Brian Zinchuk is editor and owner of Pipeline Online
Anna Biggs is learning business from her dad Josh, who has an oilfield business in Estevan and Texas. That truck in the background is used to transport casing running tools for top drive drilling rigs. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
ESTEVAN – Last summer, then 10-year-old Anna Biggs asked her dad, Josh Biggs, an important question.
“What was a business you think a 10 or 11 year old run?” the Estevan girl asked.
There weren’t a lot of options, but there was one – an ice cream bicycle.
It’s been many years since Dickie Dee bicycles roamed the residential streets of many Canadian cities and small towns. So the hunt was on. Using Kijiji, they located one in Leduc, Alberta, last September.
Josh was in Edmonton for a game last fall and rented a U-Haul to get it to Bert Baxter Transport’s Edmonton terminal to send to Estevan on their night run.
This is something Josh is quite familiar with, as he owns and operates Top Torque Services, an oilfield services company specializing in casing running tools used on top drive drilling rigs.
Josh and wife, Kristin, came to Estevan in 2011 while Kristin was pregnant with Anna. Josh started Top Torque with a pickup truck, a sea can and one tool. Based in Estevan, Top Torque now has significant operations in Texas.
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And if there’s one thing Pipeline Online has observed over the years – if you’re not Husky Oil, you’re probably a family business, where the kids learn business from a young age. But usually it’s not 11.
And that’s what Anna is now. She set up three social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and TicTok as part of her marketing strategy.
“I think it’s older than I am,” Josh said of the bike.
The bike needed new tires. The rims got painted. The fibreglass cooler needed silicon and fibreglass repairs. The bells and handlebars got powder coated. Dynamic Signs installed signage on the bike and Crown Advertising donated a hat and shirt.
Anna’s made arrangements with the local Co-op to be her supplier. She’s learning inventory control and ordering, carrying about a half dozen different items. “I order on Monday, and usually get it on Thursday,” she said.
This being the 21st century, when few people carry cash, Anna is prepared. “I can take Apple Pay, Google Pay. I have Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Interac,” she said. She’s learned how to do cashouts at the end of the day.
By the first week of July, she was ready to go. I Scream Treats launched. But she also learned that the weather gets a vote – it rained her first time out. “I got out on the street and it started raining,” she said.
Her route is mostly the northwest area of Estevan, in the Pleasantdale area. There’s two spray parks in the area, which helps.
The seed money came from a small inheritance from her late great-grandmother – an ounce of gold. She sold that to dad, in trust, and will eventually buy it back.
Anna Biggs is going to be a lot stronger at the end of the summer. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
One thing’s for sure – Anna’s going to have strong legs for this fall’s hockey season, and some entrepreneurial experience to go along with them.
- 0079 Ministry of Energy Business_incentive PO0079 Ministry of Energy Business_incentive PO
- 0078 LHOS 20240078 LHOS 2024
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda
- 0076 Latus only0076 Latus only
- 0073 SaskWorks-Pipeline Online0073 SaskWorks-Pipeline Online
- 0063 Turnbull Excavating hiring crusher0063 Turnbull Excavating hiring crusher
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0058 Royal Helium Steveville opens anonymous rocket0058 Royal Helium Steveville opens anonymous rocket
- 0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0011
- 0006 JK Junior
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001