3 Ways to Go Beyond the Lemonade Stand this Summer

Today marks the first day of summer, and that means lemonade stands are just around the corner, literally. This sticky childhood staple seems to have stood the test of time—save the mind-boggling summer day in Texas when public officials made headlines when they attempted to shut down a lemonade stand. Apparently, the 7- and 8-year-old sisters had neglected to obtain the appropriate $150 peddlers permit or a formal kitchen inspection. While I’m not prone to acts of civil disobedience, you will still see my kids selling lemonade this summer.

What short sighted public officials missed is the incredible benefit of kid-run lemonade stands or any host of other small enterprises. My children are currently involved in baking dog treats, and selling them to the many dog owners in our community. Watching them create, sell, and serve customers, it’s clear that this is about so much more than lemonade and dog treats. Starting a kid biz teaches lifelong valuable lessons about delayed gratification, patience, hard work, financial stewardship, generosity, and so much more.

This summer, consider investing in your children through your family’s own version of kidpreneurship. Here are three simple suggestions on how to help your children to begin thinking like an entrepreneur and learning lessons in the process:

1) Start with Stories

Stories of entrepreneurship are all around us. Have your son or daughter pick one of their favorite businesses (restaurant, toy store, ice cream truck) and plan a visit to hear the owners’ story. Just last week, our family heard the story of two moms who teamed up to open an ice cream truck. They regaled us with stories of the various ventures they attempted before getting into the ice cream business as well as their favorite parts of the ice cream truck: seeing kids’ excitement when they hear the tell-tale music of the truck rolling into their neighborhood. Do you have a family movie night on the calendar? Consider watching an episode of Shark Tank together, and leading your kids in a discussion about what it takes to start, grow, and sustain a small business!

 2) Earn, Give, Save

If you earn $1 and do not use it well when you’re a child, you are unlikely to use $1,000 well later in life. Kidpreneurship is a terrific way to begin teaching the basics of financial stewardship. The “jar system” creates a visible, tangible way to understand how we use money—and all you need is 3 jars. After decorating each jar, have your child designate one for giving, one for short-term savings, and one for long-term savings. Every time they earn money throughout the summer, discuss how much they should put in each jar based on their earnings.

3) Join the Community of Kidpreneurs

There is a growing movement of entrepreneurship fairs popping up across the country. Just like an arts fair, a group of entrepreneurs rent a booth, create their own marketing materials, and bring unique products and services to sell. Acton’s Children’s Business Fair has already done much of the hard work for you and provides additional resources and inspiration on their website.

My guess is that as you begin exploring and encouraging kidpreneurship, your children will knock your socks off by what they learn and create! Let’s raise our lemonade glasses and toast to a long summer full of creativity and entrepreneurship.

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To spur on your own journey of kidpreneurship, consider getting a copy of Watching Seeds Grow: a guide to entrepreneurship for parents and children.

1 Comment

  1. John H Quinley Jr
    June 20, 2016

    So agreed Peter! When my gang was coming along all four as part of homeschool had to do a micro-entrepreneurial project. My daughter did a smoothie biz at a mission guesthouse we were running at the time, and the three boys together got ocean kayaks to rent to the guests for fun on the Gulf of Thailand. They learned tons, paid back in months, and made significant real kid profits.No its not perfect, but I forever love MF for so many reasons.

    Reply

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