For Local Kids, a Business Twist on the Old Lemonade Stand

A classic summer scene was set on Saturday as children at lemonade stands held signs and called out to passers-by. However the reward for these kids was more substantial than a few dollars; it was a hands-on introduction to the business world and entrepreneurship.  

Nearly 400 people gathered at the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens on Somerset Street for a business marketplace event hosted by the Church’s Entrepreneurial Ministry. Inside 70 vendors showcased their small businesses, ranging from internet marketing, financial services and nutrition to jewelry and handbags. People coming into the church were greeted by teams of children hoping to sell them some lemonade.  

The “Lemonade Stand Challenge” was organized by Barbara A. Fuller of Somerset, owner of career coaching firm Focus On You Now. For this initiative she gathered three teams with four children ages 8 to 12, adding one young teen supervisor for each group. The groups created distinct companies named “A Squeeze of Lemon”, “Heavenly Lemonade” and “The Super Lemons.”

In June the children attended 30-minute classes with Fuller after Sunday school where she taught them the basics of revenues and expenses, marketing and product variation.

As the school year ended Fuller and the Entrepreneurial Ministry planned a date for mid-July to keep kids busy with this project, which Fuller put her own spin on by naming it Focus on YouTH Now! She provided each of the three teams with $50 in start-up money for their lemonade ingredients and items like posters, t-shirts and decor.  

Nine-year-old Lauryn Repollet, the youngest member of Heavenly Lemonade, said she learned a lot about teamwork through the activity. Lamont Repollet, her father and the principal of Carteret High School, analyzed the project’s educational depth.

 “As an educator this is something I applaud. It’s project-based learning at its best, giving kids an opportunity to problem solve, figure out a budget, plan, and collaborate. In making lemonade the kids used measurements and math. They used writing skills to compose a script for selling and presentations and they practiced public speaking skills as well,” he said.  

Repollet gave an example of the work involved as Heavenly Lemonade studied a recipe for lemonade and converted the amounts to serve 96 cups using multiplication. Heavenly Lemonade’s added value was variety as they sold lemonade for $1 and ice pops and sugar cookies for 50 cents each.

The spokesperson for the team was 13-year-old David Gray, an eighth grader at Franklin Middle School. He said his group’s advertising plan included creating YouTube commercials, sending out over 200 emails, text messages, and using Facebook and fliers. Gray, a confident speaker, gained an understanding of the difference between debt and profits.

“Our target market was friends, families, neighbors and the community. I learned that you need a start-up cost for everything and that alone may not cover the beginning stages,” he said.

Gray projected good profits as his group earned $50 within the first hour of selling on Saturday, but first place went to The Super Lemons who came up with a profit of $260 thanks to two outgoing personalities, team leaders Zachary Lee and Kristian Simon, both 10 years old. Eight-year-old Brianna Chambers was the only child brave enough to wear a full-body lemon costume for the duration of a hot mid-summer day. Simon said the costume was supposed to have a matching cape like a Super Lemon should but the group could not make one in time.  

One vendor who doubled as a judge for the competition was Chental-Song Bembry, the 14-year-old author of a children’s book called “The Honeybunch Kids”.

Chental’s mother encouraged her to develop the characters from a cartoon strip she drew in 5^th grade, and in 2009 the family decided to self-publish the book and market it through social media, Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. Her debut book sold over 500 copies last year. Bembry, a freshman at South Brunswick High School, won $10,000 for her elevator pitch at Black Enterprise’s 2011 Teenpreneur Conference.

 On Saturday, while autographing copies of her book, Bembry reflected on these critical first steps into the business world for kids.  

 “I’m a child myself and they can learn from me. I enjoy being around people who are about business, and this is a great networking opportunity. So far I’ve seen great marketing techniques used by each team. The lemonades are good, their posters are nice and their organization is structured. Kids are smart these days and they have a lot to offer,” she said.