Businesses Kids Can Start

How to Start a Lemonade Stand

A lemonade stand is a great idea for kids who want to make a little spending money. Here are some tips to help you start a successful lemonade stand right in your own neighborhood.

Lemonade stands are a great way for kids to make money during the hot summer months.

But opening a lemonade stand isn't as easy as it sounds. There are a lot of things that you need to think about if you want your lemonade stand to be a smashing success. To help you get your new business up and running, here is a step-by-step guide for opening a lemonade stand in your neighborhood.

Step 1: Pick a Location for Your Lemonade Stand

The best location for your lemonade stand is probably at the foot of your driveway. But what if you live at the end of a cul-de-sac or a dead end street where there isn't much traffic? If not a lot of people go by your house, maybe you should think about partnering with a friend who lives in a busier neighborhood.

Step 2: Decide When to Open Your Lemonade Stand

Timing is everything when it comes to a lemonade stand. If you decide to open your lemonade stand at 9 AM on a weekday, you're not going to sell a lot of lemonade. You will probably have a better chance of success if you open it on a sunny weekend day. Pay attention to when your street gets the most traffic and then match those times with the hours your stand will be open for business.

Step 3: Design Your Lemonade Stand

A good lemonade stand always has a large, colorful sign advertising the product (lemonade) and clearly telling customers how much a cup of lemonade will cost. You will also need to make sure your stand is big enough to hold cups, napkins, a cashbox, and of course, lemonade.

Step 4: Make and Price Your Product

Decide which recipe you will use to make your lemonade and then buy the supplies you will need to produce enough lemonade for at least a single day. Once you've done that, you will need to decide how much to charge for each cup of lemonade, keeping in mind that the price of your lemonade has to be enough to cover your costs as well as your profit margin (the amount of money that will be left over for you to spend on other things.)

Step 5: Open for Business

All that is left to do now is to stir up a batch of lemonade and open for business. But before you start selling your tasty concoction to the community, make sure your parents know what you are doing. You should also talk to your parents about how to stay safe when you are selling lemonade to strangers.

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If you read this article and go and run a lemonade stand, please come back and let us know how it went and what you learned about how to run a lemonade stand. Thanks!

  • T cole posted on 6/22/2010
     T cole
    what are some of the legal guidelines for selling the lemonade product in our State who would I contact to get that info?

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