MAIL CALL

NAME: McAllister Hobbs

AGE: 7

BIZ: M&B Mail Service

Cruising down Northaven on his bicycle, 7-year-oldMcAllisterHobbsclutches a box of about 50 flyers, eagerly promoting his mail service. For just $1 a day, he picks up neighbors’ mail while they’re out of town.

“I’m trying to save up for an iPhone,” McAllister says, beaming with excitement.

McAllister and Brodie cover homes along Northaven from the Jewish Community Center to St. Jude. If you live nearby, look for the boys’ M&B Mail Service flyers.

Afteroneyearofbusiness,hehas saved about $40, which he stores in a metal lunch box. Initially, he charged only 25 cents for his service but upped the price after some customers opted to pay more. To boost productivity and payback, McAllister employs his 5-year-old brother, Brodie, penning the name M&B Mail Service. The boys split the profits.

McAllister had been collecting mail for the family’s next-door neighbor, who suggested he start his own business.

“Once you paid him, the light bulbs went off,” says his mother, Rachel Hobbs. She and her husband Brian, a financial planner, say they try to teach their children to work for the things they want. They also have a 2-year-old daughter, Kennedy.

And it’s not just about working. It’s about saving money — not blowing it on candy. So Rachel and Brian came up with an incentive, agreeing to match every $20 that McAllister earns.

“I feel like kids are given a lot of stuff now,” Rachel says. “I don’t want them to think that just because they ask for something, they get it.”

When he’s not making the rounds in Hillcrest Forest, McAllister attends St. Rita Catholic School and plays lacrosse. Sometimes he buys his own lunch or treats himself to a piece of candy at school.

“[The business] allows me to have my own money to spend,” he says.

McAllister says he thinks it will take one or two years to save up enough money for his iPhone.