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We are proud to present our 2021 National Youth Entrepreneur of the Year...

Brianna Garcia

Bri's Frozen Lemonades
Lomita, CA

Brianna exemplifies what it means to be an entrepreneur – a change-maker. She worked hard to set a goal, develop a business plan, secure a micro loan, create a desirable product, and market it to run a successful business. Her innovation and perseverance resulted in earning a profit of nearly $1,200, well above her goal. Brianna achieved her dreams of bringing her creative idea to life and making her very own money – money she worked hard to keep, spend some on herself, save some for the future, and share some with a charity close to her heart, the Marine Mammal Care Center.

Read Brianna's Lemonade Day story in her own words:

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I did Lemonade Day because I was excited about the chance to make money to donate to a great cause. I started by talking to my mom and my mentor about what I could do to have a great stand. After I decided to make frozen lemonade (because we make it at home and it's my favorite!) I also decided to add some extra flavors. I decided to to not only make original lemonade flavor, but also made strawberry lemonade, peach lemonade, and mango lemonade. I also wanted to top the frozen lemonade with fresh fruit. After talking to my mentor I also chose to sell other items, such as necklaces, hand made bracelets, and lemon scented slime( made by me and my sister) I talked to Dr. Adam of Adam Chiropractic and asked him if I could set my stand up in front of his office. It's on a main street that is easy to see and gets lots of traffic. It also has a lot of parking. He asked me a few questions and said yes! My mom helped me set up an Instagram account (@brisfrozenlemonades) and helped me to make posts on there and her Facebook. I also made fliers and passed them out at community events, to all my neighbors, local businesses, and had them set up at Adam Chiropractic. I was able to participate in a Quartermania at our local Kiwanis and at the National night out with my mom and Adam Chiropractic. I handed out lots of fliers there too. I took preorders for the necklaces, bracelets, and slimes at the events and online.
 

On Lemonade Day I set up in front of Adam Chiropractic. I was so amazed at all the people that came to my stand. I sold over 200 cups of lemonade! I had so many of my family, friends, neighbors, and patients from Adam Chiropractic come to my stand. There were a few people that I didn't recognize, but most of them told me they had heard about my delicious frozen lemonade from other people. I ended up setting up an hour earlier than I had planned because I was told that a news reporter was going to feature my stand in her report! I wanted to be ready and set up. She was there for about an hour. She did my interview and took video of me selling, talking to customers, making my lemonades, and much more. I was so excited! I was also interviewed by someone else later that day. It was amazing! I was very happy with my stand and the results. I wouldn't want to change anything next time. Except maybe adding some suggested flavors.

I think the only obstacle I faced was being nervous about my interviews and having to talk to people at first. I was very shy at first, but then I felt more comfortable after talking to a lot of people. This program had made me less shy. I also was very nervous when I went to the Credit Union to pitch my product and ask for my micro loan. But it all went great and I wasn't as nervous once I started talking.

I had so much fun doing this whole thing. From designing and making my aprons with my mom, to designing and making my stand with my dad it was all great. I had fun making my mini stand that I used for all of my events and as a decoration on my stand. I also had so much fun selling and talking to so many people! My favorite part was taking my donation of $762.30 to the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro and getting a tour.
 

Now that I have had the chance to run my own stand and see how great being an entrepreneur is I am going to continue doing it! My mom has looked into getting me a real business license and a kitchen license so I can do local events. I have several aunt's, uncle's, and family friends that have their own businesses and participate in pop ups, farmers markets, and other events. I have talked to a few of them about being able to set up once I have my permits. I plan on continuing to help other charities with my money, and would like to keep saving to buy my own phone and maybe some Knott's passes.

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Congratulations on your sweet success Brianna!