For young entrepreneurs, Lemonade Day returns June 8

The Golden Triangle is once again gearing up for something sweet — and citrusy.

Lemonade Day is returning on June 8, according to Starkville Ward 3 Alderman Jeffrey Rupp, who also serves as the interim director at Mississippi State University’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach (E-Center).

Rupp encouraged everyone in the region to get ready to go out to their local lemonade stands.

“The premise is that you register your stand at the Lemonade Day website, and then on June 8, everyone goes out in the Golden Triangle and sets up a stand, and the community comes out to support all the young entrepreneurs,” Rupp said. “And then the entrepreneur that sells the most lemonade, we buy them a bicycle.”

While Lemonade Day is a national organization based out of Houston, Texas, the sweet-drink based entrepreneurship event only came to the Golden Triangle in 2018, starting in Starkville for its first year before expanding to the entire region in 2019.

When Lemonade Day first came to Starkville, Rupp said, developer Mark Castleberry of Castle Properties helped to sponsor the Lemonade Day licensing fee from the national organization for the city. When the event expanded to the entire Golden Triangle, Cadence Bank came on as a co-sponsor to help cover the growing licensing costs, Rupp said.

But Castleberry has continued to support Lemonade Day every year as a way to help young entrepreneurs learn crucial business skills, he said, like understanding expenses of materials, labor, site selection, marketing and more.

“I think the kids learn so much,” Castleberry said. “And making some money is a very encouraging thing, and I think it’s very encouraging that they earned it. They weren’t given it.”

Rupp said education provided to young entrepreneurs for Lemonade Day has expanded this year, with a new series of six videos created by the E-Center on financial literacy, all of which are on the Golden Triangle Lemonade Day Facebook Page.

Lemonade Day has also grown in other ways.

During the first year of the event in Starkville, Rupp said there were 64 stands that participated. As of Friday morning, he said, more than 350 participants were registered to sell lemonade all over the Golden Triangle, though he expects that number to hit 400 before June 8.

With the growth in lemonade stand numbers, Rupp said, he can no longer make it to every stand before the day is over.

“I got sick as a dog the first year, because I tried to drink lemonade at every stand,” Rupp said. “But I have learned that you buy the lemonade and then you just take a sip and move on to the next stand.”

Rupp said more participants have signed up over the years, in part due to the support of the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, the West Point-Clay County Growth Alliance and Main Street Columbus. Representatives from all three organizations expressed their support for Lemonade Day.

Lisa Klutts, director of the Growth Alliance, said there is always a “strong” turnout every year in her city, and it is one of her favorite days of the year to get out, drink lemonade and make new friends in the community.

“There are so many fun stands, and I try to go to as many as I can,” Klutts said in a text message. “I love seeing the kiddos excited to make … sell and run their lemonade business.”

Main Street Columbus Director Barbara Bigelow told The Dispatch in an email that she adores seeing the lemonade stands come to downtown Columbus, though she hopes to see even more sign up before June 8.

“Not only do these young entrepreneurs learn about business strategies, they learn the importance of giving back by donating a portion of their earnings to their favorite charity or other organization,” Bigelow said. “There is such excitement in their eyes when you visit their stand, and it is rewarding to me to support them by purchasing their lemonade, not to mention the cookies and other delights you may find.”

Youth can register their stands for free any time until the event begins, adding themselves to the official Lemonade Day map, by going to lemonadeday.org/golden-triangle.

For those that are not selling lemonade, supporting these young entrepreneurs can be as easy as stopping to buy a cup of lemonade at a stand, Rupp said.