Dean’s First Business

Howdy! I could have done better at my first attempt to start a business. Here’s the story… We lived on a 1200-acre rice farm north of Katy, Texas. Our nearest neighbor was my uncle, who lived on his farm two miles away. Our house was in the middle of our farm. Right next to it was the shop and rice drier. One year when I was about seven years old, the rice fields that were going to be harvested were such that the loaded rice trucks had to drive through our yard to get to the rice drier to unload. I had a great idea one day to start a lemonade stand and sell it to everyone as they passed the house. I borrowed my mom’s card table, worked up an amazing lemonade formula, took cups from the kitchen, and loaded an ice cooler. I even made a sign on a poster board. On the first day of business, the first truck driver stopped by and bought a glass for ten cents. Then the next driver stopped and bought a glass. Man, was I going to be rich!!! The next truckload was the same driver as the first, so he waved and drove by. So did all the other trucks all day. Since there were only two truck drivers, I quickly ran out of customers. Sadly, after two days of effort, I closed my business with only about eighty cents in my pocket. What did I learn? You better know your customers.

Dean Nelson, Founder and Co-Owner