This past Saturday, my two daughters set up a lemonade stand in front of Artists and Fleas , the weekend artist, designer and vintage market my husband and I started 9 years ago. This was Ruby’s second lemonade stand as a year ago she had her first foray into entrepreneurship. What was clear was what a difference a year and experience makes! Ruby and Noa made a list early in the morning of all of the items they would need for their stand (sign, lemonade, a wallet for collections, cups, straws, mint, lemons, ice, a table cloth and a change of clothes in case they spilled). When everything was organized they set up shop. Within seconds they were both shouting “Lemonade for sale” to every person who walked by. It was amazing, they had absolutely no fear and total confidence in their product. Many people stopped to purchase but some people walked by and just smiled. Ruby asked me why some people were not buying and I said maybe they do not realize how great the lemonade tastes. She squinted her eyes for a moment to process the information and then within seconds she refined her pitch, “ice cold, refreshing lemonade – the perfect drink for this hot day!” Within seconds, she had a line of 8 people waiting! Two hours and $42 later, Ruby and Noa sold out. It was wonderful to watch them have fun, make money and experience entrepreneurship first hand. But what I really marveled at was their fearlessness. Kids can really make you realize the importance of having a lot of confidence in your business and then shouting out the message to the world.

-Amy