Business Lessons From A Lemonade Stand
Yesterday was a nice glimpse into spring. The temperatures in Annapolis have been mostly in the 40’s, but yesterday hit the mid-60’s. Kids were out of school for Presidents Day, and during my run, I passed by one house where some young girls had set up a lemonade stand. The girls were probably about 8 years old and obviously were more interested in having fun than in making money. As I continued my run though, I thought of many ways that the simple lessons learned at a lemonade stand can be applied to ‘real’ businesses.
- Location, location, location - This lemonade stand was near the end of a long private road with only 6 other houses past them. Moving the business a quarter mile up the road, before where it splits into another private road would have increased the potential customers by a hundred times.
- Advertising - As an alternative to changing location, putting up a sign or two would be a way to tell people about your business
- Offering credit - When I was running, I didn’t have my wallet, but I would gladly take a cup of lemonade now and bring them a dollar back later. A little risk in extending credit could have doubled their sales.
Selling lemonade seems like such a simple business, but I enjoy looking back to the basics sometimes. If it’s not quite lemonade weather for you yet, you can try your luck at a virtual lemonade stand. Beware: I just wasted an hour playing that game. I got up to $91.81, but I could probably do better if I had another hour or two.
