Michael Loeb, Founder of Loeb.nyc
Full Episode: https://www.successstorypodcast.com/michael-loeb/
I have a favorite question for aspiring entrepreneurs:
“Tell me about your childhood lemonade stand.”
If they say, “I never had one,” I get skeptical. Because the wiring shows up early.
The urge to create a microbiz. To exchange services for cash. To get hooked on the thrill of profit and reinvestment.
It starts small - a table, some Dixie cups, a pitcher of powdered lemonade. But the stand teaches BIG ideas.
That you can spot demand - “Gee, it’s hot. Bet the neighbors would love a cold drink!”
Create supply - “I’ll sell lemonade!”
And profit - “I just turned lemons into cash!”
The lemonade stand inoculates the entrepreneurial bug. Once you experience the buzz of running your own show, you’re infected for life.
You learn business mechanics aren’t mystical but formulaic:
Serve a need + Deliver value = Make money
And that the means to profit exist totally within your control. Effort = Customers. Customers = Cash. Cash = Scale.
Suddenly you’re running a mini startup on the sidewalk. Getting a taste of leverage, margins, marketing. ADDICTED to manifesting value from thin air.
As you mow lawns or paint garages, the neighbors become your first recurring clients. You learn about quality control when slipups lose repeat buys.
You go from generalist to specialist. Building a 1-kid brand and wondering...
“What if I 10x this? Make actual, real money instead of allowance change? Someday run a REAL empire?”
A true entrepreneur NEVER shakes that tendency once it grabs hold. You compulsively start ventures to chase the innate high of creating something from nothing.
So if your inner CEO awoke early...congrats, you’re wired to morph lemons into stands into legit businesses.
