When Life Gives You Lemons, Invest In A Lemonade Stand

As with any other business venture in life, a little education on the prospect before you invest is a noteworthy endeavor.

• The first important thing you need before setting up your stand is to find a good location. If your house has a lot of foot traffic then the front yard would be a good spot for your stand. If you don't have a great amount of exposure where you live, look for one with better exposure and get permission from the owner of the property to set up a temporary stand on his location. Remember exposure is everything.

• Building your stand is crucial when it comes to selling your product. Make sure it is simple and cost effective, but is brightly colored and noticeable. The addition of balloons, streamers or any other colorful eye catching paraphernalia is useful to increase sales potential.

• It is also necessary to have a supply of money in a box or other small container to act as a "bank" in case a customer pays in large bills. This amount must be deducted at the end of the day before your profit margin is considered.

• The next step to success in selling your product is to find a good recipe for your lemonade.

• Add more products to your sales line. These could include, cookies, upgraded cups, whole lemons, or anything that is lemon related that might add variety to your line.

6 lemons-juice

1 cup sugar, or to taste

4 cups cold water

1 lemon cut into thin slices

Ice cubes

In a large pitcher, combine the lemon juice and sugar stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the remaining ingredients to the pitcher and stir well.

If you want pink lemonade add a few drops of red food coloring to the mixture.

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 cups water

½ cup sugar

2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice

4 fresh orange slices ½" thick

4 fresh lemon slices ¼" thick

In a large pitcher, combine lemon juice, water, and sugar blend well. Add orange juice, mix and chill. Place one orange slice and one lemon slice in each glass served.

2 cups squeezed lemon juice

6 cups water

1 cup sugar

1 Tbsp. ground ginger

16 1" pieces of fresh pineapple

In large pitcher, combine lemon juice, water, sugar and ginger, stir well, then chill. Place ice cubes and four pieces of pineapple in a glass and pour mixture over. Serve.

• The next important decision you will have to make is the amount to charge per glass. In order to do this you must figure out how much it costs to produce the product, this should include the cost of supplies and the labor involved in making it and selling it. Add a profit margin to make it worth the effort of creating and owning the business, and price the product accordingly.

• Another important factor to consider is the weather. Make sure your business venture has the support of plenty of sunshine, the hotter the weather the better. Be sure you have plenty of ice on hand.

• Advertising is the next consideration that has to be made for a successful stand. Signs, flyers, community and grocery store bulletin boards are all good ways to promote your business. Make sure to include the words, FRESH SQUEEZED on the advertisement.

• When dealing with your customers it is always a must to be polite, helpful, and cheerful. Smile and thank them for visiting your stand even if they don't purchase anything, perhaps next time they will. This will result in return business from satisfied customers.

A lemonade stand is a wonderful idea for all investors, the initial cost outlay is small and the return is high. This is the smartest investing possible considering the instability of the market today.

Oh yeah, and don't forget to keep the money stored in a jar under your bed. It is probably the safest place!