How to Raise Young Entrepreneurs

This post is sponsored by Brother.

This year we’re partnering with Brother to support Lemonade Day and encourage kids to explore entrepreneurship while they’re young. My daughter and I created an easy sugar scrub recipe with lid labels we printed out with our INKvestment Tank printer that we can make together and sell to grow her own little business. She plans to include her scrubs as part of her lemonade stand business!

TIPS FOR RAISING YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS

This year, Brother is sponsoring the Best Stand Design Contest for Lemonade Day! As a woman who has started her own business, entrepreneurship is an integral part of my life and is something my kids are exposed to every day.

I love that Lemonade Day and Brother are both organizations that want to encourage the next generation of entrepreneurs. Lemonade Day is an organization that celebrates entrepreneurship and encourages children to learn about the skills and values that go into starting their own business.

 It’s inspiring to me, and while we’re spending more time together, my daughter and I have been dreaming up ideas so she can have her own job, as she likes to say.

What do kids learn by participating in the Lemonade Day program? The first thing is that they get to have the fun experience of setting up their own lemonade stand.

Other things they learn about include:

• Business skills
• Responsibility
• Financial Literacy
• Goal Setting
• Teamwork

Establishing their own lemonade stand business is done in four easy steps! Our kids learn how to start with an idea and make it a reality!

1. Set a goal
2. Make a plan
3. Work the plan
4. Achieve the dream

You can learn more about how to participate by visiting lemonadeday.org.

SETTING A GOAL AND MAKING A PLAN

As part of her lemonade stand business, we sat down and came up with an aspect she could start from our home right now and one that can easily be paired with her stand!

To get started she had to learn about setting a goal and making a plan for it!

Lemon Sugar Scrub jars are a simple project that I know make great gifts. So it was an easy idea for a little business she could start and work with some help from us.

Before we started making the jars of homemade sugar body scrub, we sat down together to make a plan. We talked about things like costs and profit. Although she’s only six years old, she understands earning money. This was an opportunity for her to learn more about the expenses that come with creating products.

She had decided she wanted to sell her sugar scrub jars for $1 each. It was sweet but when we crunched numbers, she discovered that it costs her at least $4.50 to make each jar so she’d need to raise the price to make a profit.

I kept it very simple, but she’s now going around telling everyone in the house about how to earn a profit! I love seeing the wheels turning as she starts to really dream for herself.

WORKING THE PLAN & ACHIEVING THE DREAM

Once we made a plan, it was time for her to start working it!

The great thing about getting young people involved in entrepreneurial activities is that they get so excited. While I know she is learning while doing it, she just has dreams of earning money and is having fun preparing for it and doing it!

Sugar scrubs are easy to make so they’re a great idea for young entrepreneurs. The recipe can also be tweaked to be perfect for holiday gift-giving by swapping out the essential oil you use and the coloring you add. And the lid labels can be easily printed out. We used our Brother INKvestment Tank model to print out our sheet of labels. We even have free printables you can use to create your own!

I have a feeling she’ll be wanting to make more and more to add to her inventory! And yes, she learned what the word “inventory” means!

In honor of Lemonade Day, we started with Lemon Sugar Scrub, but next on the list is Pink Lemonade. She plans to swap the yellow coloring with pink. She’s also got plans for orange and lime-scented scrubs for summer.

I love that she’s excited to start sharing her new endeavor with everyone. It seems like she has new ideas every day!

We’re planning on using our sugar scrubs as part of my daughter’s new little business endeavor but also as teacher appreciation gifts this year!

We’ve also started getting her supplies organized so she can continue to make her sugar scrubs as we dive deeper into the business side of things. 

The P-touch CUBE Plus Label Maker has been a huge help. She’s a beginning reader, so having things labeled is helping her get organized and practice reading!

I love using my smartphone to design the labels and she enjoys printing them with me and putting them on the bins we got to help her get organized.

It’s truly a team effort and we’re making fun memories together! As a business owner, I love seeing my child excited to start something of her own!

LEMONADE DAY BEST STAND DESIGN CONTEST

If you’re an entrepreneur or small business owner, Brother is “At Your Side” with products that we can depend on to help us get the job done.

Our kids are the next generation, and as a successful entrepreneur, I think it’s important to share values like responsibility, financial literacy, and goal setting from a young age. Lemonade Day works to teach our children these lessons and more!

The Best Stand Design Contest for Lemonade Day runs from May 18th to June 29th. 

To get involved, kids will dream up their business goals and draw their lemonade stand design. We’re excited to get involved and I cannot wait to see what my daughter comes up with for her design!

Winning designs will be chosen from different age groups and the winners will each receive a $100 Brother gift card.

When planning their lemonade stand design, kids should think about some of the following:

• What will the name of the stand be?
• What is the stand made of?
• What color will their stand be?
• What supplies will they need?
• What does the menu look like?
• What does their logo look like?
• Where will the stand be set up?

For more details and instructions for entering, visit lemonadeday.org/contests.

If you haven’t heard of Lemonade Day, be sure to check it out. It’s a great program that works to teach kids about starting, owning, and operating their own businesses!

An earlier version of this blog stated that the Best Stand Design Contest ended on June 15. Due to an extension of the contest timing, it will now end on Monday, June 29.