Serving up a nice cool glass of lemonade with a dash of entrepreneurial skills will be the business plan of many youth this weekend, as Lemonade Day returns to Okotoks for the fifth year.
“On June 8 we will have approximately 120 lemonade stands around town at locations that the kids thought would be a good business location,” said Ralph Tollens, Lemonade Day co-chair. “We encourage the public to come out and support these kids as they foray into entrepreneurship. Spend a moment and chat with them about what they have learned from going through this program.”
Lemonade Day began in Texas in 2007, and has since grown to over 150,000 youths in 50 cities across North America. The event aims to give youth the tools for success, while instilling community values.
“What we’re teaching the kids is entrepreneurship,” said Tollens. “In many cases it will be their first opportunity to see what entrepreneurship is all about.”
Each vendor participant receives a workbook to guide them on their first small-business journey—including setting goals, budgets, business plans, products and pricing—that they complete over the eight weeks leading up to Lemonade Day, where they will see the fruits of their labour.
“We tell them up front, will it all go perfect? No. But being in business, generally it doesn’t go perfect but we correct and continue,” he said.
Gaining the interpersonal skills required in running a business is an important part of the day, said Tollens. The youth practice speaking to customers to make sales, as well as approaching the owners of businesses they would like to put their lemonade stand in front of. This skill prepares them for creating their own network within the community.
Lemonade Day’s three pillars are “Save some, spend some, share some,” with the entrepreneurs themselves directing how much of the money they earn goes to each pillar.
The “share some” aspect develops the sense of
community, benefiting local charities and organizations as a way to thank the community for supporting their business.
“In the five years that we’ve been doing Lemonade Day… over 90 per cent of the kids have actually gone on to share to a charity of their choice,” said Tollens. “This is their business, it’s their money, so they get to make those decisions.”
Similar statistics apply to the savings of participants; about 40 per cent of the young entrepreneurs have opened their first bank accounts following the event.
For more information on how to get involved or volunteer, email [email protected].
