A stockbroker walks past a kid selling lemonade
āHey mister, ya want some lemonade?ā a little girl calls to him.
The stockbroker is just getting out of his brand new BMW in a nice tailored suit. He was about to walk past when he a double take at the sign that says āLemonade $50ā.
āYour sign is wrong kid. I think you mean fifty cents.ā
The little girl shakes her head. āNope, fifty bucks mister. I need the money for Space Camp!ā
The stockbroker pause for a minute, because he appreciates a good hustle but clearly this kid is going about it the wrong way. āLook sweetie, I know youāre trying to make money but you have to charge what people are willing to pay. No one is going to pay that much for a tiny cup of lemonade. Now what do you think is a fair price?ā
The little girl beams and says āFifty bucks mister!ā
The stockbroker gives a little sigh and shakes his head. āOkay Iām gonna pass. You see? You canāt make a profit when no one pay your price. Now do you have anything else for sale?ā
āHomemade brownies, 50 cents!ā
The stockbroker winces in frustration. āOK look, I studied economics at Harvard and I got my MBA from Wharton so Iām going to teach you a little about business, okay? Now each of your little cups of lemonade probably costs you about fifty cents including the margin cost of your stand.ā He takes out a dollar. āIāll pay you ten times that much because I want to help you understand about markup.ā
The little girl shakes her head and smiles. āNo thanks, mister. Fifty bucks please!ā
āYou know what? I give up. Take this dollar and Iām going to buy two of your brownies, I know youāre losing money on them, and Iām not going to buy a single cup of your overpriced lemonade. Iām trying to be nice and teach you about business but I guess this is the only way for you to learn a lesson.ā
āOkay!ā The girl takes the dollar and puts ten brownies on a plate.
Just to make the point, the stockbroker decides to eat one of the brownies right in front of her. Suddenly he begins coughing and gagging uncontrollably. āOh my Godā¦what isā¦what did you put in these?ā
She grins happily and says āItās my special recipe! Eggs, flour, butter, cocoa, sawdust and goat pellets!ā
āThis is horrible! I have to get this taste out of my mouth!ā
The little girl takes out a jar full of $50 bills, cocks her head to the side and says through a beaming grin, āYa want some lemonade?ā
It was 1855 and two sisters, one blonde and one brunette, inherit the family ranch after their folks pass away.
Unfortunately, after just a few years, they are in financial trouble. In order to keep the local bank from taking their ranch, they need to purchase a bull so that they can breed their own stock.
The brunette takes their last $600 dollars out west to another ranch where a man has a prize bull for sale.
Upon leaving, she tells her sister, "When I get there, if I decide to buy the bull, Iāll send you a telegram to drive out after me and haul it home."
The brunette arrives at the manās ranch, inspects the bull, and decides she does want to buy it. The man tells her that he can sell it for $599, no less.
After paying him, she drives to the nearest town to send her sister a telegram to tell her the news.
She walks into the telegraph office, and says, "I want to send a telegram to my sister telling her that Iāve bought a bull for our ranch. I need her to hitch the trailer to our pickup truck and drive out here so we can haul it home."
The telegraph operator explains that heāll be glad to help her, then adds, "Itās just 99 cents a word."
Well, after paying for the bull, the brunette only has $1 left. She realizes that sheāll only be able to send her sister one word.
After thinking for a few minutes, she nods, and says, "I want you to send her the word, ācomfortable.ā"
The telegraph operator shakes his head.
"How is she ever going to know that you want her to hitch the trailer to your pickup truck and drive out here to haul that bull back to your ranch if you send her the word, ācomfortableā?"
The brunette explains, "My sisterās blonde, sheāll read it out slowly."
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