I voted my young Muslim friend Mustafa most likely
to get his own infomercial. Mustafa is a wheeler-dealer. He’s constantly coming
up with items – usually food – to sell. His first product – suckers made out of
jolly ranchers with starburst centers – sold out as fast as he could make them.
His cost: about ten cents per; he sold them for fifty cents.
Then
he moved up to peanut brittle. One cup of peanut butter, twenty melted butter
scotch candies and a box of peanuts. It cost him $1.00 but he sold a bag of
brittle for $2.50.
This
week he outdid himself. He started making granola bars. It’s an easy recipe
with oatmeal, crushed up chocolate chip cookies and trail mix. He had
pre-orders for fifty (at fifty cents apiece). He can’t make them fast enough to
meet the demand.
Like
the outside world, there is a huge economy operating off the books in here to
meet the needs and wants of the population. And guys like Mustafa – even without
any business education – understand basic economic principles better than most
folks outside. He’s got a future in marketing. More importantly, he’s got a
future.
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