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The Slice: If you’re on Twitter, your drinks will be Tweet

Hey, kids!

If you are considering operating a lemonade stand this year, here are 15 key questions you’ll want to answer as you tweak your business model.

1. What role will social media play in your marketing plan?

2. How comfortable will you be going into debt to fund your start-up?

3. Will you be able to differentiate your product from competitors’ lemonade?

4. How will you respond when your mom says, “No way, there’s too many pervs out there.”

5. Should you make your lemonade part of a bundled package of offerings including Internet access, cable TV and phone service?

6. Will you use focus groups to taste-test your product?

7. Will your employees understand that failing to wash their hands could lead to probation or termination?

8. When it comes to pricing, should you go the deep discounts/introductory offer route?

9. How long will you wait before going public and working out language for franchise operations?

10. How will your location be impacted by summer paving projects?

11. Coupons or punch-cards?

12. Can you arrange to have a basket of kittens on-site to generate walk-up?

13. Will you deliver?

14. Should you have a big sign saying something like “Lemony Goodness” or “Mellow Yellow”?

15. Will you go the “membership” route to promote a fake sense of exclusivity?

Slice answers: Some of the responses were angry after I asked what percent of www.spokesman.com comment-posters are troubled. Some of these individuals seemed, well, troubled. In fact, a few of the anonymous hecklers made me want to recycle that line uttered by the showbiz agent George Fields in “Tootsie.”

“I begged you to get some therapy.”

Today’s Slice question: Should the city of Spokane reinstitute bridge tolls?

Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; fax (509) 459-5098; e-mail pault@spokesman.com. There used to be airline ticket offices downtown where you could deal with agents in person.

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