"Know your target market: who is your customer and what will make them buy your lemonade over someone else's."

In the lead up to Labor Day, we have put together a Q&A series we're calling "Q&Aid" with some of the top entrepreneurs and city/business leaders to get our volunteers' creative juices flowing. 

For the latest installment of our series, we sit down with Elizabeth Frame Ellison, president and CEO of the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation.

​Editor's Note: Parts of this interview have been edited and condensed for clarity.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I am the President and CEO of the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation, a nonprofit organization that seeks to decrease barriers associated with Tulsans achieving their goals through programming and grantmaking. Since 2009, I have been one of the driving forces of Tulsa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. My personal passion for this area led to LTFF’s partnership in founding 36 Degrees North, Tulsa Startup Series Powered by LTFF, Cultivate 918, and The Tulsa State of Entrepreneurship Report. In 2016 Ellison and the LTFF team founded Kitchen 66, Tulsa’s first-ever kick-start kitchen for food entrepreneurs. Since it opened, Kitchen 66 has served over 100 food entrepreneurs and 50% were female businesses. In November, 2018, I expanded this vision by opening Mother Road market, Tulsa's first food hall. In its first six months of operation, Mother Road Market merchants surpassed $4 million in revenue. Since I joined the LTFF staff in 2009, I've helped grow the organization from a staff of one to a staff of 50 people. I am married to Chris and have two boys, Taylor (8) and Wyatt (5) who LOVE flexing their entrepreneurial muscles (and their biceps) with lemonade stands and bake sales.

Please tell us about your favorite lemonade stand experience.
A few years ago, my extended family rented a house surrounded by lemon trees. All the kids in the family (including me) were so excited about the lemon trees that we decided to "harvest" some of the lemons to make lemonade. It turned out, we didn't have any sugar so we had to use about 100 packets of stevia from the coffee bar at the nearby hotel. And the house we rented was on top of a hill so we didn't have much pedestrian traffic. In the end, our only sales were to parents and grandparents, but we had so much fun making the lemonade and decorating the stand, we didn't even care about our profits!

When did you know you wanted to do what you do now?
I always knew I wanted a job where I got to help people. I started off in government as a Legislative Assistant for Congressman Boren. However, I'm not the best at patience and the bureaucratic nature of government was frustrating to me! I like working directly with programs like Kitchen 66 that help people go from idea to market QUICKLY and pivot if they discover a part of their model that doesn't work.

Who is your biggest role model or mentor and why?
My biggest role model and mentor is my mom, Kathy Taylor! After having two kids of my own, I have even more respect for her boundless energy and compassion. She had a full time job with a packed travel schedule and still managed to pack me lunch and make homemade dinners! Now she's my biggest cheerleader and brainstorm buddy and the best grandma any kid could ask for!

This Lemon-Aid stand is my first entrepreneurial venture… any advice or suggestions?
Know your target market: who is your customer and what will make them buy your lemonade over someone else's? Also, advertise! Put out signs ahead of time, ask your parents to post something on Nextdoor or Facebook and make some kind of "add on" (maybe a strawberry lemonade or a fancy paper straw) that makes your product pop!

What did you wish you knew when you were a kid that you know now?
It's OK to fail! I've learned so much more from failures than I ever have from succeeding.

What has been your greatest failure and what did it teach you?
There have been so many! My most memorable failure was in 6th grade. I tried out for ACT's production of A Christmas Carol. I wanted so badly to be in the show, but I didn't put much work into preparing for the audition. I sang "happy birthday to you" and I my voice is not great, even with practice! I didn't even get a part in the ensemble. I was embarrassed and mad. But I learned that preparation and commitment are the most important parts of giving a good performance---it helps me today when I give speeches. When I am prepared and I believe in my words, I am never nervous!

What drives you to keep going when things get difficult?
The entrepreneurs who we work with every day! Their passion and unwavering commitment to their vision is infectious and addictive.