Business Opportunities Weblog

UPDATE: Lemonade Entrepreneur

By on August 10, 2010 in Ideas

Last Thursday, we first told you about 7-year-old entrepreneur Julie Murphy and how county health inspectors shut down her lemonade stand.

After their public image soured, elected officials apologized for shutting down Julie’s lemonade stand because she didn’t possess the proper permit.

According to The Oregonian, a local radio station and tire store set her up in business for an afternoon.

Now, she has $1,838.31 — enough to bankroll a trip to Disneyland for her mother and her later this month.

And if she wants it, there seems to be a lucrative career waiting for Julie in the lemonade business. A minor league baseball team has approached the seven-year-old about setting up shop at their games.

Photo by The Oregonian.

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Rich Whittle has added 6,226 posts to Business Opportunities Weblog.

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  • http://parentsdealingwithcancer.com Linda

    That is crazy that they would shut down a lemonade stand. Part of a rite of childhood! Way to go Julie and I’m glad that so many have stood up for you! You go girl!

  • Fred

    Sure, just what the parents wanted. This is not teaching this girl about business or the business of life. She should have gotten a permit before the festival just like every other business there.

  • http://www.princesszaria.com Cheryl Lynn Pope

    That’s great! I remember when we were younger we had lemonade stands in our neighborhood. Way to go! Thanks to officials for standing up for the little guy(literally) LOL!

  • http://wahm.business-opportunities.biz Angela Shupe

    If her stand is doing that well then maybe she should go the legal route and get the permit? Especially since she seems to have so many prospects because of all the publicity she received.

  • Nan

    I can’t believe the idiots that support the government on this one. Fred and Angela have probably never run a business in their lives and think all money comes from government.

    We’re talking about a child – and lemonade.

    This story just proves once again that government has gone too far into the lives of people and that the only thing that’s going to save us from this mess is helping each other out. Kudos to the radio station, the tire company, the baseball team and everyone who purchased a drink from this young lady.

  • http://babygorillas.com Ed McLaughlin

    While I can’t help but root for the small guy, I do think that both sides learned (or should have learned) a lesson or two.

  • http://wahm.business-opportunities.biz Angela Shupe

    Nan,

    This is a child selling lemonade, you’re right, but when we have someone that is making over $1,800 in one afternoon selling it at a local business — and more sales prospects via minor league baseball games — we have to wonder if maybe she should go the legal route just as everyone else would have to. It would be a little different if this was simply a child in her front yard selling to the people in her neighborhood. She’s lucky, it looks like her small stand business could become something quite a bit larger than what kids would traditionally have.

    I don’t think children should have to pay a whopping fee to run some little stand somewhere. It should be a lesson in business and in how it works to run one. I think the government should offer a $10 license that children can apply for rather than the full fee versions that every other street vendor is required to have if they want to sell. That way they would still experience the fun behind selling and learn a little bit about what it takes to start a business in the first place.

    I would also like to add that I do not feel that money magically materializes via the government, well besides the fact they print it. I freelance for a living which makes me self-employed. Not a traditional business, no, but I have a good idea of what the government requires of me as a self-employed individual because I want to stay on the right side of the law. In the future you might want to reconsider your thoughts before trying to attack someone because they do not agree with you. Your comment about me simply made you look ignorant. Otherwise the rest of your comment was valid and I can understand (although our view points may differ) why you feel the way you do.

  • http://e Aaron Szydlowski

    Tell me how to take my eyes off the screen and stop reading since it is addictive.

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