The curbside lemonade stand is kid's stuff next to the enterprises of some young entrepreneurs.
Brandon Bozek, 12, of Miami, earns a profit of about $100 a month running Bloomin' Express, his own fresh-flower subscription service.He telephones his order to a local flower market each Tuesday morning. On Thursdays his mom or dad picks up the bouquets and Brandon delivers them to neighbors, who've paid $5 to $80 for a four-week subscription to the service.
Other kids simply take their lemonade stand mobile - to golf courses and ballparks. Ann Davy, age 14, of St. Paul, Minn., set up near the 17th hole of a golf course and charges $1 for canned drinks and candy bars. She earns $35 on a good day.
Yard work and painting house numbers on curbs or driveways are two other popular moneymakers for kids, says Bonnie Drew, whose book "Fast Cash for Kids" (Career Press) describes 101 minibusinesses kids ages 8 to 16 can start up with minimal resources.
The book also offers advice on finding projects, keeping records, advertising and managing money. In Drew's bimonthly
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newsletter, Kids Mean Business ($8 a year), children swap business ideas and experiences.
For a free sample copy or a catalog of other publications on kids and finance, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Homeland Publications, 2615 Clader Dr., League City, TX 77573.
Older kids who want an alternative to burger-flipping for minimum wage will find 50 creative ideas in "The Teenage Entrepreneur's Guide" by Sarah Riehm (Surrey Books, 230 E. Ohio St., Suite 120, Chicago, IL 60611; $10.95). The book starts with a test of your EQ (entrepreneurial quotient), and offers advice on writing a business plan, marketing, bookkeeping and filing taxes.
Kids of all ages can join Business Kids ($9.65 a year; 800-852-4544), a club based in Washington, D.C., that publishes a newsletter, holds workshops and operates a toll-free hotline kids can call for business advice. The club also publishes The Business Kit ($49.95 plus $8.50 for shipping and handling), a curriculum for setting up a business.