Youthful Entrepreneurs: Lemonade Stands

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July 19, 2005 by Dane Carlson | 1 Comment

NY Times:

Decisions about pricing, product mix and location tumbled through Alex Waggoner’s mind as he started his enterprise. His business adviser observed his interactions with potential customers and counseled him about a more aggressive sales approach.

Alex Waggoner at his lemonade stand in Seattle. With parents’ help, many children are using this summer tradition to learn more formal business skills.

Was he a hotshot Wharton graduate working with a venture capitalist? No, Alex was just 6, setting up a summer lemonade stand in Seattle, and his business adviser was his mother.

Now 7 and in his second year as a lemonade salesman, Alex has decided to post signs in his neighborhood, directing people to his stand, “instead of yelling as they go by.” He will also sell cookies, because his little sister likes them.

For many children, the lemonade stand has become a first entrepreneurial venture, complete with parents who coach them on business practices. “Why shouldn’t he learn how to run a business?” asked Alex’s mother, Angela Wu, a lawyer. “He needs to learn how to take care of himself.”