April 23, 2015
While handing over a dollar bill to a child in exchange for a swig of lemonade and a smile might seem like a simple good deed,
your pocket change may actually be helping to sculpt the next Bill Gates.
For many entrepreneurs, their first taste of business came from standing behind a lemonade stand in the sun selling Dixie cups full of lemonade to passersby.
As an article in the Huffington Post points out, many grown-up business owners still employ lessons they learned those summer days long ago, from marketing tips, to picking the right investments and offering a quality product set at a fair price.
"The idea of lemonade stands is not just to create a cute thing in the neighborhood, but it’s a way kids can go out and learn (and earn) things for themselves,” Norm Brodsky, columnist and senior contributing editor to Inc. Magazine, which held a 'best lemonade stand in America' contest, told The Huffington Post.
The "Two Sisters" Lemonade stand is open for business… #parkslope pic.twitter.com/7dxheImtQa
— Michael (@donohoe) April 18, 2015
Running a lemonade stand may also help children learn financial literacy, which is important, since research has repeatedly shown that money sense among young Americans is seriously lacking.
In one survey, 70 percent of incoming college freshmen reported having never been taught basic financial literacy skills.
In another, 38 percent of graduating high school seniors said they are unsure or unprepared to manage their own banking and personal finances.
Parents and children considering starting a lemonade stand should click here for tips to make the most of life's lemons.
