Putting the Squeeze On : Here’s One Business That’s Proved to Be Recession Proof
One day Darren Himeles came home from kindergarten and said, “Gee Mom, wouldn’t it be fun to open up a lemonade stand?”
That would be fine, said his mother, Barbara Ann, but why not make it a real business, just like I. Magnin and Saks Fifth Avenue, which are two big department stores just up the street.
So she put Darren, who is 6, and his sisters, Darla, 9, and Vanessa, 4, in the car, and they all went to the supermarket, where they argued about what color tablecloths to buy, and whether to get the straight straws or the ones with a bend in them, and which is better--the thick napkins, which sop up a lot more lemonade, or the thin ones, which don’t cost as much.
After half an hour, their mom said, “OK, it’s time to go home,” so they left, but they weren’t very happy about it. At all. Vanessa was crying, Darren had on his angry face and Darla said, “We’ll talk about it later.”
From then on, they decided that whenever they couldn’t agree on something, they would take out their Ninja Turtle playing cards, spread them out on the lawn upside down, and whoever picked the highest one would get to decide.
Is this how Fortune 500 companies make their strategic decisions? If not, maybe they should try it.
Since they went into business a year and a half ago--operating on Saturdays and holidays--Darren, Darla and Vanessa have been raking in profits of anywhere from $20 to $60 a day at their stand on Bedford Drive in Beverly Hills. Half goes in the bank; the other half is theirs to spend on toys, gifts and charitable donations.
They have some advantages over the big boys like Minute Maid and Tropicana. The lemons grow all by themselves on a tree in their back yard, and their mom and dad let them set up their card table on the front lawn for free. But they had to dig into their allowance money to buy the table.
At first, they were charging 75 cents a glass, but people weren’t buying enough and the weather started to change, so they cut their price to 50 cents. That way it was easier for little Vanessa to make change.
They also offer credit, just like I. Magnin and Saks, but they don’t have to hire collection agents to chase after deadbeats. They kept track one day and discovered that about nine out of 10 people come back to pay for their drinks.
This is how they make the lemonade: Darla is taller than Darren, but she doesn’t like it when the lemons fall on her head. So she holds the chair very firmly and Darren climbs up with a broom to knock the lemons down.
Then Vanessa puts them in a glass bowl and washes them in soapy water. When the customers come, Darla and Darren cut the lemons and squeeze them and mix them with just a little bit of artificial sweetener, so the lemonade is not too sour, and not too sweet, but just right.
Some customers, like joggers and delivery people, want real sugar, so the kids keep some of that on hand just in case, but people in Beverly Hills are careful about their health. Darla found that out when she baked some cookies and hardly anybody bought any.
