Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Aug 24/01) - Forget about lemonade stands, cutting people's grass or washing vehicles, Brendan Whelly has made his summer cash by selling coveted NWT polar bear licence plates.

Brendan Whelly and his dad, Sean, have together launched Brendan's NWT licence plate sales business. He's met with success peddling the collectible plates over the Internet, helping him afford a model airplane. - Derek Neary/NNSL photo

Brendan, who at 11 may very well be the Deh Cho's youngest entrepreneur, has had customers from the U.S., Germany and Australia via the Internet. His dad, Sean, a business development officer, has offered some support.

"He needed some money to buy the (model) plane so we came up with this idea," Sean said. They started out with three licence plates that had been packed away in their basement. They purchased dozens more from mechanics who removed them from out-of-commission vehicles.

Brendan banged out the dents with a rubber mallet and polished them off. Then he took digital photos and, with Dad's help, posted the pictures and descriptions on the Internet, on auction sites like E-Bay.

The plates have fetched from $5 to $40 (U.S.), primarily from members of the American Licence Plate Collectors Association, which has more than 10,000 members, according to Sean.

The process has also proven to be very educational. They have learned that the polar bear design was introduced in 1970. As well, the plates used to be made of aluminum, but now steel is used.

There have also been special editions of the plates, such as an RCMP centennial issued in 1973 and a rare Expo edition, also released in the 1970s.

While they're excited about their success, they're naturally a little protective of their venture too. Brendan suggested that other young entrepreneurs target another market on the Internet. Sean said practically any collectible item will attract interest.

"Just look in your basement, there'll be stuff there that people want," he said, adding that he and Brendan would be glad to buy any licence plates people might find.

About to begin Grade 6, Brendan said he's not eyeing a career in sales -- he'd rather be a pilot instead. But he's not about to relinquish his capitalist spirit yet, as he's planning to continue selling the plates throughout the fall.

"I'm going to make a lot more money, right Dad?" he asked.