They had a fresh idea to squeeze out more income. Now the husband-and-wife tandem, co-owners of Nolia’s Lemonade, are reaping the fruits of their labor.
Preparing to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the mobile lemonade stand, the juice has been worth the squeeze for married entrepreneurs Taylor Redmond and Whitney Vaughn. “Honestly, the response in Staunton has been great,” said Taylor Redmond, co-founder of Nolia’s Lemonade. “We have a bunch of people asking where we’re going to be, and if we have a hard stand that’s brick and mortar.”
The response outside of Staunton has been great, too. Thanks in part to a micro-loan from the Shenandoah Community Capital Fund, - which was used to purchase a trailer - Nolia’s Lemonade has hit the road. It’s become a popular favorite at Lexington’s Farmer’s Market, Augusta County Food Truck Days at the Government Center, and the Farmer’s Market at Chesterfield County. The husband-and-wife duo also hit up a bunch of festivals as well.
Redmond got the idea from a fresh-squeezed lemonade stand on TikTok. His wife, Whitney Vaughn, needed some convincing. An analytical mind, Redmond completed a pitch deck complete with profit/loss projections to convince her. “He’s a huge TikTok fan, and he saw some other people on there doing it,” said Vaughn, co-founder of Nolia’s. “I said, ‘No thank you!’ You have to come with a little bit more and talk me into it. He set up in the kitchen – fresh crushed lemons and limes – and I was sold after that. We started last August.” Picking a business name for the lemonade stand was easy. The couple named it after their daughter.
Photo by Chris Lassiter
This is only the latest of the couple’s entrepreneurial endeavors. “I’ve always been a hustler,” said Redmond, a licensed real estate agent and Division I lacrosse referee. “I think it’s more of a spirit of salesmanship and making sure people are taken care of. Now that I’ve become a young adult, I’m always trying to find the next thing and the next wave to jump on, or a side hustle like this.”
Photo by Chris Lassiter
Although a lemonade stand is a simple concept, the couple didn’t take any shortcuts in the business plan. They brought in family members as angel investors. Redmond has a background in chemistry, and Vaughn used to teach high school mathematics. They know exactly how much easy glass of lemonade costs to serve, and how much profit they stand to make off each sell. Redmond’s advice to all aspiring entrepreneurs is to know the numbers. “Delve into the numbers,” Redmond said. “You have to make sure that the margins and the numbers work for you. We’re floating a couple of things back and forth right now, and it’s just, ‘Do the numbers work?’ Make sure that it works for you, and the time you have to put into it.” Vaughn agrees. “You have to think about the little costs,” she said. “It’s not just, ‘Oh, I can just make lemonade.’ It’s, ‘Do you have the money for the marketing, branding, paying the cost to get into events, paying someone to cover for you if you can’t work, and stickering cups and 10:00 p.m. on the weekends?’ Do you have the drive to do that? And do you want to do that? It doesn’t just happen on its own.”
You can follow along and stay up to date with Nolia's Lemonade via their Facebook and Instagram pages.
Story and photos by Chris Lassiter. Chris Lassiter is the director of engagement and inclusion at the Community Foundation of the Central Blue Ridge. He highlights businesses for the Staunton Black Business Collective.
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