His can-do spirit helps pay tuition

Devan Osterhout is only 14, but he has already retired from a successful business career.

Two and a half years ago, when he was a sixth grader at Waterford/Half Moon Elementary School, he and his family decided that he would attend LaSalle Institute in Troy for middle and high school. To subsidize his tuition, Devan decided to start a bottle/can collection and return business.

"I was talking with some friends, and everyone agreed it would be a good project for me," he said. "I knew that with a little help, I could do this project."

Getting it together

Devan visited businesses in Waterford and a few surrounding communities, asking the owners if they would save cans and bottles for him. If they agreed, he would leave plastic bags and come by once a week to collect the refuse. Then he would take them to a local Hannaford market for redemption.

In addition to the businesses, he soon had about nine or ten college fraternities saving cans for him and, according to the freshman, "they drink lots and lots of soda in fraternities."

Devan also had reached an agreement with a nearby apartment complex to collect bottles and cans from residents.

Plastic problem

With his success, Devan had a new problem: "At first, we just saved plastic bags at home. But I quickly realized I needed lots and lots of them" to collect the returnables.

Devan approached the Clearview Bag Company in Albany and asked them for a favor. "I told them I had started my own business and what it was for," he said. "I needed lots of plastic bags, but I didn't have enough money to pay for an order."

After some negotiation, Devan said the company agreed to "float" him a "loan of sorts" on his word. With a small down-payment, they printed up a large number of 13-gallon bags for him.

More on board

More local businesses soon joined his growing list of clients, including a steel manufacturing company, a printing outfit and several auto body shops.

By the end of his first year in business, Devan had paid off his debt to the plastic bag company and saved money towards his first year's tuition at LaSalle. During his second year, he began to realize a larger profit as his clientele increased. As a result, he decided to become a donor to St. Joseph's House in Troy.

"I was paying my entire tuition by then," he explained, "so I decided to donate whatever profit I made after my expenses."

In the bag

With the demands of high school this year, Devan has retired. Although he has hung up the bags for good, he feels as if the goals he initially set for himself have been more than realized.

"My business venture was a huge success," he declared. "In the beginning, I started it for the practical reason of paying my tuition. But I got so much more out of what I did."

For one thing, once he began to donate money and clothing to St. Joseph's House, he discovered that he really enjoyed helping others who are less fortunate. "Giving is really a good thing," he noted.

In addition, he said, "not only did I learn negotiating skills and how to deal with people, but I got a lot of satisfaction knowing that I can do whatever I put my mind to."

(Devan Osterhout's advice for business entrepreneurs: Decide what kind of business you want to operate, set a goal for yourself, plan your expenses, find resources for realizing your goals, become knowledgeable in the field of your business and ask for help if you need it.)

(11/11/04)