Julian Lin, an 8-year-old budding entrepreneur, had to learn a hard lesson last weekend when two teenagers allegedly stole the money jar from his lemonade stand in New York City.
Sunday afternoon, Julian, who already calls himself Julian Business Man, was working hard to make a few dollars, just like many small business owners do every day. He had been at his stand at the corner of West 70th Street and Columbus Avenue for about four hours when two suspicious characters, wearing a ski mask, made their way to the front of the line. Julian knew something was off, but he ignored his gut and treated them like any other customers.
As it turned out, it was a mistake. As soon as Julian turned his back to fill their order of two lemonades, they took the money jar and fled on scooters. Julian’s mom estimated that it contained between $100 and $150.
Julian was disappointed in humanity after the incident, but the local community was there to help him. People gave him extra large tips, and he received payments via Venmo, which helped him recover some of the losses. He also learned to trust his instincts and to be more alert.
Aside from the lemonade stand, Julian has done many other jobs, including helping out janitors with their work. Selling lemonade had a much higher gross profit than his other jobs, but his net profit was still average.
He donated 30% of what he made to his favorite charity, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. Despite his recent setback, Julian is determined to keep going with his business ventures, because he loves being a businessman and he loves dogs.