Alaska (KTUU/KTVF) – Twenty-one Fairbanks children ages 9 to 12 wrapped up a week-long entrepreneurship program Friday, selling lemonade at UAF’s Georgeson Botanical Garden as the capstone of the UAF College of Business and Security Management’s Young Entrepreneurs Lemonade Lab
The program covered accounting, marketing, pricing, and operations. Each team developed its own lemonade recipe, brand name, and marketing pitch, then competed side by side in a mini marketplace selling to real customers.
Phil Hokenson, an instructor at the UAF College of Business and Security Management, said the concept grew from the resources already available on campus.
“We had this idea that we’ve got all these great faculty members with great business acumen and we could bring kids in and teach them the business model through the classic lemonade stand,” Hokenson said.
Camp participant Vincent Berrichoa described his team’s entry in the marketplace.
“There’s all sorts of cool recipes — ours is Blue Resi Summer, with a frozen lemonade concentrate, raspberry flavor, and blueberry garnish,” Berrichoa said.
All revenue from lemonade sales went to charities chosen by the campers. Hokenson said the kids selected organizations including the animal shelter, Interior Alaska Center for Nonviolent Living, and the Food Bank, among others.
Camp participant Catherine Baddeley said her team chose to support the animal shelter.
“We’re just trying to support the animal shelter because they’re helping solve all those problems and they’re trying to give them a home that won’t hurt them,” Baddeley said.
Each of the 21 participants also received a City of Fairbanks kids business license — a designation Hokenson said is relatively new. He said approximately 10 such licenses had been issued prior to the camp.
“Now we’ve got 21 new licensed kids business owners coming out of this camp,” Hokenson said. “If they want to change what they’re doing, all they’ve got to do is contact the city clerk’s office.”
The licenses allow participants to continue operating a business until they turn 18. Organizers said this is the first year for the Young Entrepreneurs Lemonade Lab.
Camp participant Peregrine Thoth said the week covered more than lemonade.
“I’ve learned about marketing like demand and pricing and supply. A lot, actually,” Thoth said.
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