Wyatt Dennis and his parents discuss the inspiration behind his lemonade stand amid the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
Lemonade stands are easy to begin. This summer, help teach your kids financial responsibility and social skills, all while spending time in the summer sun, serving up delicious freshly squeezed lemonade.
When starting a business, check your local laws and regulations to make sure you comply. Most U.S. states do require a permit for a lemonade stand, but there are a few exceptions.
If you want to start a lemonade stand with your kids this summer, follow these tips to make a profit.
Want to start a lemonade stand with your kids this summer? Follow these easy steps. (Joan Slatkin/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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- Create your physical stand
- Decorate with eye-catching and informational signage
- Shop for supplies
- Create your lemonade recipe
- Check state regulations
1. Create your physical stand
One of the first things you’ll want to do when creating a lemonade stand with your kids is to create the actual stand.
The classic design for a lemonade stand is some sort of table, one that you build yourself or buy, with a shade over the top, to keep your kids and the lemonade out of the hot summer sun.
Shelves are helpful to have on the inside of the lemonade stand in order to store all the supplies and, of course, the lemonade.
A beverage dispenser with a spout, like the ones pictured above, provides a quick and easy way for kids to serve lemonade to customers. (Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images / Getty Images)
You can paint the lemonade stand with your kids in order to make it bright and stand out.
2. Decorate with eye-catching and informational signage
You want your lemonade stand to attract attention from those passing by. In order to do that, you need eye-catching signage.
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Ensure that the word “Lemonade” is clearly displayed somewhere on your stand, so people know what you’re selling. Having the price clearly posted is another important step you won’t want to miss.
You can create signage with your kids on either a piece of cardboard or a poster board. Use paint or colorful markers to make your signage.
3. Shop for supplies
Next, you’ll need to shop for all the supplies your kids are going to need to operate the lemonade stand. One key thing you’ll need is a cash box to securely collect all the money coming in.
You’ll also need somewhere to store the lemonade. A pitcher is one option, but it may get messy with kids. For an easier pour, use a clear beverage dispenser.
Don’t forget plenty of cups and a cooler with ice to ensure that each cup served is ice-cold.
4. Create your lemonade recipe
Freshly squeezed lemonade is a must for a successful lemonade stand, which means you need to come up with your own recipe.
Lemonade is very simple to make, with lemon juice, sugar and water as the main ingredients.
Lemonade is made using just three main ingredients – lemons, water and sugar. (Stephan Schulz/picture alliance via Getty Images / Getty Images)
You can simply juice lemons by hand, but you will find more success using a hand juicer to help ensure that every bit of juice is removed from each lemon. An electric juicer is the more expensive approach, but takes less grunt work from you.
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Mix your sugar with water in a saucepan over heat in order to create a syrup. This will allow the sugar to nicely blend with lemon juice and water. If you just pour the sugar in on its own, it won’t be as evenly mixed throughout.
If you want to get fancy, you can offer different flavors of lemonade to customers. You can do this by purchasing fruit syrups to mix into each individual cup of lemonade to the customers’ liking. Strawberry and peach are just a couple of options.
5. Check state regulations
Before you start selling lemonade, it’s important to check the laws. Each state has different requirements for what is needed to sell lemonade to the public.
Failure to comply with laws could lead to fees and the stand being shut down.
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In most U.S. states, a permit is required to operate a lemonade stand. There are currently 14 states that allow kids to operate a lemonade stand without a permit.
The 14 states are:
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Illinois
- Louisiana
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New York
- North Dakota
- Rhode Island
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont