The KeepMore Company
The Head Start · Book Four · Ages 8–10

The Cost
of Growing

A story about money in, money out — and what it really takes to grow.
Magne's busy pizza shop at dusk
A Mr. M Story About Building Wisely
1
The shop was booming
Magne's Pepperoni Soup Pizza was packed. Every day, more people came. The line stretched right down the street.
🧑‍🤝‍🧑
"We need more pizza!" "Faster!"
Magne smiled… but he also worried.
2
Mr. M kneeling to talk with Magne
Magne had a plan
🧒
"We need another shop!"
🧑‍🦱
Mr. M nodded slowly. "That may be true…
but building more means understanding more."
Before you grow a thing, you have to know your numbers.
3
First: what comes in
🧑‍🦱
"How many coins did the shop earn today?"
Magne counted carefully. …ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred!
🧒
"A hundred coins!" he said proudly.
New wordMoney in — every coin a business takes in. Grown-ups call it revenue.
4
Then: what goes out
🧑‍🦱
"And how many coins did you spend?"
🧒
"…Spend?"
Magne had never thought about that part. So they sat down and made a list of every coin that left.
Today — coins that went OUT
Flour−20
Cheese−15
Pepperoni−10
Workers−25
Total out70
🧒
"That's a lot of coins leaving…"
5
What's left over
Mr. M smiled. "Take what went out… away from what came in… and what's left is yours."
The most important math in business
100Money in
−
70Money out
=
30What's left
New wordProfit — the coins left over after you pay for everything. The 30.
6
Not all costs behave the same
Mr. M looked closer. "Some of your costs stay the same. Some grow as you sell more. A good owner knows which is which."
Costs that STAY
You pay them even on a quiet day.
  • Rent for the shop
  • The ovens
  • The lights
Costs that GROW
The more pizzas, the more you buy.
  • Flour
  • Cheese
  • Pepperoni
7
Now Magne felt ready
🧒
"Okay. I understand my numbers now.
I'll open a second shop!"
So they began to plan. And right away, the plan grew a longer list than Magne expected…
Magne ready to open a second shop
8
What a second shop costs to open
Shop #2 — coins to get started
A bigger space−150
More workers−80
Phone + internet for orders−40
Setup & surprises−30
Total to open300
A whole lump of coins — all before the new shop sells a single slice.
9
Magne counting coins, discouraged
He counted. Then counted again.
Coins Magne saved180
Coins he needs300
Short by120
🧒
"I don't have enough…"
10
An honest feeling
The shop was doing well. People loved his pizza. His numbers were good.
But growing…
…was harder than starting.
11
Mr. M stepped forward
He placed a stack of coins gently in Magne's hand.
🧑‍🦱
"Not because you failed…
but because you're building something worth continuing."
Mr. M giving coins to Magne
12
A quiet pride
🧑‍🦱
"I am very proud…
to be the father of such an innovative, industrious young boy."
Magne smiled.
13
The bigger understanding
Magne looked at both shops now, and he finally saw all three pieces at once:
Coins in
From every pizza sold.
Coins out
Ingredients, rent, workers, setup.
What it costs to grow
The lump up front, before the reward.
🧒
"I think I understand now."
14
The end of Book Four
🧑‍🦱
"Building isn't just about earning.
It's about understanding what it costs to grow."
Magne looked at his two shops… and smiled. "I'm ready."
Magne and Mr. M and the two shops
End of Book Four · The Cost of Growing
For the grown-up reading along

What this story is teaching

This is an income statement told with pizza. Money in (revenue) minus money out (costs) equals profit — the single most useful equation a young person can carry. The story also splits costs into the two kinds every business has: ones that stay the same no matter what (fixed — rent, ovens) and ones that grow with each sale (variable — ingredients).

Then it teaches the lesson most adults learn the hard way: growth eats cash before it pays it back. A healthy shop can still come up short, because expansion demands a lump up front, long before the new revenue arrives. Needing help to bridge that gap isn't failure — it's how almost everything gets built. (In Book Two, Magne raised that money by selling pieces of his shop; here, his father bridges it. Both are real answers to the same problem.)

Make it real this week with tiny numbers: "Allowance in, minus what you spent, equals what you saved. Now — what would it cost to start your lemonade stand, and how many weeks of saving is that?"

The KeepMore Company · thekeepmoreco.com · Free financial-literacy material for learners and families. For educational purposes only. This is not investment, tax, or legal advice and is not a recommendation to buy or sell anything. Any figures are simple illustrations to teach a concept. Decisions belong to you and your family.
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