We all hear stories of the “Lemonade Stand” as the rite of passage for the budding young entrepreneur. I’ve never mentioned this idea to my kids and the funny thing is they figured it out on their own and came to me with their idea. They are keenly aware that I run a company and when they decided to launch their first “business" venture, I must say I was really proud they took the initiative on their own. I took a step back and watched them get to work as they discovered these lessons. Dare To Try-- When my boys came to me at 4:00pm and wanted to set up their lemonade stand, they didn’t care if it was approaching dinner time. They simply wanted to take the leap and go for it. They didn’t fear failure and just knew it was hot outside and wanted to try to make some sales. Enthusiastically, they got moving on their plan.

Preparation Is Key-- Getting the lemonade stand ready required them to make the necessary preparations. They worked on signage, right location, cut lemons, scooped in sugar, mixed the formula, sourced cups and gathered change. They enjoyed the process and planned out their mission.

Keep It Simple-- At first they had big plans of offering different flavors of lemonade, different colors and more complex add ons. Suddenly they realized that it would make more sense to keep it simple and and focus on one flavor of lemonade and do it well.

Have A Passion For The Product-- In watching the boys mix up the lemonade, set up shop and work on signs for marketing, I could see their passion for the product. They were energized as they came up with marketing slogans that highlighted the benefits. Cold, juicy, fresh squeezed Lemonade! I mean who wouldn’t want some when it’s 104 degrees out! Their passion for the product showed when they pitched every passerby they could.

$22 dollars later they were proud of their efforts. Big dreams often start small but getting out there and trying is where it starts!