Lemonade Stand Tips For First-Timers

My girls had been asking for well over a year if they can sell lemonade and we finally decided to just go for it! I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, I figured we would either have zero response or an overwhelming one and luckily we had the latter! The girls were so excited about how much lemonade they were able to sell and loved serving all of the neighborhood kids! There are a few things I wish we had done differently so I figured I would share our list of lemonade stand tips for first-timers to help anyone else who wants to have a successful lemonade stand experience!

This multipurpose lemonade stand was given to the girls for their birthday last year and it worked out perfectly for our sale! They use it in our playroom year-round and even host puppet shows from behind it! The wheels make it easy to transport and the cute design is just precious!

I made this double-sided lemon sign for my youngest to wear since she can’t hold up a sign for very long. I found this yellow foam board from Hobby Lobby which you can also find on Amazon or from most craft stores.

We cut it into the shape of a lemon and hole punched two holes at the top and tied string through so it could easily rest on her shoulders. The older girls decorated neon yellow poster boards with lemons and wrote “lemonade here!”

Quick tips for a sucessful lemonade stand:

1. Set your price and make it visible. We went with .25 cents per glass and wrote it on the chalkboard of the stand.
2. Make sure the kids know that not everyone will stop for lemonade. When we first set up at the front of our neighborhood it took a good 15 minutes before we got our first customer. The kids got a little discouraged at first but then we luckily started getting lots of traffic. I wish I had taken the time to explain that this might happen before we got out there!
3. Pick a highly visible area. We set up at the entrance of our neighborhood not far from a busy road.
4. Decorations help! Lots of people stopped just to say how much they adored the cute setup, and balloon garland then I could tell they felt obligated to buy some lemonade 🙂 It doesn’t have to be elaborate but I think people appreciate seeing the effort that was put into the stand. Our lemonade garland and balloons both came from Amazon.
5. Assign everyone a job. Assign each kiddo with a task that way when several customers show up at once you can dish out the drinks quickly. This is the pitcher and lemonade jar we used. One of my daughters took the money while the other poured the drinks.
6. Have lots of change! We needed a ton of change and I’m so glad I had brought some. Lots of people were SO generous to give the girls lots of extra $$.
7. Spread the word in advance. I messaged a few neighbors and some friends and family the day before and told them when we would be out so we could for sure get some guaranteed customers.
8. Have fun!!! It’s a great first lesson in entrepreneurship, I hope your kiddos enjoy it!

Please feel free to leave any other good tips or questions in the comments section below! Also, please feel free to reach out anytime via the contact page!