Learning From Lemons On Lemonade Day - Work Smart. Live Smart.

Do you know where pink lemons come from?

Two 12 year olds were left with a sour taste in their mouths after officials shut them down last week for not having a permit when they started selling lemonade in a dog park to raise cash for new soccer uniforms for their team.

How ironic, that this week we celebrate Lemonade Day. A day which is designed to introduce children to having their own business. This event encourages kids to set up a lemonade stand and sell their drinks to the community. Youth learn to set goals, develop a business plan, establish a budget, seek investors, provide customer service, and give back to the community.

Learning Business Skills

These are the great skills to learn. I still remember when my boys decided that they were going to sell lemonade at the end of the street when we held a garage sale at their great grandpa’s. They were tickled pink when very generous neighbours gave them a much larger donation than the 25 cents that they were asking for. I think that it was also their first taste of the ‘money bug’. They also felt the disappointment of running out of product before the crowds disappeared.

So you can see that this isn’t a serious post about stress and life issues. It is an opportunity though for those of you who have children or grandchildren to have some fun, teach some life skills, and open the world for our children.

Beverly’s Hot Tips For Celebrating Lemonade Day:

The weather is nice, so why not set a lemonade stand up with your children, even if there are no customers. Enjoy the fun of planning, designing and creating…which we could all use a larger dose of.
Support your local entrepreneurs – especially those that are young and who are learning the upsides and downsides to being in business for them self.

Fun Fact….

The Greeks were the first to make pink lemonade. They made this so that while the adults were having wine at celebrations, the children would also have a special treat. When the Greeks dyed the lemonade pink by adding wine, the common myth in the community was that this drink was made from pink lemons that grew in a forest that no man could enter and come out alive. They made the children believe that these magical pink lemons were brought back by a noble king. Now that’s just good marketing.

If you have some strategies to share – comment on this posting!