'It's been a runaway success' — 5-year-old & his Dad sell out first Lemonade Day stand
Lemonade Day is underway in Calgary, and entrepreneurs aged five to 13 are vying for the top prize in both a local and a national contest.
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David Adamson, 5, was already sold out of lemonade by 10:30 a.m. Just as he and his dad, Jeff Adamson, were setting up their stand outside of Phil and Sebastian in Bridgeland, members of Sole Run Club came by and cleared out their supply.
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'One of the runners came over and asked if we were setting up and if we had lemonade,' Adamson said. 'Before we knew it, there was a lineup around the block.'
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Most of the proceeds of David's stand will be going to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, but he'll also be setting some aside to buy a treat for his three-year-old brother.
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'It's been a runaway success, far beyond our expectations, and a great learning experience for my son,' Adamson said. 'He's loving it.'
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This year is David's first time participating in Lemonade Day, but he and his family have set up lemonade stands outside their house in the past.
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David is one of more than 1,000 kids who are set up with their stands across the city, following hours of work on their branding and business plans. Prior to the big day, participants are guided through a self-directed learning program on an app.
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The initiative first began in the U.S., and now takes place in multiple cities across North America. It was brought to Calgary in 2023 by Chantelle Little, founder and CEO of Tiller Digital.
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'The learning experience has just been amazing,' Adamson said. 'I can see the wheels turning in his head as he starts to understand, 'Oh, OK, if I sell all this lemonade, then we can help someone, or I can buy a treat for my brother.'
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Calgary Herald
4 days ago
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'It's been a runaway success' — 5-year-old & his Dad sell out first Lemonade Day stand
Article content Lemonade Day is underway in Calgary, and entrepreneurs aged five to 13 are vying for the top prize in both a local and a national contest. Article content David Adamson, 5, was already sold out of lemonade by 10:30 a.m. Just as he and his dad, Jeff Adamson, were setting up their stand outside of Phil and Sebastian in Bridgeland, members of Sole Run Club came by and cleared out their supply. Article content Article content Article content 'One of the runners came over and asked if we were setting up and if we had lemonade,' Adamson said. 'Before we knew it, there was a lineup around the block.' Article content Most of the proceeds of David's stand will be going to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, but he'll also be setting some aside to buy a treat for his three-year-old brother. Article content 'It's been a runaway success, far beyond our expectations, and a great learning experience for my son,' Adamson said. 'He's loving it.' Article content Article content This year is David's first time participating in Lemonade Day, but he and his family have set up lemonade stands outside their house in the past. Article content David is one of more than 1,000 kids who are set up with their stands across the city, following hours of work on their branding and business plans. Prior to the big day, participants are guided through a self-directed learning program on an app. Article content The initiative first began in the U.S., and now takes place in multiple cities across North America. It was brought to Calgary in 2023 by Chantelle Little, founder and CEO of Tiller Digital. Article content 'The learning experience has just been amazing,' Adamson said. 'I can see the wheels turning in his head as he starts to understand, 'Oh, OK, if I sell all this lemonade, then we can help someone, or I can buy a treat for my brother.'
Calgary Herald
5 days ago
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Kids use Lemonade Day to whet their appetite for branding and selling
Article content What do the kids get for selling the most lemonade? Article content The prize question. Article content During the day, the children will participate in two contests, one nationally and the other a local venture. Article content Nationally, children can vie for the 'Young Entrepreneur of the Year' award, wherein winners are selected based on a number of criteria — their business plan, profits, personal stories and take-aways. Article content 'Some children have super unique stories and experiences of how their stand came to be,' Romain said. Article content The other is a venture initiated by Tiller Digital, in which children can win on their choice of branding. Article content 'Branding is a super huge part of our work in a day, so it's something we really pay especially close attention to,' Romain said. Children would be judged on the experience, the look and feel of the stands, the choice of colours, design, decorations, naming — 'all the elements that go into branding,' he added. Article content Article content They will also be asked to submit answers to questions about their story and how they invested in their brand, and how it affected their lemonade stand. Article content What do the kids have to say about it? Article content 'They love being able to make some money,' he said. Article content And their mentors, often parents and caregivers, have echoed similar thoughts, he added, on what it's like to see their children work together, get creative and follow through on a goal. Article content Kristin Mason said all four of her children will participate this year for the second time. Article content 'We're pretty much repeating (the strategy for) last year,' she said, when the children honed their family's business in beekeeping to make a homemade lemonade sweetened with honey and turned into a slushy for customers. Article content 'Then it could be sponsored by our family business, so we could provide the honey and our logo goes on the stand,' she said. The kids call it the 'McBain Honey Freeze,' as an ode to the family surname. Article content Article content Her oldest, Russell, who is 10 years old, tended to spearhead and manage the stand's logistics, she said. Last year, he set up an option for customers to pay electronically, via the Square app — 'It was all him,' she said — and managed the payments while the others, eight-year-old twins Alden and Ethan, and the youngest, six-year-old Lily, talked to customers and ran back-and-forth with fresh supplies to keep the product icy. Article content 'We're all in the conversations,' she said. 'We all did the recipe, tasting and testing.' Article content Last year, the kids did especially well as their stand coincided with a community cleanup event taking place the same day. While the two events don't coincide this year, it has sparked an idea to do two lemonade days — one on Lemonade Day and another on the same day as the community cleanup event.
