Mikaila Ulmer is a prime example of young entrepreneur starting their own business from scratch. Her business, “Me & The Bees Lemonade started from a good ole “tried-and-tested” family recipe. Born in Houston Texas, the geographical location was a huge benefit for her startup as Texas is known to have some of the best fresh squeezed homemade lemonade in the country. She began her entrepreneurial business venture when she was just 5 years old by selling her great grandmother’s recipe from the 1940’s. This wholesome and creative decision the passing down of family tradition would spark ideas for expansion and years of success. In 2015, “Me & The Bees” made an appearance on the show Shark Tank. Ulmer and her family’s decision to ask for an investment to support the growth of the business helped tremendously. Not only did she receive $60,000, “Me & The Bees” received a large amount of positive feedback and recognition, leading to a rapidly growing customer base.
Today, Ulmer’s lemonade receives over half a million units each year in its now 1,500 locations of purchase. But Ulmer doesn’t plan on stopping there as she is working towards the development of new product lines such as natural beeswax lip balm. Ulmer has stuck out from other similar businesses as she excels in maintaining and building relationships with current and prospective customers through her ability to market a brand which is focused on natural, homemade, family recipes. Ulmer was also able to spark emotion in her customers as her first lemonade stands held a unique and innovative sign that stated, “Lemonade $3, Smiles Free!” This short phrase holds volume as it was able to make people smile and created a welcoming environment for prospective customers to approach and buy ice cold refreshing lemonade.
Ulmer’s story of success holds a much deeper meaning. It goes to show just how creative and capable we are early in our lives. A simple idea such as setting up a lemonade stand and selling to customers can help develop an entrepreneurial mindset bound for future success in areas such as sales, marketing, and product development. Whatever chapter of your life you may be in, remember that there are plenty of resources and opportunities at hand to pursue and successfully create your own business venture.
This is such a cool story and I think its awesome what we can learn from her. You are never too young to start a business.
Great post! It is so crazy that such a big business can come from such a young entrepreneur. It is also crazy to think how she entered such a competitive market and made a huge impact.
This is such a cute idea! I really liked how you explained how the business was started with her grandmother’s recipe and such a simple recipe such a lemonade, took off to be on shark tank, and hosting as many selling locations as it does. The fact that she started this at 5 years old is crazy! This is so inspiring, fun and enjoyable to read about. Thank you for sharing!