Summer’s are HOT which makes it a great opportunity for you to take advantage of the neighborhood lemonade stand.

TIP: If the young entrepreneurs are smart, they will set it up in the shade or pop-up a shade tent to help you cool down even more.

But Lemonade stands are so much more than just a refreshing drink; they are the beginnings of entrepreneurs in the making! 

Lemonade Stands teach so many things that are useful for running a business.  They provide a base for decisions that are necessary for opening any business.

Here are 10 decisions that young entrepreneurs must decide before even opening a lemonade stand (of course they will need to make sure they have parent permission):

1) Business name, theme, colors… the branding. 2) What types of lemonade or other products to sell including flavors, how to make… – operations 3) What will the lemonade stand be made of; a table and chairs or will they build one – start-up 4) How is the stand different than the stand down the street -the value proposition. 5) Where will the stand be located – access to water, ice, supplies, etc. Be sure to check with the municipality to see what requirements are needed (see note about Country Time Lemonade below). 6) What are the start-up costs and what is the budget for them. 7) How will the stand be marketed – posters, door-to-door fliers, social media. 8) What are the funds going towards – reinvesting in the business, charity or keeping the profits. 9) If there are multiple persons running the stand – what roles need to be covered and who is doing what (making the lemonade, selling the lemonade, marketing, keeping track of the finances, customer service…). 10) When will the stand be open – days of weeks and hours.

As you can see a lemonade stand includes many decisions just as a opening a brand new business so when you are trying to survive the heat think about that lemonade stand as more than just a way to cool down. You never know where this business venture may take these young entrepreneurs.

Note about permits and licensing:  Every week I read about kids’ lemonade stands getting shut down or fined (usually because a neighbor reports them ☹) so it is very important to check with the municipality for what the rules are.  The good news is that more and more municipalities are allowing lemonade stands if it is located on their own property (so hopefully it’s a good location). Also earlier summer, Country Time Lemonade announced that they are paying for permits and licenses or fines for kids who are holding lemonade stands.  Here is a link to their site and the information:  https://www.countrytimelegalade.com/

At Eseedling, we feel so strongly that Lemonade Stands are such a great way to teach business that in addition to the kids developing their own business idea, playing the Biz Ops Game™ to learn business operations, learning business basics and visiting local businesses; our youth entrepreneurs camps include running a team lemonade stand to raise money for the camp scholarship fund. You can learn more about running a lemonade stand and our More Than a Lemonade Stand youth entrepreneur curriculum at eseedling.com.

Want a free guide on How to Start, Run and Build a Lemonade Stand? Click here for a free download

Want an easy way to build a lemonade stand out of PVC Pipe? Check out our YouTube video at: https://youtu.be/7tL5bSQzDx0

Julie Ann Wood is the author of More Than a Lemonade Stand and You’re Never too Young to Start a Business.  You can learn more about the complete More Than a Lemonade Stand curriculum at eseedling.com