If there’s one lesson we can learn from Mikaila Ulmer’s story, it should be the fact that you must never let your age get in the way of your dreams.
Mikaila is an 11-year-old girl from Texas who is, believe it or not, already a successful entrepreneur despite of her tender age. Using her family’s homemade lemonade recipe, she was eventually able to strike a multi-million dollar business deal with Whole Foods. Now her products are being distributed across the United States in all 55 stores of the popular retailer.
Photo credit: BeeSweet Lemonade
How did that happen?
According to Notable, Mikaila’s success can be traced back to her first encounter with bees when, at age four, she was stung by two bees twice in a week. The bad experience led her to a curiosity of how bees live and why they’re important in the ecosystem. Through research, she was able to discover that honeybees are decreasing in number and are in the risk of extinction.
She later started her own business BeeSweet Lemonade, a brand that takes inspiration from her great grandmother’s flaxseed lemonade recipe. When managing her lemonade stand, she makes it a point to educate her customers about the state of bees. On top of that, she donates part of her profits to local and international honeybee organizations.
Eventually, her passion for bees and business brought her to youth entrepreneurial competitions. Shark Tank later awarded her with $60,000 which she used to further grow her small business. Her business has likewise gone viral as several websites have picked up on her story.
Mikaila has since been invited to different events to address audiences. The video below shows her speaking before a crowd at Google Audience.
Needless to say, everyone was impressed with the achievements, passion, and inspiring story of the young lemonade entrepreneur.