Inspiring Youth Entrepreneurship: Caring Adult Role Models
Part 2 in a Series by Steven Gordon, President, Lemonade Day
“Today’s kidpreneurs venture far beyond the lemonade stand. They manage staffs, meet celebrities and are moguls in the making. Such hustle can be a sign of good things to come. After all, Warren Buffett sold chewing gum door-to-door at the tender age of six while Richard Branson founded a magazine at just 16. “
– Kim Lachance Shandrow, author of “11 Successful Kid Entrepreneurs Keeping Their Eyes on the Prize,” Entrepeneur Magazine, Aug. 16, 2016, featuring Mikaila Ulmer and others
https://www.entrepreneur.com/slideshow/273222 - link to article
In the process of writing this week’s blog post that celebrates a few of the many caring adults who are supporting young business owners, I happened upon the article referenced above. Mikaila Ulmer, one of our successful Lemonade Day entrepreneurs who appeared on the popular ABC reality show “Shark Tank” several years ago, was the first of the 11 kid entrepreneurs featured in this article.
Mikaila is the founder of Me & the Bees Lemonade (www.meandthebees.com). About 12 months ago, the company attracted a group of 12 angel investors comprised of 10 professional football players and two advisors who contributed $810,000 in funding to support the expansion of distribution channels and to increase production capacity. A privately held company based in Austin, Texas, Me & the Bees has grown over 100 percent each year since 2014. Four varieties of the lemonade are being distributed nationally at Whole Foods Market, Wegman’s, and local stores and hotels.
Now approaching her 13th birthday, Mikaila got involved in Lemonade Day at the age of 4 after her parents, D’Andra and Theo Ulmer, presented Lemonade Day as one of a few entrepreneurship programs for her consideration. Mikaila and her family still participate in Lemonade Day events in Texas and around the United States. Mom D’Andra supports marketing and event responsibilities, and Dad Theo supports finance and operations functions while both juggle full time parenting responsibilities for Mikaila and her brothers.
D’Andra is committed to maintaining balance for Mikaila and the rest of their family as the company grows and as demands on their time and energy increase. School, church and “downtime” are equally as important.
Established in 2007, Lemonade Day delivers key entrepreneurial and character building education that has a long-term, meaningful impact. Children who participate in Lemonade Day have a unique opportunity to change the trajectory of their life in a positive and measurable way. But, to accomplish this, these special young people need help from adult role models like D’Andra and Theo – and like moms of other kidpreneurs, Alexandria Howard of Houston and Daniela Kelly of Stanford Connecticut.
Alex is the mother of Zayton, 12, and Kamden, 13, who have been involved with Lemonade Day since 2014. Alex, Zayton and Kamden got introduced to Lemonade Day through a cousin in 2013 who set up a lemonade stand at Discovery Green park in Houston.
Alex recalled that the boys, only 8 and 9 years old when they launched their “Oh So Fresh Lemonade” business, wanted the experience of talking to customers and selling their product.
“Zayton was not very social at the time, and I felt that Lemonade Day was a great way for him to learn to open up. My boys are social butterflies now,” Alex said proudly. “They start conversations. They are more comfortable with themselves and with others. The Lemonade Day experience also provided a great opportunity for the boys to learn teamwork. As brothers, they have their spats. But when they start working on Lemonade Day projects, their approach shifted from ‘me, me, me’ to ‘we, we, we.’”
Making her boys accountable is a priority for Alex, who expects them to take on as much responsibility as is reasonable for boys their age who are still attending school. She encouraged them to choose a name for their business that was original and a reflection of their “hip and cool” attitude and behavior. Alex expects them to keep track of their inventory of supplies (cups and straws, for example); to help pack up, set up and clean up for lemonade sales events; and to do their own research on their designated charity beneficiary. In 2017, Zayton and Kanden donated 25 percent of their Lemonade Day sales proceeds to Bo’s Place in Houston, where they personally toured the facility and learned more about grief support for families who had lost young children through accidents or illnesses. Alex helped the boys to open their own bank accounts, and she said that they look forward to seeing their monthly statements with growing balances.
Daniela is the mother of Ryan Kelly, now 16, who appeared on Shark Tank when he was only 11. When Ryan was 10, he and Daniela co-founded Ryan’s Barkery which has been renamed to Ry’s Ruffery. Ry’s Ruffery makes dog biscuits and sells them online all over the United States. His business has grown from $800 in sales to $1.8 million in sales. In 2014, Ryan was invited to participate in Lemonade Day activities in Boston, Mass., where he visited lemonade business and helped to promote youth entrepreneurship.
