What I learned about business from a Girl Scout cookie entrepreneur

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From the Small Business Administration:
By Linda McMahon, SBA Administrator

When I was a Girl Scout, selling cookies meant dragging a wagon full of boxes door to door in my North Carolina neighborhood. I didn’t have online tools or a marketing plan or even a real strategy.

But Julia Vieira Reis, a 12-year-old Girl Scout from Manchester, Connecticut, certainly did. She sold more than two thousand boxes. Her entrepreneurial success earned her recognition as one of the nation’s top cookie sellers of 2017.

I got to meet Julia when she interviewed me about how my Girl Scout experience prepared me for my career in business. She wondered what she and other Girl Scouts could learn from my advice. Turns out, she also had a lot of her own wisdom to share with me – and other entrepreneurs – about what it takes to succeed!

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