooth sailing, no pun intended, from there.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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    Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n