Lemonade Stands
My little five year old wants to go into business for himself!
No, seriously, he’s not a full blown capitalist …he’s just curious about how the whole supply and demand “thing” works.
The other day we were in our local TV appliance store looking at new televisions when I casually asked my son which TV he likes.
He walks directly over to this giant 70″ Plasma TV and says matter-of-factly
“LET”S GET THIS ONE DADDY!”
From 10 feet away I spot the sales tag:
“ON SALE! Only $17,995″
Yeah, that’s right… the price of new Honda Civic!
I broke the bad news to him and we ended up leaving the store after ordering a much cheaper LCD HDTV (that I ended up canceling …but that’s another story..)
For the next several days my son kept asking me why we couldn’t buy his favorite television.
We talked about “good” debt (like a house you live in) and “bad” debt (frivolities that break) but I wasn’t making any impression.
So I started using units of currency that I was sure he would understand:
- 5,000 Chicken nuggets
- 60 bicycles
- How long daddy has to work to pay for it…LOL
I then flippantly added
“Why don’t you set up a lemonade stand and you can buy the TV for yourself!”
His eyes lit up…he was instantly captivated by this novel idea of becoming a five year old entrepreneur!
Over the next few days he was on a mission…gather everything he needed to open up his first business!
He spoke of nothing else…day and night…LOL!
So the day came to set up shop on our sidewalk. Of course I had to decide what to charge for my son’s homemade lemonade (actually Countrytime). Anyone know the street price for lemonade? The seven year old businessman living next door charges a $1.00!
Well, we set the price and opened up shop:
Then came the real surprise… Customers!
In a little over 2 hours my son sold over 20 glasses!
A special thanks goes to my neighbors and the anonymous strangers who gave my son a crisp dollar bill and a cheerful “keep the change”.
You brought excitement and joy to my son’s business adventure.
I hope you remember this story the next time you see a young boy or girl with a lemonade stand…
Please stop and buy a glass!