There are a lot of things kids want to do if it gets their attention. At their young age, they are adventurous and excited about almost everything. As the summer draws closer, lemonade stands can be one of the most ideal businesses that he or she may want to get into. This is a great way to keep them engaged and also help them earn some coins.
Helping your kid set up a lemonade stand will help them improve on their social skills and communication. Your kid will learn about responsibility and accountability plus good customer service through the way he or she interacts with customers. Apart from these, this could be fun for your kid with you helping out, there is sure to be some more bonding between you both. Below are easy tips to use and help your kid start a lemonade stand.
Benefits of a lemonade stand:
1. It exposes them to success
Running a successful lemonade stand motivates your kid to do better. Once they get a taste of achievement, your kid will want to do bigger things and even better. This will encourage them to try out new business ideas which could range from making a great product or organizing a sale etc.
2. It puts their imagination to work
It takes hard work and commitment to put up a lemonade stand. It also takes their imagination at work to make it a reality. The posters, signs or flyers created are all form a point of imagination. All of these are efforts that they put in to make the lemonade stand attractive. And then kids have to think of ways to attract customers. These just put them on the spot all the time. It is important to always nourish your child’s imagination.
3. It helps them understand finance
With all of the planning and sales conducted, understanding finance is a benefit your kid will surely get from the lemonade stand. And this benefit is lifelong because as they grow up, in everything they do, there must be finances tied to it. With the lemonade business, they will get an early understanding of the way in which money is acquired and controlled. They will get to appreciate money and see how hard it is to earn it. Of course, your kids will look forward to the money that they will make from their sales. Earning coins will teach your children at an early age all about commerce and economics.
4. It builds independence and self-confidence
If you can help it, let your kids do all the work and just support them by giving advice unless of cause if you just have a single kid. But try to limit your involvement if you can help it, they will learn to be capable and how to work towards a goal and achieve great things. Your child will certainly be empowered each time a customer says “thank you,” or “wow, this is some really good lemonade.” Also, running a lemonade stand will certainly help your little build an entrepreneurial spirit.
5. It teaches them how to communicate
While at the stand, your kids will come across different kinds of people and so it is quite important that they are polite. Through the conversations, they will practice talking to customers in a nice manner. They will learn to answer questions, work to make sales and also learn to respect others. Each time your little one interacts with someone from the neighborhood, naturally, they will be building on their communication skills.
6. It forces them to learn
A lemonade stand may seem rather simple to you and I but in reality, kids do not see it the same way. There are so many questions that they will want to ask about and this will concern they lemonade stand. As a parent, you need to answer all of these questions and encourage them to venture into it. You could tell them to do a little research on their own, this will make them learn quickly.
7. It fosters the entrepreneurial spirit
Whether it’s getting creative with their lemonade stand to attract customers or having a 2 for 1 special, at an early age, your child will be learning different ways to market and sale. They will learn the about the benefits of being their own boss, not answerable to anyone and being able to manage their schedule. When they grow they will be able to use what they have learned to start up other business and perhaps even start up a company.
Your child will definitely build a strong work ethic, they’ll be looking forward to squeezing lemons each day. Chances are your little one wants to continue to do a good job, they do not want to let their customers down.
8. Developing customer care
Your kid will learn the importance of providing quality service when operating the business that delivers such. They will always deliver the best product that they can so that they do not lose customers. When you fail to provide the right recipe or your lemonade has bad taste, your sale will drop and nobody likes that. Therefore, your kids will ensure that they always provide the right service.
TIPS
1. Supplies
Before you get started, you will need to get the tools you need like:
Lemonade mix, ice, pitchers, ice, cooler, paper cups, card table and chairs, an over-sized umbrella or access to a shady spot, change, two to five poster boards and markers.
2. A sketch plan
A business plan will help you to know how your business is going to operate. So if the lemonade stand is your kid’s first experience with operating a business, then you need a sketch of how the business is going to work out so that everyone is organized. It will include your investment, equipment, target audience, etc.
3. Set out a goal
Ask your kid to write out a mission statement and a goal. This could be a short-term goal. The purpose of the mission statement is to make him or her set on the track and the goal is to remind her of what she set up the lemonade stand for. Kids can easily get distracted or carried away and sometimes even discouraged, so the mission statement serves as the constitution which will bind him or her to complete the business.
3. Get a permit
You would need to get a permit if need be depending on the laws of your state, city or community. You can make inquiries at your local government. You would not want to start a business for your kid and have it stopped due to illegality which could have been avoided.
4. Location
Your location is very important because your business needs customers so pick a shady spot in your front yard. However, if there isn’t much traffic in your block then you could ask a local market if you could set up your stand outside.
5. Advertising
Publicity is key and this is where moms need to put in an effort to get those signs up. Get the kids to put those poster boards, markers and artistic skills to good use and make beautiful and catchy signs. The signs should be put at well visible spots around your neighborhood but not too far from your business spot. Since we live in a digital world now, make use of your phones and send a text to parents and friends to get them to come by. You could use one of those poster maker apps to design beautiful posters online which can then be printed out and distributed by pasting it on business and other local stores. You could send the flyer digitally through social media platforms.
6. Supply and demand
Help your kids to calculate and estimate the amount of lemonade they will need to get their business rolling. Remind them of good customers’ service and encourage them to be professional and friendly and just have a good time.
7. Set up an account
Make sure to set up a custodial bank account with which he or she can use to save money and also trace the amount of money in and going out. It helps them to manage their finances better.
In conclusion, it is good to encourage kids to be passionate and creative. Since it’s summertime, it’s the perfect time of the year to open a lemonade stand! Lemonade stands are a lot of fun and they teach kids some valuable lessons!
Lemonade stands can be as simple or elaborate as you like. A simple folding table and sign will do, or you can create a custom shop. All you have to do is set up somewhere with a fair amount of foot traffic and sell your product to thirsty customers. Selling lemonade will teach your child how to be ambitious. They will be determined to sell more lemonade and eventually have a strong desire to always succeed. So do not hesitate to help your kid start that business soon.
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