The project was actually an idea entrepreneur Trey Bowles suggested during a presentation he made to the MAPS Business Design and Leadership class last month. With only a $20 start-up budget, students formed teams and were tasked with creating a profitable one-day lemonade stand. Project parameters included three requirements: 1) identify the lemonade stand location, 2) designate the roles for each team member, and 3) determine the product and promotional mix and explain how your stand stands out within a competitive marketplace.
The following is a summary of the project from Polychronis's perspective as a student learning valuable business leadership and entrepreneurial skills.
“Our group of five people, me, and HPHS juniors Jessica Wu, Analina Naugle, Hana Aly, and Demetrios Lahiri, selected the corner of the UP Pool as the location for our (lemonade) stand on a Saturday and the Presbyterian Church on a Sunday,” junior Elle Polychronis said. “We thought about doing our stands at these locations because these would attract lots of foot traffic.”
After running the stand for two days, the group earned a profit of $223.75, the fourth most-profitable group. The winning group made a profit of $395. Each group then made a presentation detailing their lemonade stand experience to share with the MAPS Business Design and Leadership class.
The second phase of the project required students to research area charity non-profits and to select one as the beneficiary of money raised through stand sales. Students presented the research in class. Presentations covered the charity’s mission and why it was significant, the charity’s expenses as reported through Charity Navigator, the charity’s liabilities to asset ratio as reported by Charity Navigator, and a summary of the charity's reputation.
“I knew exactly what charity I wanted to cover,” Polychronis said. “I had worked with an organization called New Friends New Life (NFNL) for my Girl Scout Gold Award. They are a nonprofit organization that rehabilitates trafficked and sexually exploited girls by providing them with educational opportunities, job training, and other valuable life skills.” Polychronis's group members agreed to choose New Friends New Life as their charity and started their research.
After all of the class presentations from each lemonade stand group were done, the class voted to select one charity they wanted to donate the money to. The MAPS students decided that NFNL and the HPHS 18+ program would each receive $1,000.
On Sept. 17, Chief Executive Officer Bianca Davis along with Gail Turner and her daughter Jessica Turner Waugh from the board of directors at NFNL came to present about the inner workings of a nonprofit organization. When Davis ended her presentation, Polychronis’ group stayed after class to give their initial charity presentation to Davis, Turner and Turner Waugh. “I hope that NFNL will be able to do great things with the money and continue helping and rehabilitating trafficked girls across Texas," said Polychronis.