At the young age of 10, Jason O’Neill has started his own business. Not only does he have an entrepreneurial sense but a keen consciousness for others less fortunate than himself.

O’Neill has created quite a buzz among his peers with his invention of Pencil Bugs, the wiggly little friends that can accompany most writing utensils, often the classic #2 pencils they begin their lives on.

He started this venture about five months ago when his mom, Nancy, was creating items for a craft fair. He responded to her challenge of developing his own product by building the fun critters. "I wanted to try to think of something that would help kids with their homework and stuff and be cute and be put on top a pencil," he says.

After a "big hit" at the craft fair, O’Neill took his work to school, where his fellow classmates not only wanted their own Pencil Bug but fed off his idea to start their own business.

Smiling, O’Neill shares the story of a fellow student who said he didn’t want to compete, so he made an offer on the playground: "[For $100, he] offered to buy the business off of me!"

"I figured how well it was going that in the future I would have made more than that $100 and, probably, because of how much work it was, he wouldn’t have been able to maintain it anyway. So, I thought I would be better off doing it myself."

The competition hasn’t hurt much, but O’Neill has taken his work to a professional level by creating a logo, which influences his branding, as well as business cards, a Web site and t-shirts. His mom helped him with the technical aspects but said O’Neill was very diligent with all of the details, down to the individual colors of each letter in his logo.

"I already have a Web site, PencilBugs.com, and I’m selling them on there in a set [of eight], because… it wouldn’t make sense to Advertisement

[ Chatton and Associates ] sell just one plus shipping," said O’Neill.

With a small loan from his parents for materials, he has already sold and created a few hundred Pencil Bugs through the craft fair, teachers who use them as rewards, a local store, the Web site and his personal contacts. "We already got [Pencil Bugs] in Temecula Pool Supply," said O’Neill.

What takes this little man to another level is his generosity. He donates five percent of his gross sales to Hugs Foster Care of Temecula; plus, his parents match his donations.

"I wanted to find an organization for kids that donated it actually to the kids, not paying for people’s salaries," O’Neill said of picking the nonprofit, which was an important decision to him. He recently made his first donation to Hugs, which brought tears to his mother’s eyes.

Teya Baumgarder of Hugs said, "[O’Neill] is absolutely wonderful… The way young kids are these days, it is nice to see him do this." She said she confirmed once again that all of his contributions will go straight to the children.

"Well, actually, when I grow up I want to have a shelter for animals and not keep them in captivity. I want them to have their own place." The goal is to have two homes next to each other, one for the animals and one for O’Neill, "so they have their own space."

O’Neill also earns money through lemonade and hot chocolate stands and by gathering others’ recyclable materials and sorting them to take to be processed, where he receives a small amount of compensation. He is also working on a book about technology.

His ambition is obvious, even for some of his short-term goals. "Have you heard of the ‘Ellen’ show?" asked O’Neill. "One of my goals is to be on there."

"I don’t think when I grow up I’m going to need a business," said O’Neill. "I think this is still going to be kept when I’m grown up and I want to keep the business."