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Sixth grader turns lemonade stand into million-dollar deal

[Mikaila Ulmer/CBS News]

Running a lemonade stand is something most children do at one point in their lives, but this sixth grader turned it into a million dollar deal.

At the tender age of 11, Mikaila Ulmer is already a social entrepreneur, bee ambassador, educator and a student.

After appearing on the hit TV show “Shark Tank” last year and getting $60,000 for her startup, Mikaila’s BeeSweet lemonade will be sold in 55 Whole Food stores – with the grocery store going as far as offering her a $1 million deal, reports NBC News.

And while she may only in the sixth grade, instead of charging a quarter for a cup of lemonade on her front lawn, Mikaila has been refining the six figure idea for more than half of her life.

The idea for the lemonade stemmed from a time when Mikaila was only four-years-old, and was thinking of a product she could make for a children’s business competition.

And instead of getting hit with an idea, she got stung by a bee… twice.

Around this time she got a family cookbook from her great grandma, which included her special recipe for flaxseed lemonade, she shared on the website.

Mikaila, who didn’t enjoy the bee sting in the slightest, had something else come about from the incident: fascination. She became so enticed with the bees that she thought “what if I make something that helps honeybees and uses my Great Granny Helen’s recipe?”

So to sweeten the lemonade they use local honey. A percentage of her profits go towards saving the honeybees, which is why she says “buy a bottle… save a bee.”

Today you can find the cheery 11-year-old leading workshops on how to save the honeybees and participating in social entrepreneurship panels, reports NBC News.

And her mom, D’Andra Ulmer, is nothing but proud.

“I’m impressed with how she gets her homework done during her travels,” she told the news outlet. “She has a gift for public speaking but what makes me very proud is that she is not only a smart entrepreneur but she’s a good person and she’s kind to people. That’s more important than business.”