He was too young to work at the supermarket and a paper route yielded too little. So last year, the then 14-year-old Johran de Koning from Roden started his own business in farm-fresh eggs.
A year later, he can speak of a modest empire, with ten other salespeople who go door-to-door in Roden, Leek and the surrounding area. “I help other young people earn some nice money.”
‘Eitje van Johran’ started in September 2022. His father bought eggs from a farmer in Assen, which he then went door to door with. “When I started, it took me a lot longer to complete my lap,” he says. “Then I had to explain who I was and that I sold eggs. Now many people in the neighborhood know me and I can finish much faster.”
On Saturdays and Wednesdays he goes out with his sturdy cart. Johran knows his customers well. “Some people leave an empty box outside, I fill it and later I get money,” he outlines. “There is a family that purchases thirty eggs every week. Handy, because then I can deliver a whole step.”
This Saturday morning he will enter the neighborhood at half past ten. “The only disadvantage of starting so early is that not everyone is awake yet,” says the seller. But anyone who is not there will receive a note in the mail with information on how to get an egg from Johran.
The customers who do open the door show respect for the 15-year-old’s entrepreneurship. “When you hear what plans he has, that’s great,” says an elderly customer. It gives Johran ‘the goodwill factor’, his father believes.
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