How to Start a Lemonade Concession Stand
Making a lemonade stand is an American pastime, evoking memories of young entrepreneurs sitting outside on hot summer days selling ice cold lemonade for pocket money. A lemonade stand, however, can be quite lucrative if you are willing to treat it like a serious business. Choosing a location, setting prices, ordering inventory and selling are all required to create a successful lemonade stand. Make sure to check your city or town's ordinance and zoning laws if you plan to set up a stand in a public area like a park.
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Instructions
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Build your lemonade stand using plywood, nails, screws or whatever materials you would like. Simply make sure that your stand is sturdy enough to stand up by itself but light enough to move. Adding hinges to either side is a good way to increase the portability of your stand, which is very convenient if you ever have to relocate.
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Decide on an inventory for your lemonade concession stand. Some people choose to offer more than just lemonade, but giving your customers too much choice in such a small setting may actually discourage patronage. If you choose to carry snacks, make sure that they will hold up in hot weather and that they pair well with lemonade.
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Determine a suitable location for your lemonade stand and make sure to check with your city's ordinances and laws to make sure that you are allowed to solicit without a permit. (If you need a permit, apply for one.) Make sure you pick an open space with enough room to accommodate both your stand and your customers. Find a backup stand location, just in case you are forced to move for any reason.
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Schedule your selling days to coincide with hot days and you will be more likely to catch the attention (and sales) of pedestrians who pass your booth. Check the weather often to make sure that you are open on days that are most likely to bring in a high volume of business. You could take it a step further and adjust your prices based on the weather, setting your prices a bit lower when traffic is lighter to draw in more customers.
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Tips & Warnings
Location is very important to the success of a lemonade stand. Try to pick a spot that is highly trafficked but where your stand will be visable. Also make sure that there is space for a line to form if need be.
Don't be afraid to cut your price a bit at the the end of the day if you are high on supplies. It's better to get some return on investment than to dump out product.
Keep your supply of lemonade and other snacks high, and have backup ready and close by just in case traffic picks up significantly.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Lemonade image by Radu Razvan from Fotolia.com
