Lemonade Stands with a Few Twists

by Sherry Holetzky | More from this Blogger

10 Jul 2006 04:43 AM

These ideas are not only good ways to keep kids busy, but they also provide good opportunities for teaching children about money and about giving back to the community.

Lemonade Stand

You can certainly do the lemonade stand thing, and use it as a simple way to show your kids about profit and expenses. Instead of just buying the supplies and letting the kids keep the money, teach them about gross and net. Teach them that profit is calculated after expenses have been paid.

Snow Cone Stand

This is another good business experiment. If half the kids in the neighborhood have a lemonade stand, what's to set there's apart from the others? Why not have a snow cone stand or something else that's different? It may require a bit more work and a bit more initial investment, but by offering a unique product, they may well be the neighborhood's profit leaders.

Services

Some kids are always looking for ways to make money and enjoy hiring themselves out to perform handy services for neighbors such as cutting grass, raking, picking up trash, or various other small jobs. This is a good opportunity to teach kids to do what they say they will do and to learn a good work ethic. Learning to do their very best no matter what kind of job they are performing is a priceless lesson.

Giving Back

After calculating profits, encourage your children to give something back and to help others. They can donate a small percentage of their earnings to a local charity, food bank, a school supply drive for indigent children, or anything else they find important.

If your child doesn't have a particular charity in mind, or if there isn't a great need in your own community, they might consider donating to disaster relief funds. It's been nearly a year since the hurricanes, but many families and communities still need help. Or, consider the USO. The USO serves members of our military and sends care packages but does not receive any government funding. Their activities depend on private donations, and care packages also require private funding. This is a great cause, but then any form of helping others is.

Learn more about Sherry Holetzky

Sherry Holetzky is a work at home mom and freelance writer. Married to her best friend, Sherry and her husband are raising their family in a quiet rural setting in the beautiful Ozark Mountains.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger

Aimee Amodio (12040) 11 Jul 2006 07:21 AM

Combining your kids' lemonade (or other) stand with a family yard sale is a great way to increase the foot traffic and profits AND help you keep an eye on the kids.

Sherry Holetzky (11404) 11 Jul 2006 07:39 AM

Great idea, Aimee. That's a good tip and I hope it goes without saying that kids should never be left unattended.