This week, summer weather has been in full effect in Malibu, and one young entrepreneur used the heat to his advantage, advancing his small business.
Collin Brath, a 10-year-old fifth-grader at Our Lady of Malibu School, takes his lemonade stand business seriously, working hard, long, hot days in the streets of Malibu. He kept his cool, even when he faced a friendly bit of competition from other neighborhood kids. His secret to success? A family recipe that was handed down by his “grammy” back in Virginia.
Brath sat down with The Malibu Times to answer a few questions about his summertime business.
When did you decide to start your lemonade stand?
I started about a week ago when I got the idea from some other kids who were doing it down the street, so I thought it would be good to do by my house.
How long did it take to build the stand?
I did it with my dad at home. We just found a whole lot of pieces of wood, and we made it in less than 30 minutes — so pretty quickly. I painted the name.
What did you think when kids opened another lemonade stand?
It was a little bit harder when they came because I had a lot more competition.
What is the difference between your product?
My lemonade is homemade — it is a secret recipe that nobody knows, and it’s cold. It has ice in it, so it keeps it nice. And it’s all natural.”
I noticed kids selling candy and snacks at their stands. Did you consider including snacks as well?
I did not do that. I didn’t want to do that because I thought that if I only sold lemonade people would think it was better, and I don’t want to mess around with that stuff. I just only sold lemonade, it was success.
Did you change your prices?
I kept my price about the same. Before, I sold it for $2 and I dropped it down to $1.50 for returning customers.
How will you continue your business when school starts?
I don’t know. I might, I might not, but I’ll probably keep doing it. If I do, I’ll do it over the weekends, on sunny days when it’s hot and people need drinks to drink.”
Do you think your business was a success?
Yeah, I thought I did pretty well. I made about $140 in three days — a lot of people gave me tips.
If you do it again, would you do anything different or would you continue to do what you see works?
I would keep doing it the same. I might make improvements on the stand. I think I’m going to paint it. I’ll probably make bigger batches next time because I was running out a lot.
What do you think would be a lot of fun to do when you grow up?
I’m probably going to take the knowledge from what I did do with the lemonade stand and it will probably help me in business — if I ever do anything that involves business. So it might be pretty helpful.”
Did anyone help you?
Yeah, my dad helped a lot. We both made the lemonade, and he helped me with the stand. He was part of the reason I even got the lemonade stand out there. He was part of the reason I even got the idea. If I didn’t have him, I probably wouldn’t have the lemonade stand.
What will you do with the money that you earned?
I’m going to give some to charity, some to the people at church when they come around [with the collection basket] and I’m going to save up. I have no idea what I’m going to do with that savings, though.
Are you excited for school to start?
Yeah, I miss my friends. My favorite subject is math.