WATCH: Teen sets up hot dog cart to raise money for disabled parents; City shuts it down within minutes of opening
(Erica Ritz) Just how hard is it to start a business in Michigan? Nearly impossible, it seems, if the recent endeavors of 13-year-old Nathan Duszynski are any indication.
“I was trying to help my mom and my dad, because they’re both on disability,” Duszynski explained, saying that one parent has epilepsy and the other has multiple sclerosis, “so I was just trying to bring in some money for them and the household while they’re struggling.”
So young Nathan saved money by doing odd jobs for neighbors and extra chores until, with a little bit of help from his parents, he had enough money to buy his own hot dog cart. Reports indicate that in addition to helping out his family, Duszynski also hoped that if he worked there long enough, he might be able to help pay for college or a car.
“We went and we talked with Anna from City Hall on the third floor, and she told us that it was fine, and we wanted to make sure that we stopped in there in person about a month ago…and asked her…do we need a business permit, license? And she said no,” Duszynski’s mother Lynette explained.
Bur after they had spent roughly $1,500 on the cart, on the same day they set it up in the parking lot of a local sports store (with the owner’s consent), the city stopped by to let the 13-year-old know he was being shut down.
Most reports indicate that the stand was only up and running for about ten minutes before the city official dropped by. (Don’t you wish they moved that quickly at the DMV?)
