NEW YORK, July 6, 2006 – What better way to teach your kids about money and business than helping them launch their first lemonade stand. To start building the entrepreneurs of tomorrow, Inc.com today announced that it is hosting its first ever “Best Lemonade Stand in America” contest for kids ages 5 to 12. The grand prize winner will receive a $1,000 savings bond.

The editors of Inc.com are asking all promising future Inc. 500-CEOs to submit digital photos of themselves and their lemonade stands along with a short essay describing what it’s like to run a really small business. Essays will ask each kid-trepreneur to tell Inc.com about their “business,” including what motivated them to go into the lemonade trade, what they named their stands, what products they used in their secret recipe, and how much money they made in a single weekend. Entry forms are available at here.

The contest will run through July 30, 2006. Readers will be able to view all photo and essay submissions and vote for their favorite at Inc.com. Inc.com editors will pick the final winner and post online on August 15, 2006.

Grand prize includes a $1,000 college savings bond, first runner up will receive a $500 savings bond and second runner up will receive a kid-trepreneur-supplies super backpack ($200 value).

To help kids get started, Inc. magazine Senior Contributing Editor Norm Brodsky provides the following tips for starting and running a great lemonade stand.

10 Tips for Creating the Coolest Lemonade Stand Ever

1. Get Help. Don’t do all the work yourself.
2. Make a Deal. Make a deal with the best architect in town to design your stand.
3. Stand Out. Make your stand different from the rest.
4. Raise Capital. Ask for money from your parents to build and run your stand.
5. Find a Great Location. Set up a location with a lot of foot traffic.
6. Don’t Skip on Quality. Buy the best ingredients – and let your customers know about it.
7. Charge a lot. You have a high quality lemonade – why not charge for it.
8. Diversify. Sell more then just cookies.
9. Learn from Your Mistakes. Learning from your mistakes is how lemonade champions are made.
10. Leverage People You Know. Have a photographer take a picture of your stand.

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