How this 13-year-old CEO built her lemonade empire

Mikaila Ulmer was just four when she started selling lemonade.

The little girl, who starred in this week's BBC The Boss series, set up a stand in front of her family home and began selling the tasty refreshment, which she concocted using her great-grandmother’s 1940s recipe.

Nine years on, 13-year-old Ulmer is now the CEO of Me & The Bees Lemonade. The business sells 360,000 bottles of the drink in 500 stores right across the US, making Ulmer one of the youngest business owners in the country.

The lemonade comes in four different flavours: Prickly Pear, Mint, Ginger and Iced Tea, but they all contain an important ingredient - honey.

However, juggling a successful business as well as school life is no easy task, the teen says, adding that she recently received a ‘C’ in her Maths subject.

"It is not the easiest, that is for sure," she told the BBC.

Having two parents with business degrees and marketing expertise who play active roles in daily operations definitely helps, Ulmer said.

"It was all me at the beginning, squeezing the lemonade at my stand, but then my parents designed some nice stickers for the cups,” she told the BBC.

In 2009, the business received a massive boost when it won a contract to sell bottles in stores of the major supermarket chain Whole Foods.

When 2015 came round, Ulmer began seeking out investors for the business and appeared on the US Shark Tank TV show, where she persuaded one of the judges to invest $60,000 ($81,000 AUD).

Two years later, a group of US football players invested $800,000 into Me & The Bees Lemonade.

Ulmer has won numerous awards and the praise and admiration of many other leaders around the US, including former President Barack Obama. When he was still in office the president invited Ulmer to the White House in 2015, and a year later she introduced him at a women's summit.

However, Ulmer is not just a successful businessgirl. The 13-year-old is also a passionate conservationist.

After being stung by two bees in two weeks, rather than develop a fear of the insects, Ulmer’s parents encouraged her to read up on them to better understand their crucial role in the ecosystem.

Now, Me & The Bees donates 10 per cent of its profits to bee conservation groups.

Regarding her future plans, Ulmer says she’s keen to launch additional businesses. However, school is also a priority.

"I want to start new companies - to me having one company gets boring sometimes," she said.

"I like coming up with business names and new logos to design, that's the most fun bit for me. I'm also nervous about high school, but looking forward to making new friends and not wearing a uniform."