When my boys were 5 and 7, they decided to set up a neighborhood lemonade stand for charity. They enlisted their friends and neighbors to help âRobbie, Mikey and Tommy Good. Together they set up the table, designed and colored the attractive sign, and came with me to the grocery store to buy the lemons, sugar, cups and napkins. We squeezed the juice together and managed to get a few pitchers of lemonade to sell.
After about 45 minutes of hawking their beverage to the neighbors who drove or walked by, my son Tom came to me and said, âMom, look, we made $5.50 for charity.â Being a businesswoman and familiar with P&L, I asked, âWhat about the cost of the goods?â Tom thought about it, looked behind him at his friends, and said, âThey work for free!â We all had a good laugh, but hopefully, they learned a little about the value of a dollar. They worked hard but had netted little.