Jul
22nd
Tue
22nd
Lemonade stands are a great way for kids to begin to experience business and entrepreneurship. The below list brought me back to the days of sidewalk selling.
When I was a kid we used to sell painted shells on the boardwalk near our beach house. The goal was to make enough money to buy ice cream at the store for everyone working the shell stand
My parents were smart, they told us that we could not have ice cream unless we figured out a way to buy it for ourselves. Understanding that creativity and hard work would allow me to buy the things I wanted was a great lesson to learn at such a young age.
Lessons learned from NYC lemonade stand proprietors (New York):
- FROM SCRATCH? DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME: “My family took lemons and squeezed and squeezed. We were sweating. But Alston’s family mixed powder with water. And the thing is, when you taste it, there’s really no difference.” (Fischer, age 10.)
- LEMONS DON’T COME CHEAP THESE DAYS: “Last year, we charged 25 cents for a half cup and 50 cents for a whole cup. But this year, we had to double our prices. My mom said she was shocked at the price of lemons.” (Rebecca, age 8)
- BY AGE 10, YOU’RE ALREADY WASHED UP: “The best age to start pouring is 6.” (Rebecca, again.)
- PANDER TO YOUR CUSTOMERS: “When you spell things wrong, they say, ‘Oh, that’s cute.’” (Alston, age 10.)
- LOW PRICES & VALUE COMBOS ARE GOOD FOR BUSINESS: “My personal financial advice is 25 cents, because everyone can afford it. Even if your allowance is $1, you will be able to afford four glasses. Also, you can make a classy combo with Oreos, or do three glasses for 50 cents.” (Sam, age 10).
