A bee sting sting is what started it all for young entrepreneur, Mikaila Almer. She was just four years old when she started her little lemonade business.
After being stung by a bee twice, she began to research bees and became intrigued by their important role in the ecosystem.
Coincidentally, she was encouraged to make a product for the Acton Children’s Business Fair and Austin Lemonade Day. She was inspired by her great grandmothers 1940’s cookbook in which she discovered a recipe for flaxseed lemonade. She came up with the idea of incorporating her interest in bees and her grandmother’s unique lemonade recipe. Instead of sugar, she tried adding honey.
She began selling her lemonade at young entrepreneur events and out of a stand outside her home. By donating a percentage of the profits to a local organization to help save the bees, she came up with the mantra, “Buy a bottle, save a bee.” Eventually, her lemonade was bottled and sold in stores.
Her business started in Austin Texas and eventually reached major grocery stores around the nation, including Whole Foods Market and World Market.
Mikaila’s story is very inspiring. She used her curiousity at such a young age to come up with something unique and special. She used her new interest in bees and paired it with a sentimental recipe to create something unique.
As an entrepresnuer, I think she was sucsessful from the beginning because of her boldness. She was willing to not only enter the competitions but she began to sell her lemonade outside her home and in grocery stores. She also was on sharktank, which is no easy task.
From Mikailia, I have learned how to incorporate meaningful things and create something unique. Consumers love her lemonade because it offers something different and because of the story behind her prouduct.
Oh my gosh, this is the cutest business! I love that she took a typical “kid business” like the lemonade stand and turned it into a great business that also takes care of the environment. And it’s got to be so much healthier compared to regular lemonade!
I love how she took her grandmother’ lemonade recipe and tied her interest in bees to it to make it more unique and original. There’s no harm in experimenting with products that are already close to us by thinking of ways to change them for the better. It’s a great learning experience and could lead to a successful business as it did for young Mikaila!
She took every child’s first “entrepreneurial venture” and turned it into an insanely successful venture. It awesome that she was able to turn a meaningful recipe into an amazing business venture!
I love to see how she took a simple business that most kids start and took it to another level and stuck with it. Not only that, but it has a philanthropic purpose as well. I am curious to see how she progresses it as time goes on.
Wow! What a creative approach to something so classic! Very innovative, and it almost reminds me of the idea of combining peanut butter and chocolate to make Reese’s… instead, it’s honey and lemonade! A great idea of turning her pain (literally, a bee sting) into something beneficial for both people (a yummy drink) and the environment!