Parker Grelewicz is 11 years old and headed to the sixth grade this fall. He’s an honor roll student and loves to golf in his free time, but this spring, Grelewicz also became an entrepreneur.
Just a few weeks ago, he opened Parker’s Firewood, the perfect spot for campers and visitors to Bass Lake to grab their wrapped bundle of firewood and enjoy their afternoon or evening on the lake.
Grelewicz said the idea is really thanks to ABC’s “Shark Tank.”
“I was inspired and wanted to invent something. My dad and I brainstormed and drew some ideas on the whiteboard in our basement. We spent two months building it. It looks like a little shed with no doors and a metal sheet roof to protect the firewood,” Grelewicz said.
After building the structure, Grelewicz and his dad got to work on the next step, splitting wood from their backyard with a 40-ton wood splitter and packaging it in $6 increments, wrapped in plastic wrap.
Over Memorial Day weekend, it was official.
The shed was delivered to the lake, stocked with plenty of firewood, and a sign with QR codes to pay via Venmo or PayPal was installed, along with a cash box.
“I made a total of $71 the first three-day weekend. I think people like building campfires, roasting s’mores and hanging out with their friends. There’s a campground at Bass Lake, so it’s something they’ll need,” Grelewicz said.
He even installed motion-sensor lights, so customers aren’t stumbling in the dark to purchase their firewood.
Bass Lake is a 1,345-acre lake near Knox, Indiana, and is the third-largest natural lake in the state. They welcome an estimated 100,000 visitors each year for boating, fishing, swimming and camping.
Not only did he see a need and find a way to fill it, Grelewicz’s mom, Jayne, said Parker has always been a go-getter.
“We joke that he’s our little adult child. He’s always thinking things through, big into Legos and building, and it’s not uncommon for him to put together a project like this,” Jayne said. “We have an Airbnb at the lake, so when we have renters come, they can get firewood if needed. It was also a way for Parker to be involved in that as well.”
It may not be uncommon for the Grelewicz family, but clearly, the rest of the world was impressed.
Jayne posted a video of Parker’s Firewood work on Instagram and Facebook, earning nearly 12,000 views, and his story was shared nearly 50 times.
He plans on selling firewood for the rest of the summer and hopes to become a professional golfer in the future, but it’s safe to say Grelewicz can always fall back on entrepreneurship.
