MINNEAPOLIS — A boy who once sold lemonade in a business suit has carried childhood lessons into his adult business.
It’s just “making customers feel appreciated,” Ethan Esparza says.
In 2007, Esparza was a 12-year-old lemonade peddler when reporter Boyd Huppert spotted the young entrepreneur selling lemonade in a suit in front of his grandparents’ home on France Avenue.
The resulting story was featured in KARE’s Land of 10,000 Stories segment.
Fifteen years later, Esparza owns Nature Lead Tech, a company managing leads for real estate agents.
Esparza employs five people at his St. Louis Park office.
Last year, he says his company helped clients generate $100 million in real estate sales.
Esparza traces his business success back to his lemonade stand.
“With lemonade it wasn’t so much the product, it was the service – where the customers feel valued,” the now 27-year-old says.
Before settling into real estate, Esparza started a DJ business, an automotive detailing service, and a window washing company.
Harkening back to his attention-grabbing lemonade sales attire, Esparza says he continues to believe in the power of a business suit, even for Zoom meetings.
“It’s still important to dress the part,” he says.
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