Mikaila Ulmer proved to everyone that she is not old enough to start a business. She became a millionaire at the age of 11 after betting on a homemade lemonade recipe made by her greatgrandmother.
The girl decided to sell the lemonade at a stand in front of the house in the US. In a short time, she saw the family recipe take off across town, and today Mikaila has been distributing the lemonade across the country.
Today, at the age of 17, the teenager is the managing director of the company “Me & The Bees Lemonade”. Fulfilled, Mikaila said that getting here has been a lot of work and some sacrifices, but she is very happy with everything she has achieved.
family recipe
Mikaila had the idea of selling lemonade when she was four years old when her greatgrandmother gave her an old cookbook. She found a lemonade and flaxseed recipe from the 1940s.
By the age of 11, Mikaila knew the recipe by heart and was making it for the whole family. She then decided that she would sell it to the neighborhood.
The girl set up a tent on the street in the summer and began selling the recipe, as is customary for many Americans.
Word of mouth about the lemonade among neighbors reached the owners of a local pizzeria, who immediately placed an order, and bottling of the product began.
“In the beginning I did everything by myself,” Mikaila recalls. “As the business started to grow, I had to admit that I couldn’t do it alone. So I asked my parents how to get a logo, a manufacturer and how to get it out to more stores.”
first big order
It helped that both parents had business degrees: Mom D’Andra specializes in marketing and sales, and dad Theo works in operations.
By the age of 15, Mikaila Ulmer’s name was well known in the United States. But the boom came after her appearance on the television show Shark Tank.
At the attraction, a businessman donated $60,000 to bolster the business. This performance led directly to her being received by thenPresident of the United States, Barack Obama.
Mikaila’s store was already a national brand: today, flaxseed soda is sold in around 2,000 stores in more than 40 states.
“I don’t think there’s a limit or specific guidelines to who can become an entrepreneur who can start a business,” Mikaila said.
social project
The great twist Mikaila puts on lemonade is no secret. She said she added some honey.
The idea came because she had always been afraid of bees, having been stung as a child. The girl then wanted to turn a bad memory into something positive.
After becoming a successful business woman, Mikaila decided to create a foundation for the care of bees. Today, she allocates a portion of the company’s earnings to organizations dedicated to caring for and supporting the life of bees.
Now in 2022, Mikaila is firmly at the helm of the company and has even started to diversify: it now includes peach juice, iced tea, mint and ginger. She also created a line of beeswax lipsticks.
Mikaila said that there are no limits for anyone, but we must always remember one very important thing: “Dream big and don’t forget to dream like a child”.
Milkaila sells lemonade in the USA Photo: advertising
Mikaila says there are no limits Photo: Reproduction
With information from Portal N10