When my aunt and uncle presented a box loaded with the biggest, freshest lemons – straight from their own California backyard – the path was clear. Our three and five-year old daughters helped with the squeezing before making their own sign and setting up shop this past sunny Saturday at the edge of Vancouver’s 14-mile long seawall. Turns out they also experienced the Seven Business Lessons from a Lemonade Stand:

1. Deliver the best product you can – fresh lemonade from hand-picked lemons in pitchers packed with crushed ice – check!
2. Location, Location, Location – high traffic seawall entry/exit on our doorstep at Quayside Marina – check!
3. Brand extensions can kill your brand – seemingly an effort to build on her lemonade success, our five-year old’s lettuce offerings from the terrace garden may have confused customers, perhaps diluting the brand
4. Develop an integrated marketing plan – “Lemonade for sale!” “Lemonade for sale!” – (and again?!)
5. Humanize your business – watching your two toddlers sit silently after pouring a 25-cent cup of lemonade while customer awaits change on their ten dollar bill – priceless!
6. Speak the language of your customers – kids connecting with kids.. and parents in tow
7. Have an exit strategy – remarkable patience and enthusiasm (if only Daddy hadn’t closed the stand for dinner..).