Kids Earn Money And Learn At A Yard Sale
I am sitting on my front porch. It is yard sale day and there is a lull in the action. My two daughters, ages 12 and 8, are selling some of their toys, books and videos that they have outgrown. The oldest is earning money to purchase a guitar and amp. She along with her best friend are starting a band.They are earning money to buy the equipment. The figure if Hanna Montana can do it so can they. The youngest is earning money to buy a new game for her Nintendo.
I’m glad to see that the girls are interested in earning their own money. They have been preparing all week for this and are excited. They enjoy earning money and have even decided to sell lemonade to make extra money.
They are selling lemonade for twenty-five cents a glass. It seems simple enough, but they have learned some important lessons. First, they have learned how to market their goods. They wanted me to make a sign for them but I said no. I explained that part of the charm of the lemonade stand is that it is run by kids and a kids sign adds to that. They made a wonderful sign - colorful, big block letters, charming.
The next lesson that they learned was product diversification. They started out with your basic yellow lemonade. It was good but then a customer mentioned that they liked pink lemonade. So into the house went the oldest. Out she came with a pitcher of pink lemonade. Sales went up.
Then came a lesson in quality control. They girls had been earning money selling lemonade for over an hour in the warm sun when one of their customers mentioned that the lemonade was warm. So the youngest scurried into the house for ice cubes and fixed the man’s drink for him. Problem solved - happy customer.
The yard sale and lemonade stand are great ways for kids to earn extra cash. In addition to earning money, the kids are learning people skills as they interact with the customers. They are also brushing up on their change making abilities and money handling while learning some business basics. It is a simple yard sale and a great way for the kids to earn cash, but it is also a nice little classroom where they can learn and grow.
Tim Eutin has been hosting the Morning Show on the He’s Alive Radio Network, http:www.hesalive.net for almost a decade. He is also the author of several blogs including http://kidsneedcashto.blogspot.com
Tags: kids learn, yard sale, kids earn money
