Yesterday was a beautiful day, and my girls and a friend decided to run a lemonade stand. It got me thinking about all the lessons that we can learn from them.
Be excited about what you do!
Smile when you are selling, and look like you are having fun, but better yet have fun with it!
Spontaneously take advantage of new opportunities.
The success of a lemonade stand is often dependent on the weather. You have to been willing to take advantage of a beautiful day and be spontaneous in opening your stand.
Location, location, location.
Good location is crucial! In order to attract customers you need to be located in a place where your customers will find you. When choosing whose lawn to run the lemonade stand on, you should consider whose location has more customer potential. We happen to live across the street from a neighborhood pool which provides a great location in the summer.
Chase after what you want.
Our girls tend to chase after cars with an adorable sign, while screaming “Lemonade, want to buy some lemonade?” It is amazing how often customers respond to adorable kids!
Work with your business partners and don’t be greedy.
It’s more fun to run a lemonade stand with a friend, but you need to work together and share the profits. Even if the only thing your little sister contributed was her cute face, she deserves a share of the profits too. This provides a great lesson in sharing.
Don’t eat (or drink) your profits.
Remember to do quality assurance on your product line, but don’t drink it all.
Be aware of the development costs.
Know your costs. You haven’t mad e a profit until you have paid for the cost of the product. (This is a lesson I haven’t really taught yet since supplies have been on the house).
Remember those in need.
My policy has always been that you can keep the money earned at the lemonade stand without covering your costs, if you subsequently give the money to charity. The kids have learned that this happens to be a great promotion!
