Before the official licensed Star Wars retractable lightsabers hit the scene, slip-it swords were the closest equivalent in the mid-90s. As soon as I laid eyes on the commercial for the toy, I started hatching schemes to get my hands on enough scratch to buy one. Of all the gigs I undertook to exploit my "cute kid" energy, selling lemonade was the most lucrative. And judging by the success that Mikaila Ulmer earned at the age of eleven, I shouldn't have left the business behind.
More and more millionaire kid stories are popping up thanks to YouTube, but Mikaila Ulmer's journey to millions might be the most inspiring. Armed with a cookbook gifted by her grandmother, Ulmer started to produce a unique flax seed and lemonade combo that earned her a deal with Whole Foods in 2016. Ulmer is now 17 years old, and her story is making the rounds due to her expanding empire. Also, her success as a young, Black female entrepreneur could help inspire several girls to follow in her enterprising footsteps.
While Mikaila used the recipe book from her great grandmother for inspiration, she put her own spin on the concoction through the use of honey. She was moved to check out the benefits of the sweet substance produced by bees after she was stung twice and left horrified by the experiences. In fact, Thrillist reports "she was inspired to create BeeSweet lemonade after being stung by a bee when she was 4."
"I decided to give her beloved lemonade a new twist by adding honey from bees, instead of only sugar," reads the Me & The Bees Lemonade website. "That's how Be Sweet Lemonade was born."
Further research led her to discover the implications for not only the bee community but the entire world, should they go extinct.
Mikaila's lemonade not only provides a refreshing, cool beverage for those drinking it, but it is also an initiative that she uses to help bring awareness surrounding the protection of bees.
