Meet Houston’s Youth Entrepreneur of the Year
SUGAR LAND, Texas - A local student has figured out a way to keep her business going, even during the pandemic. She also donates some of her proceeds for an especially meaningful cause, and caught her city's attention with her winning ways.
You’re about to "meet" Houston's Youth Entrepreneur of the Year, nine-year-old Sabrina Roesler from Sugar Land. She’s the CEO of Fresh 'n Juicy Lemonade and known to run quite a business, in the form of her special lemonade stand.
"I first got my stand when my mom and dad built the stand. It was originally as a toy because I love to play store, but when I started with the Lemonade Stand organization, it became a business," explains a very mature Sabrina.
Sabrina quickly caught everyone's attention with her flavorful formulas. She won Lemonade Day's Best Flavor award with her brown sugar drink called "Muddy Buddy" and even grew her business during the pandemic to 5,000 customers!
"I have four flavors now. Muddy Buddy, strawberry, raspberry, and original. They're all organic and no preservatives or artificial colors. I sell my lemonade at pop up events, all year around in Sugar Land. We partnered with two businesses during COVID that don't sell lemonade. So we sell there and with them, and it's been really fun. We take all the precautions, like putting on a mask and putting on gloves or sanitizing what we sell," states Sabrina.
Sugar Land City Council was so impressed with Sabrina, they presented her with a special award, after she was named Lemonade Houston's 2020 Youth Entrepreneur of the Year. The Assistant City Director for Lemonade Day Houston says she’s not surprised by all of the honors that Sabrina has received.
"I've been following Sabrina since she was seven at our first best tasting contest in 2019, and I've just gotten to see over the past two years her blossom and become more confident. When she submitted her business results in 2020, which led to her winning the youth Entrepreneur of the Year, we were just impressed with where she's come in her commitment to her business and how she took all the lessons and really applied them to her business and embraced everything our program teaches," states Karen O’Cane.
Sabrina shares important advice and encourages other children to consider building their own business.
"Hard work pays off and if you have a passion for it, that keeps on going, it doesn't matter what other people say because if you like it and you think it's great for yourself, then that's all that matters," says Sabrina.
Sabrina has suffered a big loss in her life, but she uses her pain from that to help not only keep her going, but to help others.
"We donate 10% of the money of our earnings to the Dr. Marnie Rose Organization. When I was 6 years old, in 2017, my dad passed away from brain cancer and I want people to have a second chance, so we donate 10%. At first, I thought it was too little of a donation, but when we heard that each dollar that is given is matched from the government, I thought I was making a big difference," says Sabrina.
She absolutely is, even giving back to Memorial Hermann, the hospital that helped treat her dad in his final days.
"One of the other reasons why Sabrina stood out to us was, in our lessons, we teach kids to spend some, save some, and share some. She really embraced that ‘share some philosophy’, and she chose an organization and a cause that matter to her to donate to. That was just something impressive for a nine-year-old to go out there and take that the money that she earned and just go out and share it. That's something that we like to teach kids and the fact that she embraced that, we felt was pretty impressive," exclaims Karen.
Sabrina will be the first to tell you, it's not always easy running your own business, but she finds creative ways to pull it off.
"I feel nervous when I talk to my customers but I always want them to feel I'm relaxed and from that, I get relaxed and I feel like everything's going to be okay. I'm selling to a normal person here," laughs Sabrina.
Sabrina has set a strong foundation for success and shares important information for anyone interested in starting their own lemonade stand.
"The worst thing is just the investment. For example, for the lemonade stand and payments for the ingredients to make the lemonade. The best part is spending a little money from time to time to get something I really want," says Sabrina. She’s saving money right now because she wants to take her mother to Paris, France!
Registration just opened for anyone interested in joining the program. Anyone in the greater Houston area can sign up at: https://lemonadeday.org/houston
By following the program, you can apply to become the next Youth Entrepreneur of the Year.
Sabrina says she would love for everyone to follow her on social media. You can find that information on her website: https://freshnjuicy.us