Luca’s Lemonade: A Young Girl’s Journey into Entrepreneurship
By Pamela Hall
The Ashland Beacon
It’s fairly common for some children to want to grow up and own their own business — to be an entrepreneur — but what is truly rare is for a person to start a business and become an entrepreneur while they are still a child.
Such is the case with Luca Adkins who is 10 years old. Luca owns and operates Luca’s Lemonade, a successful lemonade stand. To sell her product, she sets up at various venues or events, but mainly at Diamond Links Golf Course, which her parents own.
“I saw a video of a girl in another state working her own stand,” Luca explained when asked how she got the idea. “I thought I'd ask my parents if I could try it out.”
You might be thinking that it’s just a kid’s lemonade stand, not a legitimate business. You would be wrong.
Luca’s mother, Jessica Adkins, made phone calls to determine what was needed in order to operate legally. Luca has obtained a tax ID number and business license to be compliant with state and local laws and ordinances. She also has a vendor’s license from the health department. Sounds like a legitimate business to me and pretty impressive for a 10-year-old!
The next step in her business venture was a stand, needed from which to conduct business. Her dad and brother built the stand according to her design. She was now ready for business.
Jennifer set a benchmark for her daughter to make $500 before spending any of her funds. Luca has met and exceeded that benchmark after only a month of business.
“I bought a new chair for my room and some lights,” Luca said about her first purchase. “I would like to save my money for vacations and things I do for school.”
“I am so proud of Luca for the person she is,” Jennifer said of her daughter. “Luca is not a materialistic child, but she does have an interest in entrepreneurship.”
Since Jennifer home-schools her children, they learn about entrepreneurship on a daily basis due to the ownership of Diamond Links Golf Course and Buddy’s Clubhouse Grill, the restaurant and the golf course their parents operate.
“My kids are always with me firsthand through business endeavors,” Jennifer said. “They see the ups and downs, the freedom and restraints, the hours and the stress, the joy and the accomplishment.”
As a result of this firsthand education about running a business, Luca runs her lemonade business by herself. She cuts her own lemons, makes the lemonade, waits on customers, and keeps track of the income and expenses associated with her business.
“She rarely will even let any of us jump in and shake the lemon and sugar mixture,” Jennifer laughed. “She’s a fantastic daughter and one heck of a worker.”
“My favorite thing,” Luca said with a grin, “is when the customers come back and say it’s the best lemonade they’ve had, and they ask for another.”
Luca plans to run Luca’s Lemonade for as long as she can. She has plans to set up at several events in the coming months along with being at Diamond Links.
To find out locations and times of operation for Luca’s Lemonade, check out the Facebook page.
And don’t forget Luca’s motto:
“When life gives you lemons, try out our lemonade!”
