Lemonade Stand : The Grassroot Incubator

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Experience is the best teacher. One can read 100s of blogs and books or take hours of classes on Entrepreneurship. But succeeding in a business is a an art and mystery that only experience can teach. That is the reason, the best way to setup and succeed in business is by going out and trying to setup a business at the earliest possible.

The Inc.com encouraged that spirit with their first ever Best Lemonade Stand in America contest.  A 9-year-old from Seattle, Wash., on Tuesday took top honors in Inc.com's first ever Best Lemonade Stand in America contest.

Siena Jeakle, who sold pink lemonade for 75 cents a glass beside a giant eye-catching pink lemonade sign and donated part of the proceeds to breast cancer research, won for best overall concept and design.

The contest, which started during the Fourth of July weekend and closed July 31, attracted hundreds of "kid-trepreneurs" between the ages of 5 and 12 from across the country, said Inc.com Editorial Director Laura Rich.

Greg from VentureVoice says Lemonade stand is a school of Hard Knocks for Young Entrepreneurs and teaches the basic elements of Entrepreneurship.

While there's no standard education to become an entrepreneur, almost every entrepreneur gets an early education in the lemonade business. The kids may be cute, but that doesn't mean they're not cut throat. In fact, Inc. Magazine just announced the Best Lemonade Stand in America Contest Winner.

Running a lemonade stand embodies the most important issues in running a business: marketing (handing signs around the neighborhood), pricing (avoiding commoditization by banking on people's goodwill towards kids), and most importantly: location, location, location (it took me a couple years to figure out I could 10x my revenue by relocating the stand from the quiet street I grew up on to the busy street by friend lived on -- even after splitting the profits with him).

Next time you pass a lemonade stand, keep in mind that kid could put you out of business one day.

Sure it does. When are you setting up your lemonade stand?

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