Lemonade Day Youth Entrepreneurship Program is offering leaders, the smallest of small business owners, and teen entrepreneurs as sources for media and influencers on the topic of entrepreneurship and entrepreneur education. Lemonade Day jump-
I had a chance to hear from a program participant in their own words.
Lemonade day was brought to our city this year through our local chamber of commerce. I work with one of the ladies who was on the city's lemonade day council and who was one of the mentors for some of the kids. (She is also a good friend of mine) She brought up the event to me and asked if I thought my daughters would be interested in participating. She was super excited to hear that my youngest, Brianna, really wanted to do this. She knew that both of my younger girls had sold handmade items before and thought this would be a great way to teach them about starting a new business.
The program is amazing! It is a step by step guide to starting up in a proper way. The kids get a handbook that explains what is needed for all of it and breaks down the terms in a way they can understand. We had a lot of help from her mentor as well (Bonnie). The city chose mentors who are or have been small business owners and could guide the kids through the process.
Aside from having it all in a handbook, the city set up events with participating businesses to help guide the kids along. They set up something with one of the local credit unions so that the kids could pitch their idea and ask for a micro loan. They set up "business licenses" for the day of the event so that the kids could go to city hall and request a business license. They had different businesses who sponsored the event and allowed kids to set up at their location, and the kids had to talk to the business owners and decide what location worked best for them. All in all, it was something that allowed kids (and their families) to see that starting your own business isn't as scary as it seems and is very doable.
I have always encouraged my kids to sell their items, but it was always on a smaller scale, like with friends and family, at church, or small events. This program gave us the opportunity to get out into the community and promote the event and the kids businesses. I also helped my daughter set up an Instagram account (that I monitor of course) and she did tons of promoting there. She was able to learn the importance of networking and marketing and was able to attend several events in the community to make herself known. She also learned the importance of small businesses promoting each other. So many of our local small businesses and friends and family re-shared all her content. On the day of the event it showed! Her lemonade stand was busy all day and had a pretty long line most of the time.
Through the process of preparing for the event, we allowed Brianna to share her wants and her ideas. We worked with her to make them all happen and made sure that even when we were guiding her we didn't move away from what she wanted to do. She heard from many different business owners who offered her great advice. She took what she heard and applied a lot of it. She also understood that some of the things she wanted to do couldn't happen right away and that we had to keep it simple to start off (this was mainly in regard to her idea of adding many more flavors than she already had, and hand making items that were popular but very time consuming to make) However, after the big event, she's done a few more and has added to her list of flavors.
I think that what would surprise people the most about young entrepreneurs is not only their age, but the fact that they have the motivation and drive to follow through with it. I personally have been surprised by their "why's". Their reason for wanting to become an entrepreneur at such a young age. For many kids, it's not just the idea of making their own money, but so much more. For my daughter, it has been the same from the very beginning... She wants to make money to help others. She has a huge, caring heart (especially for animals) and wants to donate to her favorite causes. With this last event she donated almost $800 to the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro. She is currently helping raise money for her aunt's surrogacy. She understands that she needs to keep money to continue to grow her business, but her "why" is helping others through her work. It blew me away to know that several of the other kids felt the same. They all had a goal of something they wanted for themselves, but most of them really wanted to help others.
I am so grateful for this program. We kept seeing Lemonade Day National post things with "Lemonade Day, more than just a day" and it has truly proven to be that! This program has gotten my daughter, and our family, started on a new journey. One that involves her owning her own business and knowing that she can do this, even at such a young age. Being the youngest of 6 children, she has made a huge impact on everyone around her and has had a lot of support from everyone. She is including her siblings in the process now. Knowing that my kids view becoming their own bosses as a reality is something that I will forever be thankful for 
It has been a pleasure sharing some of my side of the story with you. Please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions. Also, if you'd like to see the process and her progress, you can visit her Instagram account @brisfrozenlemonades. There is so much to share and sometimes pictures can say so much.
Lemonade Day is a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching youth important business, financial, character-building and life skills that are the key ingredients of entrepreneurship. Playing a vital role in the education and workforce ecosystem, Lemonade Day is in 84 licensed markets in the United States, Canada, Bermuda, six U.S. military bases, and growing. For more information, visit lemonadeday.org
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