Is This The End Of The Lemonade Stand?

With warmer temperatures on the way and kids at home, I’m reminded of summertime as a kid and my very first experience as a businessman.  "Marco’s Lemonade Stand" was a booming enterprise that brought in tens of dollars a month, with very little overhead because I was financially backed by my parents, who I thought to be very rich, even though in reality they were just getting by.

I loved the ability to buy my own Hot Wheels or offer to buy my mom’s coffee at McDonald’s.  As a six or seven year old boy, this was my first taste of independence and pride in my work, a trait that has followed me to this very day.

For kids growing up in the pandemic era, this may never be a way to learn again and it brings to mind some questions: Is a kid’s lemonade stand an essential business?  Should a kid selling lemonade be wearing a hazmat suit?  Should kids selling lemonade be required to use Venmo or Paypal so there’s no contact?  Will kids have to mark the driveway in six foot increments just in case their line is more than one person?  And finally, will the lemonade stand be a casualty of the Coronavirus?  I hope not.