The Lemonade Stand: Sell What People Want
My son has been asking to have a lemonade stand for more than a year. I’ve been 100% in favor of it, but didn’t know how to make it happen. We live in a rural area, on a 5-acre wooded property that sits back 500+ feet from the road. No sidewalks and any drive-by traffic is usually someone living on our street. So I made some arrangements with my Mom to have a garage sale and lemonade stand at her house this summer. She lives on a great street with lots of slow car and pedestrian traffic.
We cleaned out closets and hauled five big boxes of toys to my Mom’s. We made cookies, lemonade, and a sign. L wanted to do a lot himself and bolted out of bed at 6 am Saturday morning to layout the garage sale items and price everything.
It was a hot, humid day. I found any excuse I could to wander in the air conditioned house. But L sat in the sun in front of the driveway making eye contact with every car and person that drove by. He even yelled “Lemonade” when people passed. Kids on skateboards and families on bikes stopped for a cold drink. I saw cars slow down and turn around to stop and buy a snack. A grandfatherly type told L his prices were too cheap and gave him $2 for a cup of lemonade and a cookie. He was amazed and overjoyed.
A few people wandered back to the garage for our sale. When they did, L would come back to see if they had any questions about his toys. But in the end, it was the lemonade stand that got most of the attention - and the profit.
I made him treat it like a real business. We kept track of how much the supplies cost (except for some cookies my mom contributed) and I deducted that amount from his earnings at the end of the day. His net income was $32… selling lemonade and cookies at 25 cents a pop. I made $22 from the garage sale. I think next time we’ll scrap the garage sale and just sell what people want: a cold drink and a soft cookie on a hot summer day.
PHAT = Parenting, Homeschooling And Technology. That about sums up my life at the moment. 
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Dawn @ Coming to a Nursery Near You | Jul 2, 2008 | Reply
You might want to check out http://sunkist.com/kids/
Their take a stand promotion provides a free lemonade stand, along with all sorts of fun stuff. My son did it last year and is doing it again this year
Pretty funny, though, that he made more than you LOL
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misty | Jul 2, 2008 | Reply
that’s awesome! he outsold you!
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Braden | Jul 2, 2008 | Reply
He’s quite the salesman! Awesome!
Nepharia | Jul 2, 2008 | Reply
A very good lesson for him.
I imagine you are incredibly proud at all his effort. And he was pleased with the results of it. What a way to learn.
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TLC@Send Chocolate | Jul 3, 2008 | Reply
I think it is a Law that you have to buy from kids’ lemonade stands.
My son decided to sell rocks. Yes, rocks. He drew on them and despite my misgivings, I let him do it. I shouldn’t have questioned, because he made over $20! And I didn’t buy any. I learned my lesson. Maybe I need to sell rocks?
T.
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Winning Startups | Jul 3, 2008 | Reply
Found you through the Blogging Idol competition. Good luck to you!
I love lemonade stands. I always always buy from them. However the kid on my street was charging a buck each! Yours should raise the price.
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Monica @ Paper Bridges | Jul 3, 2008 | Reply
Yup, that’s me, turning around for a lemonade stand. He looks so proud of himself too!
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Home Business Success | Jul 4, 2008 | Reply
Way to go! I love the entrepreneurial spirit he has. Some kids just want to play all day
Erica
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Shannan | Jul 4, 2008 | Reply
You are a great MOM! I can’t believe how well he did.
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Tom - StandOutBlogger.com | Jul 5, 2008 | Reply
that is awesome! good to see him taking initiative.
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Kelly @ Pass the torch | Jul 7, 2008 | Reply
This is so great! Very pass-the-torch-like. Awesome job.
Believer in Balance | Jul 8, 2008 | Reply
I’m so glad it was such a success! My girls sold lemonade last summer at my mom’s house (because our house is geographically undesirable too!)and can’t wait to do it again this summer! Looking forward to seeing you again at BlogHer!
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Motorcycle Fairings | Sep 4, 2008 | Reply
Can you beleive that as soon as I saw the picture of the kid selling lemonade, that remind me a picture I have of my nephews selling movies at the door of the house!! good memories for them when they grow older.