Developing genuine interest in entrepreneurship can be difficult for even the best parents and guardians. Lemonade Day offers plenty of advice on getting kids interested in business. However, keeping children involved in enterprise for a sustained period of time can be a little more difficult.

The Day After Lemonade Day: Fostering Sustained Interest in Business and Enterprise

Lemonade Day is an amazing program that helps kids learn about business by helping them start a business. The planning, education, and effort associated with starting a simple lemonade stand can put kids on the path to greater entrepreneurial success later in life. To build sustained interest in enterprise, start with a discussion, continuing education, and planning for the next enterprise.

Discussing the Entrepreneurial Experience

After participating in Lemonade Day, it is important to discuss the successes and failures of the endeavor. Try to identify areas of improvement but, more importantly, look for areas of natural aptitude. If a child was interested in keeping track of money, sales, supply, or anything numbers based, then focus on math and general accounting. If their interest was more focused on crafting the best tasting lemonade possible, then help them learn more about cooking and the culinary arts.

A quick discussion about the entrepreneurial experience, whether through Lemonade Day or some other program, helps reinforce sound business principles. Discussions like these can also make the experience you share with a child or guardian even richer and longer lasting.

Learning from Mistakes and How to Correct Them

After the discussion with your child, help them continue their development by helping them learn from their mistakes. This could potentially involve more advanced or specific education than they have available in school. For example, an eight year that had fun during Lemonade Day but wants to make more money next year might find learning about percentages and basic accounting. Of course, it’s important to focus on age appropriate skillsets as it could be easy to discourage a child from further business education. Resources for continuing youth enterprise education can be found through Lemonade Day, Junior Achievement, or with a quick Google search.

Plan for the Next Business Venture

Whether you choose to participate in Lemonade Day again or not, we hope you continue to encourage business education in the life of your kids. You might decide to sell snacks at baseball games or open a pet sitting service. Regardless of the business or service, the principles offered by Lemonade Day apply. After discussing past ventures and learning the skills necessary to improve performance, get ready for your next business. This time, you know what works and what won’t.