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Museum member Pete and his daughter Ollie are Lemonade Day pros! Pete also happens to be finance expert Peter Dunn, so you won't want to miss Pete and Ollie's (hilariously brilliant) tips for a successful lemonade stand.
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I've been counting down the days. It's almost upon us. Lemonade will be sold, fun will be had, and lessons will be learned. It's Lemonade Day 2014! This will be the third year that my now five year old daughter Ollie and I will become citrus beverage entrepreneurs.
When she was three, there was more fun than business. Last year, we cranked up the math and focused on customer service. This year, who knows what lessons will be learned. If you've ever dealt with a five year old, you'd know that I quit calling the shots about one year ago. Last year's profits went to a doll, this year's profits were promised to a cat purchase. Although she does acknowledge my cat allergy as a possible stumbling block. But the ever-resourceful Ollie assures me that she wants to get a cat when I'm dead.
Business and entrepreneurship are all about problem solving. If we can have lots of fun together while learning some valuable lessons in the process, then I'm game. Here are some of our pro tips on how to have a great lemonade stand.
- Ollie: "You need music at your stand. People need to dance."
- Dad: "Pick a location that gets some heavy traffic. No traffic equals no customers."
- Ollie: "Get balloons. But if Dad lets go of the balloons getting out of the car, you will need more balloons."
- Dad: "Don't accidentally let go of the balloons when you get out of the car."
- Ollie: "Have cookies to sell. Lemonade makes people hungry."
- Dad: "Have plenty of change. One and a ton of quarters will do the trick."
- Ollie: "People like ice."
- Dad: "Create a sign that tells customers where the charity portion of your profits will go."
- Ollie: "Say 'Have a nice day' really loud when people leave. That way, they'll have a nice day."
- Dad: "Make it fun. Business is fun, not tedious."
This year's Lemonade Day is Saturday May 16, 2015! Learn more and sign up at LemonadeDay.org.
