Junior entrepreneur at work with Lobtail Lemonade stand

"Mostly what I do, when I'm not busy, is I mostly sit inside and ... just think about what I'm going to do," Jonah Hurst said.

Jonah, 8 years old, is the young entrepreneur behind Jonah's Lobtail Lemonade, a lemonade stand he set up along the driveway at Panhandle Trailer Court. Jonah said the name came from the whales that swim around Wrangell Island, sometimes beating the top of the water with their tails.

With his lemonade stand, he is making money and learning more about running a business.

He first ran the stand about three years ago, he said, for Lemonade Day. His dad built him the stand so he could participate in the event. Lemonade Day is an annual nationwide event held in August, to help teach kids about entrepreneurship.

This year is the first he's really taken off with the business venture, his mother, Nikka Mork, said. Jonah said he has been out running his stand whenever the weather is good this summer. His business has developed along the way, too. Recently, he introduced reusable drink pouches, so customers could enjoy their drinks more easily while on the go.

"He needed to-go cups for his customers, and I was looking at the cups, clear cups with lids," Mork said. "I came across these and I thought, 'Oh, these are reusable!'"

"And I thought it would be pretty cool," Jonah added.

Small drinks are $1, and the larger drink pouches sell for $4. He also offers homemade cookies at Lobtail Lemonade, two for $1. Anybody who wants to bring their drink pouches back for a refill will get a dollar off their price, Mork said.

Jonah has learned a lot about running a business. For example, he has learned about self-sufficiency. When he was first getting started, his parents would give him money for supplies, but they would expect him to pay him back. Now, however, Jonah generates enough income that he can set aside some of profits to keep the stand supplied on his own. He's also learned about managing payroll as his cousin, Daniel Mccolloch, sometimes helps him run the stand.

He's also learned how to plan big things for the future.

"I was thinking, sooner or later, I'm going to start instead of just a little stand, when I'm older I'm going to make a big store to sell lots of lemonade stuff," he said. "Like I'm going to give out instructions how to sell it, I'm going to sell the ingredients."

Jonah's Lobtail Lemonade is open whenever the weather is nice. Mork said they post on the Wrangell Community Group whenever they are open.