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I helped this kid sell lemonade

I helped this kid sell lemonade

Copy skills at work

Brandon Storey
March 31, 2026

Was getting gas yesterday.

Noticed these kids setting up a table outside the gas station.

At first I thought they were washing cars.

Then I thought maybe they were selling some kind of snacks or toys.

Couldn't read their sign. Too many words. Too small. Super faint felt pen.

So I walk over.

"Hey what are you guys doing? Selling something?"

One 10-year-old blonde kid replied, "Yeah, lemonade by donation!"

I told them that's awesome they're doing that. Hustling on the weekend!

I asked what the donations are for.

"It's so we can go for a round of go-karts!"

So cool. "I'll buy two lemonades! But first, let's fix your sign. It's super hard to read. The pen is too faint. Too many words for people driving by in cars to read. They'll have to squint. I wasn't even sure what you guys were doing over here."

So instead of their original sign crammed with every detail about lemonade, iced tea, other drinks, donations, and go-karts...

We just wrote "LEMONADE 4 SALE"

I told them I liked the donation angle, but they can just tell people it's by donation when they walk up.

"Fewer words means bigger font so it's easier to read. And it also means people will understand it quicker. That matters a lot when people are in a rush."

Next, we swapped out the faint pen for my 4-year-old's red and blue felt pens. Way more visible.

So I ran back, grabbed the pens, and we wrote new copy on the back of their cardboard sign.

The end result was far from perfect. Still a bit hard to read (Writing a big sign in 60 seconds will do that).

But when I walked 50 feet back to my car at the gas pump, I could finally read what it said

Job complete.

I realized I initially hesitated to walk over because I didn't know what they were doing.

Now everyone at the gas pumps will be able to instantly know they're selling lemonade. And anyone with a heart (and some extra change) will be stuffing these kids' go-kart fund till they sell out.

The lesson?

If your reader can't comprehend what you're offering in seconds, they're gone.

Clear copy matters. Readability matters.

Clear beats clever. Every time.

That mini copy lesson I taught those kids in 30 seconds?

It's the same thing I teach my 1:1 coaching students, just at a much higher level.

How to write copy so clear, so dialed in, that your client's customers can't NOT take action.

But in my coaching program, the results ain’t a couple quarters or dollar bills for selling lemonade. It’s $1,000-$4,000 copywriting clients on repeat so you can live the laptop freedom lifestyle you’re after.