Paul Bickford
Northern News Services

Enterprise (Aug 05/02) - Daniel Richards loves really, really hot days. It's good for business, after all.

Richards, 15, and his 11-year-old sister Debra operate an ice cream stand on the side of the highway in Enterprise.

Recently, with the temperature hovering near 30 C, business was booming.

"It was excellent," Richards says.

Overall, he says business has been good throughout this summer, the first time the stand has been open.

On a good -- meaning hot -- day, the stand can take in $100 or more.

However, on rainy days, Richards and his sister just shut it down until the return of weather more conducive to selling ice cream.

Richards explains he and his sister, with the help of their parents, opened the ice cream stand in mid-May because they were looking for summer jobs.

He and his father, Dave, built the small stand over four weekends. His mother, Cecile, also sometimes helps out serving customers.

"It's a team effort here," Richards says.

His parents are also in business in Enterprise, operating Nature's Rest Bed and Breakfast.

Customers of the ice cream stand have included tourists (from as far away as Arizona), campers, truckers and many residents of Enterprise.

"People from town have been supporting us," Richards says.

Along with ice cream, customers can refresh themselves with coffee, tea and soft drinks.

"It's nice being self-employed," Richards says. "It's nice being your own boss."

And he is also looking to the future of the ice cream stand, explaining that, once he is old enough to go off to university, his sister will be old enough to run the operation herself.