More Than a Lemonade Stand: The Complete Guide for Planning, Implementing & Running a Successful Youth Entrepreneur Camp

＂More Than a Lemonade Stand＂ focuses on a proven experiential youth entrepreneurship curriculum to help kids utilize their unique talents and skills to start a business, creating by-products of increased confidence and self-esteem. This entrepreneurship program will help kids make the connection between math, reading, teamwork, communication, and the real life experience of running a business. The entrepreneurial mindset taught in this program helps kids realize and utilize their gifts and talents to solve today’s problems so that they can help make our lives better.

＂More Than a Lemonade Stand＂ provides a complete step-by-step how to resource for teachers, trainers, parents, after-school programs, youth organizations, community education programs, small business development centers, museums, science centers or anyone who would like to create a youth entrepreneur camp or incorporate entrepreneurial activities into their existing programs. It will save you time and money from searching for new ideas and creating content necessary for teaching youth entrepreneurial activities.

Teaching entrepreneurship as a viable career option will help the US economy. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that unemployment for youth ages 16-24 rose to 19.7 million in July of 2013; only 50.7% of that age group was employed in July 2013 at the peak of summer employment. Teaching kids about entrepreneurship empowers them to create their own job when they are unable to find one. The Small Business Administration (SBA) reports that small businesses make up over half of the private workforce in the US, yet many of the skills needed to create successful entrepreneurs are not taught in schools. Exposing kids to entrepreneurship at a young age increases the chances that they see this as a possible profession.

The activities included in ＂More Than a Lemonade Stand＂ are so fun and engaging that kids don’t even realize that they are learning until they attend the awards ceremony and see the results they’ve achieved.

Julie Wood has a B.S. in elementary education and M.S. in curriculum and instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison along with an associate degree in Accounting & Data Processing from Madison Business College. Along with starting her own accounting consulting company ＂Check + Balances＂ at the age of 27, she has trained and consulted with numerous businesses on their improving their processes and operations. In addition to developing products and writing books under the ＂More Than a Lemonade Stand＂ brand, she has worked for the UW-Madison Small Business Development Center for the past 10 years where she reinvented the youth entrepreneur camp for middle aged kids when funding for the camp was cut. In addition to directing the Youth Entrepreneur Camp, Julie shares her passion for youth entrepreneurship as a classroom volunteer for Junior Achievement and has been a frequent guest instructor of the business simulation for middle school and high school aged groups. She has also trained teachers nationally on how to use the business simulation in their classrooms. She is also a member of UW-Madison’s Pre-College council which works on pre-college programs and processes for the campus. Julie has been a state and national presenter for increasing engagement in the class room at the national ASBDC conference, UW-Extension technology conference, State of Wisconsin Office productivity conference and the State Training conference.