“I am supporting Ryan and helping him build his business since he is still attending school – just as other parents support their kids with sports and homework. I encourage other parents and adult mentors to support kids in learning about entrepreneurship. Lemonade Day provides kids with valuable insight into starting and operating a business. Ryan learned by trial and error. He learned from making 100 mistakes, but with Lemonade Day, kids have access to a proven process. Through Lemonade Day and other entrreprenuerial ventures, kids will learn lessons that they cannot learn in a classroom,” Daniela shared.
You will be hearing and reading more about Ryan and Daniela in the coming weeks.
For now, I will close with this quote:
“To be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today.” – Unknown Author
And one more:
“Kids are like a mirror. What they see and hear, they do. Be a good reflection for them.” – K. Heath
Please join me in recruiting other adults like D’Andra, Theo, Alex and Daniela to serve as caring adult mentors and role models for Lemonade Day participants. Parents, grandparents, older siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, neighbors, teachers and community leaders: we welcome your involvement.
Thank you in advance for your support.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please follow these links for more information.https://lemonadeday.org/blog/how-lemonade-day-helped-shape-one-childs-life-meet-tiye-mckethen
https://lemonadeday.org/blog/team-victor
Please follow these links to access a recent Lemonade Day Impact Study and Success Stories
https://lemonadeday.org/sweet-success-stories
https://lemonadeday.org/sites/default/files/resources/2017-impact-paper-final-min.pdf
About Lemonade Day
Established in Houston in 2007 by Michael and Lisa Holthouse, Lemonade Day is a non-profit dedicated to teaching every child across North America the business and financial skills that are the key ingredients of entrepreneurship. By learning these skills early in life, children will be better prepared to be successful, financially healthy adults. Through our fun, hands-on program Kids K-5 are empowered to start their very own business—a lemonade stand—and experience the feeling of earning real money, using 100 percent of their profit to spend, save and share based on their own goals.
Lemonade Day is in 65 cities throughout the United States and Canada. Over the past 10 years, we have served more than 1 million youth in our kid entrepreneur programs.
Please visit LemonadeDay.org to learn how to participate in Lemonade Day in your city.
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Part 2 in a Series by Steven Gordon, President, Lemonade Day
“Today’s kidpreneurs venture far beyond the lemonade stand. They manage staffs, meet celebrities and are moguls in the making. Such hustle can be a sign of good things to come. After all, Warren Buffett sold chewing gum door-to-door at the tender age of six while Richard Branson founded a magazine at just 16. “
– Kim Lachance Shandrow, author of “11 Successful Kid Entrepreneurs Keeping Their Eyes on the Prize,” Entrepeneur Magazine, Aug. 16, 2016, featuring Mikaila Ulmer and others
https://www.entrepreneur.com/slideshow/273222 - link to article
In the process of writing this week’s blog post that celebrates a few of the many caring adults who are supporting young business owners, I happened upon the article referenced above. Mikaila Ulmer, one of our successful Lemonade Day entrepreneurs who appeared on the popular ABC reality show “Shark Tank” several years ago, was the first of the 11 kid entrepreneurs featured in this article.
Mikaila is the founder of Me & the Bees Lemonade (www.meandthebees.com). About 12 months ago, the company attracted a group of 12 angel investors comprised of 10 professional football players and two advisors who contributed $810,000 in funding to support the expansion of distribution channels and to increase production capacity. A privately held company based in Austin, Texas, Me & the Bees has grown over 100 percent each year since 2014. Four varieties of the lemonade are being distributed nationally at Whole Foods Market, Wegman’s, and local stores and hotels.
Now approaching her 13th birthday, Mikaila got involved in Lemonade Day at the age of 4 after her parents, D’Andra and Theo Ulmer, presented Lemonade Day as one of a few entrepreneurship programs for her consideration. Mikaila and her family still participate in Lemonade Day events in Texas and around the United States. Mom D’Andra supports marketing and event responsibilities, and Dad Theo supports finance and operations functions while both juggle full time parenting responsibilities for Mikaila and her brothers.
D’Andra is committed to maintaining balance for Mikaila and the rest of their family as the company grows and as demands on their time and energy increase. School, church and “downtime” are equally as important.
