Breanna Simon has a sweet summer job. Thanks to an idea from a friend, she bought an old FedEx delivery truck on Craigslist and turned it into her own ice cream truck. Because Simon's busy schedule kept her from working a job with regular hours, becoming her own boss was the perfect solution.
"I did a bunch of math and I asked my dad and he thought I was nuts," she told KARE 11. But that didn't faze Simon. "This is the first big thing I've ever owned."
Her truck, "Bee's Ice Cream," cruises the streets of New Richmond, Wisconsin at a leisurely pace of five mph. After two months of juggling work with hockey practice, Simon pulled in enough money to pay off the $1,700 truck, plus a few thousand extra to cover permitting, retrofitting and a sunny coat of paint. Her truck rolls through neighborhoods with a jaunty tune, chased by a stream of kids eager for a scoop.
“It’s gone really well so far,” she told the New Richmond News. “People really like it. Even adults jump up and down and wave their arms as I drive by.”
This fall, Simon will start her freshman year at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she will continue to play hockey.
With teen summer employment on the decline, it's no surprise that more young people are looking to create their own job opportunities. Fewer than three in 10 teens hold summer jobs, with employment for 16- to 19-year-olds at its lowest point since World War II.
With the difficult climate for finding summer jobs, many teens are taking matters into their own hands when it comes to earning money. Seventeen-year-old Marcus Wilson was able to parlay his passion for parkour -- a sport featuring acrobatic moves using obstacles like buildings and walls -- into a summer job as a coach.
What's your dream summer job? Did you work this summer? Tell us in the comments below or tweet @HuffPostTeen!
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