Lemons to Legacy: How Big Ideas Start Small
May 2025 | By Anika Goel
It all begins with one spark of inspiration.
Behind every product you buy, every app you scroll, and every shop you visit, there is a story, a leap of faith, and the art of business management at work. From a simple concept to a thriving enterprise, understanding how goods, services, entrepreneurs, and industries connect is the first step to turning dreams into reality.
As an aspiring entrepreneur, you must be willing to take the leap, embrace risks, and give it your all to bring an idea to life. Entrepreneurs are the hearts of the business world. They constantly seek new opportunities, get the most out of experiences, and try to solve problems to make everyone’s lives better. Without entrepreneurial spirit, many goods and services we rely on today would not exist. If Steve Jobs did not care about revolutionising technology to something more accessible and aesthetically pleasing, Apple may have never existed. Welcome to the world where value is created, risks are embraced, and the future is built one decision at a time.
The beginning of any venture is the product. What are you trying to sell to the audience? Is it a good or a service?
For instance, you are planning to start a lemonade stand. In this case, your business would provide both a good and service. The lemonade itself is a tangible product, a good that customers can take away and enjoy. At the same time, the act of preparing, serving, and sometimes customising the drink adds a service element, creating an experience for the customer.
This is where it gets interesting because business merges with economics. Depending on how you structure your lemonade business, you might be operating across different sectors of the economy. If you grow your own lemons, you are participating in the primary sector, which involves extracting natural resources and/or raw materials. If you decide to manufacture and bottle your lemonade, you are stepping into the secondary sector. If you simply produce and sell lemonade directly to customers at your stand, you are operating in the tertiary sector, which focuses on the distribution and provision of services to consumers. As businesses grow, it is common for them to cross into multiple sectors.
Once you have defined the sector your business belongs to, it is time to move beyond just a product. The real challenge is creating something that captures attention and drives demand. It is time to figure out a differentiating factor. This is an element that makes your lemonade business stand out against the competition. What do you provide that others do not? This is where you focus on generating added value. This aspect of your business is extremely crucial because offering a unique element persuades consumers to pay higher prices, boosting your profit margins.
For example, you could offer organic, freshly squeezed lemonade with customizable flavours like lavender or mint, served in eco-friendly cups. By doing this, you are not just selling lemonade, you are offering a more premium, personalized experience that feels special to customers. Besides that, by using eco-friendly cups, you are showing your customers that you care about a bigger cause- the environment. This enhances your brand image and makes consumers more likely to support your business.
This unique twist creates added value and begins to blur the line between needs and wants. Instead of simply buying lemonade because they are thirsty, customers may now want your lemonade for the experience, the quality, or the aesthetic.
This phenomenon plays out on a much larger scale with companies like Apple, which have mastered the art of transforming basic products into highly coveted lifestyle essentials. Think about it: Apple is not just selling phones, laptops, or watches, but it is selling an identity. Owning an Apple product makes consumers feel part of something exclusive. As a result, customers often feel they need the latest iPhone, even when their current one still works perfectly.
Once you have built a product that stands out and captures the hearts of your consumers, the real adventure begins. As Steve Jobs encouraged, "Stay hungry, stay foolish." Entrepreneurship is about always pushing further, daring to dream bigger, and never settling.
Glossary
Added value: an improvement made to a product that makes it more valuable or attractive
Profit Margins: the percentage of earnings/revenue a business has left after paying for all expenses