Established in 2007, Lemonade Day delivers key entrepreneurial and character building education that has a long-term, meaningful impact. Children who participate in Lemonade Day have a unique opportunity to change the trajectory of their life in a positive and measurable way. But, to accomplish this, these special young people need help from adult role models like D’Andra and Theo – and like moms of other kidpreneurs, Alexandria Howard of Houston and Daniela Kelly of Stanford Connecticut.
Alex is the mother of Zayton, 12, and Kamden, 13, who have been involved with Lemonade Day since 2014. Alex, Zayton and Kamden got introduced to Lemonade Day through a cousin in 2013 who set up a lemonade stand at Discovery Green park in Houston.
Alex recalled that the boys, only 8 and 9 years old when they launched their “Oh So Fresh Lemonade” business, wanted the experience of talking to customers and selling their product.
“Zayton was not very social at the time, and I felt that Lemonade Day was a great way for him to learn to open up. My boys are social butterflies now,” Alex said proudly. “They start conversations. They are more comfortable with themselves and with others. The Lemonade Day experience also provided a great opportunity for the boys to learn teamwork. As brothers, they have their spats. But when they start working on Lemonade Day projects, their approach shifted from ‘me, me, me’ to ‘we, we, we.’”
Making her boys accountable is a priority for Alex, who expects them to take on as much responsibility as is reasonable for boys their age who are still attending school. She encouraged them to choose a name for their business that was original and a reflection of their “hip and cool” attitude and behavior. Alex expects them to keep track of their inventory of supplies (cups and straws, for example); to help pack up, set up and clean up for lemonade sales events; and to do their own research on their designated charity beneficiary. In 2017, Zayton and Kanden donated 25 percent of their Lemonade Day sales proceeds to Bo’s Place in Houston, where they personally toured the facility and learned more about grief support for families who had lost young children through accidents or illnesses. Alex helped the boys to open their own bank accounts, and she said that they look forward to seeing their monthly statements with growing balances.
Daniela is the mother of Ryan Kelly, now 16, who appeared on Shark Tank when he was only 11. When Ryan was 10, he and Daniela co-founded Ryan’s Barkery which has been renamed to Ry’s Ruffery. Ry’s Ruffery makes dog biscuits and sells them online all over the United States. His business has grown from $800 in sales to $1.8 million in sales. In 2014, Ryan was invited to participate in Lemonade Day activities in Boston, Mass., where he visited lemonade business and helped to promote youth entrepreneurship.
“I am supporting Ryan and helping him build his business since he is still attending school – just as other parents support their kids with sports and homework. I encourage other parents and adult mentors to support kids in learning about entrepreneurship. Lemonade Day provides kids with valuable insight into starting and operating a business. Ryan learned by trial and error. He learned from making 100 mistakes, but with Lemonade Day, kids have access to a proven process. Through Lemonade Day and other entrreprenuerial ventures, kids will learn lessons that they cannot learn in a classroom,” Daniela shared.
You will be hearing and reading more about Ryan and Daniela in the coming weeks.
For now, I will close with this quote:
“To be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today.” – Unknown Author
And one more:
“Kids are like a mirror. What they see and hear, they do. Be a good reflection for them.” – K. Heath
Please join me in recruiting other adults like D’Andra, Theo, Alex and Daniela to serve as caring adult mentors and role models for Lemonade Day participants. Parents, grandparents, older siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, neighbors, teachers and community leaders: we welcome your involvement.
Thank you in advance for your support.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please follow these links for more information.https://lemonadeday.org/blog/how-lemonade-day-helped-shape-one-childs-life-meet-tiye-mckethen
https://lemonadeday.org/blog/team-victor
Please follow these links to access a recent Lemonade Day Impact Study and Success Stories
https://lemonadeday.org/sweet-success-stories
https://lemonadeday.org/sites/default/files/resources/2017-impact-paper-final-min.pdf
About Lemonade Day
Established in Houston in 2007 by Michael and Lisa Holthouse, Lemonade Day is a non-profit dedicated to teaching every child across North America the business and financial skills that are the key ingredients of entrepreneurship. By learning these skills early in life, children will be better prepared to be successful, financially healthy adults. Through our fun, hands-on program Kids K-5 are empowered to start their very own business—a lemonade stand—and experience the feeling of earning real money, using 100 percent of their profit to spend, save and share based on their own goals.
Lemonade Day is in 65 cities throughout the United States and Canada. Over the past 10 years, we have served more than 1 million youth in our kid entrepreneur programs.
Please visit LemonadeDay.org to learn how to participate in Lemonade Day in your city.
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