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Congratulations to our 2019 Washtenaw County Youth Entrepreneurs of the Year Winners: Ja'Qub Anthony and Jaden McKentry-Anthony!

Now you maybe reading this and thinking "hmm...same last name are these two related?" Indeed they are-which is why they cleverly entitled their lemonade stand business: Brother's Lemonade. But that's just one glimpse of the marketing genius exhibited by Jaden and Ja'Qub, these two took Lemonade Day seriously by creating custom-branding which featured their own logo and the slogan: We quench your thirst with a lemonade burst! 

The two found prime reality and setup shop in the heart of downtown Ypsilanti where they utilized family members to ask passersby if they would like some freshly prepared lemonade! However, lemonade was not the only item featured on their homemade menus. Nope Ja'Qub and Jaden offered customers the option of assorted donuts, fruit snacks, assorted potato chips, cookies, muffins, and bottled water. Honestly, what we enjoyed seeing wasn't even on the menu. Every worker at Brother's Lemonade wore gloves to ensure safe food handling as well as offering cups with lids and straws making this a perfect travel drink. But let's get back to that delicious lemonade! Hey guys, how did they make it?

"The recipe we used was fresh squeezed lemons, a [simple] syrup we made from scratch by dissolving sugar and water on the stove. We then mixed the lemon juice, syrup and water together to create our lemonade"

Okay, so Jaden and Ja'Qub had the products ready-to-go but how did they market they business? 

"We created flyers and asked surrounding businesses if they could hang them in their windows. Also our mom helped us advertise through social media"

And boy did all that work pay off as the two brought in a huge payday! However, Lemonade Day is more than just selling items for profit-it's about truly encouraging the next generation of entrepreneurs! So, how do Jaden and Ja'Qub plan to use their money?

"Well, now that we're entrepreneurs we are participating in a couple of vendor events with our mom" [who informed Lemonade Day Washtenaw County that they were in the process of turning Brother's Lemonade registered with the state as an LLC].  

Ja'Qub and Jordan, on behalf of University of Michigan Credit Union (the 2019 sponsor for Youth Entrepreneur of the Year Contest) and us here at Lemonade Day Washtenaw County we want to once again say congratulations and we wish you much success on your future endeavors.