Ten Steps to opening a lemonade stand
We are trying to teach our 6 year old the value of work. We are hopeful to raise a young man with a strong work ethic and desire to succeed. It’s much easier said than done. So when I offered him the job of cleaning up some lawn debris for cash that he could use to buy Pokemon videos (or whatever else he wanted), I wasn’t really surprised at his disinterest. Truth is, he was a bad employee. He dawdled about and filled about a quarter of a brown paper lunch sac with stuff before he started to moan.
Then he suggested he open a lemonade stand. Like most entrepreneurs, a regular job wasn’t that appealing, but I was happy to know it wasn’t the idea of work that deterred him; it was the type of work that didn’t appeal to him.
So I started helping him work through the Ten Steps to Opening a Business , and it went something like this:
MOM: What is your life plan?
DAN: I want to watch Pokemon from 5 to 5:30.
MOM: How are you going to set up your lemonade stand — What is your business model?
DAN: In the driveway, but not too close to the street
MOM: Do you have a business plan?
DAN: You are going to help me make the lemonade and I am going to sell it.
MOM: How are you going to buy the ingredients for the lemonade? Where will you get the funding?
DAN: We have them in the refrigerator and the pantry.
MOM: Do you have a secret recipe for the lemonade? That would be a key asset for your business.
DAN: Mom, you are going to make the lemonade and I am going to sell it.
MOM: Are you going to hire any helpers?
DAN: No. Except you, of course.
MOM: I have bad news; we don’t have enough lemons, how about Limeade: It can help you establish your brand. It will differentiate you from your competitors.
DAN: OK.
MOM: How will you get customers? What is the marketing plan?
DAN: We can make a sign that I will hold near the street when cars go by.
MOM: What will the sign say?
DAN: THIRSTY? STOP FOR AN ICE COLD CUP OF LIMEADE.
And there it was, he was in business. It was a great success. Most of the customers gave him a tip in addition to the cost of the drink. He made five dollars in less than an hour. And he charged his father for a cup when he pulled into the driveway (demonstrating that he is no a push over! When you look at it this way, it doesn’t seem so difficult to startup your own small business now, does it?
June 2nd, 2006 at 4:40 pm
Hello,
Thanks for writing this entertaining piece. The complexities and confusion of developing the business plan are so rampant that it has spawned a huge industry of books, software, and seminars. In truth the best business plans are the simplest. If you can break down your business into simple elements that people can understand you have a much better chance at getting your message across.
Stay True
When the plan is simple the details of the day to day execution can be aligned to the results much more effectively then a detailed and highly technical plan. Simple goals are bigger and better then complex goals. If I want to create educational programs to end illiteracy I have a big, easy to understand goal. If I want to develop peer based online training and development programs for NGO’s to implement in low income regions. We3ll I have a goal, but I’m stuck in this box.
But Our Business is Complicated?
While the technical work that your business does may very well be complicated, you plan doesn’t have to be. If it is, I would go as far as saying you don’t really understand exactly what it is your business does.
Simple is beautiful:
eBay – connects buyers and sellers
Google- organizes the world’s information
Volvo – safe transport
Great article, thank you.
June 5th, 2006 at 4:44 pm
Thanks Hasan. And my Volvo thanks you too!
June 16th, 2006 at 7:20 pm
I really enjoyed your article! I am going to have my boys look at it. You should check out their lemonade stand project that they have been doing for a couple years. You can find the details at [link=http://www.familycapers.com/Projects/default.html' target='_blank']B-Brothers Project[/link].