The startup budget
Two shopping trips cover everything. Prices vary by region, but this is a realistic mid-range US budget:
LEMONADE STAND · STARTUP BUDGET
LEMONS, BAG OF 12$6.00
SUGAR, 4 LB$3.30
ICE, 10 LB BAG$2.80
PAPER CUPS × 2 PACKS$2.50
PITCHERS × 2$2.50
POSTER BOARD × 2$2.50
MARKERS$1.25
CASH POUCH$1.25
TABLE, CHAIR, COOLER, WATERBORROW: $0
TOTAL STARTUP COST$22.10
The break-even math (do this part with your kid)
Twelve lemons make about three batches, which pour roughly 30 iced cups. At $1.50 per cup, the stand breaks even at cup fifteen: every cup after that is pure profit. Sell out all 30 cups and the stand takes in $45.00, repays the $22.10, and keeps about $22.90.
Those three numbers, cost, break-even, profit, are the entire foundation of business math, and a seven-year-old can hold all three when they're attached to real cups and real coins. That's the core of the PATCH Method.
What changes the numbers
- Price: $1 makes break-even cup 23; $2 makes it cup 12. Let the kid feel that trade-off before choosing.
- Powder mix instead of fresh: cuts ingredient cost roughly in half, but fresh-squeezed justifies the higher price and teaches the recipe. We recommend fresh.
- Weather: a hot Saturday morning can double sales versus an overcast one. Check the forecast before committing the ice.
- Upsells: a plate of cookies at $1 typically adds 20 to 30 percent to revenue with minimal extra cost.
Get the budget as a kid-friendly worksheet
Kit 01 includes the Supply Scout page where your kid researches these prices at your local stores, plus the full tally and profit-split sheets.
Get Kit 01 · $14