Two-year-old Gunner McDonald samples the lemonade at his brother Nicholas’ stand. Photo by Paula Muller
By Jessie Nocella
SAUGUS – These kids aren’t just running a lemonade stand, they mean business.
It started last summer when Nicholas McDonald, 7 and his two friends Freddy and Netta Waterman had the idea of selling lemonade.
Unfortunately, the Waterman siblings only visit for a few months every summer from London. They postponed it until this August when the children had a one-day lemonade stand in front of the Saugus Public Library.
“They were businessmen, they had a little system,” said Dawn McDonald, Nicholas’ mother.
“One got the money, one had straws, one had strawberries,”
To price their beverages, the kids went to local stores to check competitor pricing on lemonade including Whole Foods, Dunkin’ Donuts, vending machines and J.P. Licks. Nicholas McDonald said they carried clipboards and recorded the differences.
“We were trying to come up with a better price for our lemonade,” he said. In the end they decided to charge one dollar for a cup and fifty cents extra for strawberries.
Dawn helped her son and his friends by making sure they followed town rules as well.
“We called the town manager’s office to get permission and let the police know what we were doing,” she said.
With the summer coming to a close, Nicholas’ father, who is a firefighter, built a sturdy stand for the kids to sell drinks. They decorated it with painted signs showing prices and pictures.
The children sold six hand-squeezed gallons of lemonade in two hours.
After much preparation, the outcome was successful profit of $114, which they split three ways.
Nicholas still isn’t sure what he’s going to do with the money. Dawn McDonald said next year the children will likely pick an organization to donate ten percent of the earnings.
Though family, residents and passers-by had to pay the full price, the kids treated a few special people to complimentary beverages.
“First responders got free lemonade because they help people,” Nicholas McDonald said.
Nicholas said he is excited to do it again next year with his friends and is already looking for ways to improve.
“Were probably going to get a juicer next year,” he said.