When I was 13 years old, I was living with my mother in a dilapidated trailer and barely making ends meet. Even then, I knew I wanted to improve our life. One day, as I was walking around town, I had an idea that would change our lives forever.
I ran to my mum and immediately asked her for money. She said she only had $13 left and that was all we had for food.
I told her: ‘Mum, just trust me with this $13.’ I was confident in my plan. I only need what you have. ‘You’ll be glad you did.’
I made a lot of money on that $13 because she believed in me.
Mum thought for a moment, holding the crumpled $13 in her hand. She looked worried, but there was also a hint of hope in her eyes. She had always told me I was smart, and maybe that was reason enough for her to take a chance on me when I was very young. She handed me the money with a slight shake of her hand and said: ‘Okay, but please be careful.’ ‘I believe in you.’
I quickly ran to the nearest market with that $13. I bought 12 lemons, a big bag of sugar and some plastic cups for my simple plan. Kids had sold lemonade before, but I was going to do it my way. Construction workers passed by on their lunch breaks while I set up a small kiosk next to the busy main street. The workers were thirsty because it was so hot outside, and I figured if I made the best lemonade they’d ever tasted, they’d keep coming back.
But I didn’t stop there. I knew that regular lemonade wasn’t going to work. I had to be different. I spent the next few hours creating my own recipe that had a hint of mint and just the right amount of sweet and sour. I also made a big, brightly coloured sign that read ‘Only 50 cents for the coldest, freshest lemonade!’.
I stood there all day, smiling and calling out to people passing by, ‘Fresh lemonade!’. Very cold and refreshing! Only fifty cents a glass!” The first people to buy a glass from me were construction workers. After a few sips, they were hooked. Many told each other it was the best lemonade they had ever tasted. I sold every cup and by the end of the day I had made almost $30. I was so happy that I ran home and gave my mum the money.
Smiling, I told her: ‘I told you you wouldn’t regret it.’
When she counted the money, she couldn’t say a word. Her eyes were widened. ‘You did this…in one day?’ – she asked, almost in a whisper.
‘Yes,’ I replied. ‘And tomorrow I will do more.’
The next day I went to the market again, bought more stuff and made my stand twice as big. I also added strawberry lemonade and a special mix with a secret ingredient that I wouldn’t share with anyone. People loved the offers I started giving them, such as ‘Buy two, get one free.’ I quickly figured out how to sell more by asking people if they wanted a larger cup for extra money.
By the end of the week, I had made over $200. Most of it went to my mum, but I kept enough for myself to buy more supplies. That’s when I realised I wanted to do something more than just sell lemonade.
With the proceeds, I bought a small portable ice cooler and a better table for my kiosk. I started getting up early to get the best spot on the street. I tried new flavours and always made sure my lemonade was very cold and delicious. I even hired a friend to help me in my busiest moments and paid him from the money I earned. We kept perfecting our method until we could make more lemonade faster without compromising on quality.
One afternoon, a man in a suit came to my kiosk. He bought a cup of lemonade, drank some, and then stood there enjoying the taste. He said: ‘This is great.’ ‘You’re really an entrepreneur, right?’
At the time, I didn’t know what that word meant, but I nodded anyway. I said: ‘Thank you, sir.’ ‘I’m doing my best.’
He held out a business card to me with a smile. He told her: ‘Call me whenever you want to talk about growing this business.’ ‘I believe you have something unique.’
The card was in my pocket and I didn’t think too much about it, but I remembered it. Over the next few weeks, I continued to grow my little lemonade business. Pretty soon I was making about $200 a week. Some of the money I earned went to help my mum pay the bills and buy food. Seeing the smile on her face when she finished was worth every minute spent at that stall.
As the months went by, everyone in the neighbourhood knew about my lemonade stand. My unique lemonade was so delicious that people would come from all over town to have a glass. At this point I remembered the business card the man had given me and started thinking about how to make it even bigger. I pulled it out and looked at it for a long time before I decided to call.
When we met, he told me that he was an investor who helps small businesses grow. He asked me what my future plans were, and I said that I wanted to open more kiosks, produce my own brand of bottled lemonade, and maybe even open a small shop someday. After thinking for a while, he said: ‘I think we can do it.’
He said he would invest in my business, help me buy better tools and permission to open more kiosks around town. In return, he would get a small share of the profits. I took a huge risk, and it paid off. In the years that followed, my lemonade business grew from one kiosk on the corner of a busy street to a small network of kiosks throughout the city.
When I was 18, I had my own line of lemonade in bottles labelled “Lisa’s Fresh Lemonade: Made with Love” and was sold in grocery shops. I had a real business and made enough money to move my mother out of the trailer and into a nice house. I even bought her the car she had always wanted but never thought she could have.
It’s hard to believe what happened when I only had $13 and a dream. Over the years, that $13 turned into millions as my lemonade brand spread to other states and cities. At the cafes I opened, people could buy all kinds of drinks and snacks. Each one had a small sign hanging next to the counter that read, ‘Inspired by my mum who believed in me when I needed it most.’
On a shelf in my mum’s kitchen still sits one of the first cups from my lemonade stand. It looks a little tarnished and worn, but it shows how far we’ve come. I remember those long summer days, the smell of fresh lemons and the sense of possibility that comes from knowing you can make something wonderful out of almost nothing if you put in the effort.
And the best part? Mum no longer had to worry about money. She could safely do gardening and other things she loved but didn’t have time for when she had to make ends meet. I could always tell she was confident that I wouldn’t let her down because she always had a smile for me.
That’s how $13 and a little faith changed our lives. I realised that there is always a way to make things better, you just have to look for it.
