A Lemonade stand is a quintessential summer activity. Not only are they delicious ways to beat the summer heat wave, but they can also teach young children important life lessons. It takes a lot of pre-planning, creativity, and lemons to start a successful refreshment stand, but it’s definitely worth it. Your kids can fine-tune their entrepreneurial and math skills. By teaming up with a sibling or friend, they’ll learn the significance of partnership. Most importantly, your kids will understand the value of a dollar and the hard work that goes into earning it.
If you’re kids are excited to start their lemonade stand consider these Mindful Money™ tips:
Preparation:
- Research. Before you start squeezing lemons check out your local laws. Some towns require that all stands (including lemonade stands) purchase food permits that can eat up any profits and rain on your children’s parade.
- Business plans. A developed plan is crucial to a business. Help your children decide which tasks each child will be responsible for.
- Location. An ideal location would be a place that gets a lot of traffic and has some shade. You can try your front yard, a spot at the end of your block, or in front of a store (with the owner’s permission).
- Advertisement. Have your kids create eye-catching signs. Consider making announcements at their next boy/girl scouts, sports, or religious meetings.
- Recipe. Skip the lemonade mix. Consider teaching your kids the importance of product quality by having them make homemade lemonade.
Opening Day:
- Let them take the lead. Consider taking on the role of supervisor and let your kids handle the money transactions. This will help with their math skills.
- Customer Service. Teach them the importance of customer service. Smiling and saying “please,” “thank you,” “sir,” and “ma’am” are always great for business.
- Call for backup. If the day has been slow with little profit, consider calling and asking family and friends to stop by.
Bonus Tip: Giving back. Teach your children that it’s important for businesses to give back. Ask your kids if they would like to donate some or all of their profits to a good cause. Not too long ago a six-year-old boy raised $10,000 for his father’s cancer treatments through his lemonade stand.