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Tuesday, June 24, 1997

Young entrepreneurs operate drink stand to buy lizard

By DANIEL PEREZ El Paso Times

EL PASO, Texas - It may not be the world's oldest profession, but it's a common sight during the summer: the kid's drink stand.

Joshua Baker and neighbor Veronica Ramos opened for business last week to earn enough money to buy a lizard and the accessories from a pet store.

They haven't priced what they want yet, but they know it'll cost a few bucks.

At 5 cents a cup it might take them a while to earn their prize, but they don't mind.

"At least we won't spend time in front of the TV," Veronica said.

The idea of young children selling curbside soft drinks is one for the ages. The young entrepreneurs find ways to turn their dreams into a reality, scaley as they may be.

The concept is one that more children should try, said Danny Navejas, a business development specialist with the Small Business Development Center.

He said working jobs such as a lemonade stand teaches youngsters an inexpensive lesson in responsibility and entrepreneurship.

"The results can go a long way," he said. "The children become more disciplined when they're forced to learn about goals and objectives. Their goal is buying a lizard, but maybe they'd want to reinvest their profits into another stand. How big their business gets depends on how hard they want to work."

The children decided to buy a lizard recently but were short of the cash so they started coming up with ideas on how to earn money. The two kicked around babysitting, mowing lawns, babysitting, and being dog pooper scoopers.

"We picked selling lemonade because it was easy," Veronica said.

The initial sales were slow but they had low overhead. The drink supplies, actually for limeade, were culled from their parents kitchens. The stand was a red-and-beige sturdy plastic wagon. The cash box was a red heart-shaped Elvis tin.The advertising were a few cardboard squares with messages written in black marker and ear-piercing voices.

"Liiiiiiiimeade," the pair yelled as they waved their home-made signs at motorists and walkers and joggers who passed the 4600 block of Rutherford across the street from Whitaker Elementary School.

Many potential customers passed without giving a second glance at the youngsters. For a few moments, they consider moving the business across the street to take advantage of the dozens of basketball players at the school. Joshua's mom, Christy Gonzalez, nixes the idea until an adult can go with them.

Those that did stop were met with a little happy dance that was more spontaneous than choreographed. Customers included a bus driver, a bus passenger and some friends of Joshua's grandmother.

Zendel Hernandez and her older sister, Karen, were driving by and did a quick double-take before pulling over to the side of the road.

Veronica, 9, and Joshua, 8, used stainless steel tongs to put a cube of ice in the small Dixie cup and then poured the limeade from a plastic pitcher.

Jingle, jingle, jingle. Another sale. The friends grossed more than $2 their first afternoon.

The Hernandez sisters stopped because they wanted to support the little business.

"I thought we'd help them out," Karen Hernandez said.

The 16-year-old driver recalled how she sold yarn bracelets door-to-door during the summer to earn candy money.

Joshua and Veronica didn't know how long they'd keep their business going, but said that it had been fun. They suggest every youngster try it.

Once they fold up their shop for the night, they plan on working out the lizard custody agreement.

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