Young vendors get in on the act, too in Utica

The last time Liam Calderon held his one-man bake sale he learned a valuable lesson: Prepare more cake pops – a lot more.

Liam, a fourth-grader in Oglesby, is an aspiring baker who enjoyed success at children’s entrepreneurial events. His only failure to date? Not brining enough product to meet the demand.

“This time I doubled my amount because in the first 40 minutes I sold out,” Liam said. “I love baking. I have 109 cake pops and I hope to sell all of them.”

Liam was among the vendors (and future entrepreneurs) who set up tables Saturday in Utica for Lemonade Day. It’s a nationwide program that teaches life skills, such as business operations, responsibility, financial literacy, goal setting and teamwork.

Utica hosted Lemonade Day last year, too. This year, however, organizers moved it to a new location – indeed, a perfect location.

Bill Zens, executive director of the Illinois Valley Area Chamber of Commerce, moved the Saturday event to the newly-opened Market on Mill, Utica’s outdoor retail plaza.

Zens said the children raised about $3,000 in just two hours.

Though the centerpiece of the plaza is 12 portable retail stalls snatched up by adult entrepreneurs, the plaza includes a center green space where Zens thought would be a natural venue for school children to try their entrepreneurial skills.

“It fit hand-in-hand. The kids didn’t know it was going to be here, so it will be a nice surprise for them to see all these local businesses and entrepreneurs drawing a larger crowd for them from years past.”

The event attracted some sharp-minded entrepreneurs with equally catchy ideas.

Thaila Scheick, 10, of Leland, loves to sew and showed up Saturday with innovative products including a reading pillow – fitted with a pocket for a book or notepad – and a tissue holder with a keychain.

“I focus on a lot of reading products and I think this is going to be good because Teacher Appreciation is next week,” Thaila said. “Mother’s Day is coming up, too, so I think this is going to be a good seller.”

Zens was pleased not only with the array of products but with the turnout. This is the third year IVAC has organized a Lemonade Day and he’s enjoyed seeing participation swell from one school district to six.

Just as impressive, he said, is the can-do spirit of the students and their boundless creativity.

“They haven’t learned to fail yet,” Zens said, “so they’re very creative and willing to do whatever they can to make some cash.”

It doesn’t hurt that one of the participants is learning at the knee of a Market on Mill tenant.

Lisa Carlson operates The Artful Hook in a portable retail stall and, outside her door, daughter Vivian, 9, a student at Wallace Grade School, is hawking bracelets she made herself.

“It’s kind of cool that she’s doing her thing today and I’m doing mine,” Lisa said.