BOOK REVIEW: Lemonade Stand Economics by Geof White

You are unique. You are ambitious. You are smart. So why are you broke and working for someone else? You have another option. Work for yourself and make far more than minimum wage. Make a plan now to walk past those typical students on the graduation stage. The key is knowing what to do, how to do it and starting early enough to make a difference. Lemonade Stand Economics is a little bit of economics and a whole lot of YOU! Utilize your unique skills and talents. Be your own boss. Set your own schedule. You can make enough money to pay for college and graduate debt-free. 

Lemonade Stand Economics is a book aimed at teenagers from about the age of 15 and upwards who will soon be applying to college. It gives advice on how to start working for yourself in order to earn money to pay for college so you can graduate debt free. It offers first hand advice from the author, Geof White, who started his own window cleaning business when he was a teenager and managed to finance his own way through college without any help from his parents. This book covers everything from finding work to marketing and networking to steps to take if you screw up to how to save your money to funding available in the US and more. It also includes a 'Gameplan' so you can immediately start brainstorming ideas and planning how to get to where you want to get to. 

This book is an absolute must read for teenagers. It gives detailed and helpful advice on how to start earning your own money without working for someone else. I have been 'working' for myself and earning my own money for a few years now but I still found this book highly interesting and helpful. It starts from the very beginning and offers advice on how to look for work and the steps you need to take when you do find it. Books of this nature can often be too unrealistic for the average teenager but this is genuinely helpful advice that could help any motivated teen start working. This is specifically aimed at teenagers looking to earn money for college, which everyone has to think about at some point of another, and this book gives you the advice you need so you don't need to take out that student loan. College is become increasingly expensive but with a bit of forward planning, teenagers should be able to earn enough to cover at least part of their expenses whilst at university. 

Even if the steps outlined in this book are perhaps beyond your capabilities, it is written in such a way that it is highly motivating anyway. Although it often uses window cleaning services as an example, it isn't specific to any sort of job or person but it isn't too general either so it will no doubt be a help to everyone. The author doesn't shy away from the harsh reality that most teenagers won't be able to finance their whole way through college without any aid, but still encourages you to take the steps outlined in this book so you're still a few steps ahead of the other 90% of teenagers who won't bother thinking about earning their own money and will simply take a loan. 

This book will be most helpful for students in the US, but there is only one chapter which is specific to the US, everything else is pretty universal. I am a UK citizen and will stay in the UK for university but I still found the advice incredibly useful and motivating. 

Teenagers, buy this now. Don't wait until the summer before college when it's all far too late. Parents, buy this for your kids and help them graduate debt-free.