Outspoken, innovative and thoughtful: 11-year-old Stockton girl entrepreneur sells at pop-ups
From feeding unsheltered Stocktonians during the holidays to selling her handmade lemonades, lip-glosses and bracelets, Natalia Clark has made a name for herself at a very young age.
At just 11 years old, the Stockton native is the face behind Natalia's Poppin Lemonade and Angel Glow Cosmetics.
The fifth-grade Stockton Collegiate International Schools student started her entrepreneurship journey in April 2018 with her lemonade stand, her mother Liz Clark told The Record during a recent interview.
Natalia was just 5 years old.
She set up a lemonade stand outside her home to raise enough money to purchase a doll that she wanted to buy for herself.
"I wanted to get an American Girl doll and I wanted to raise money for it. So my mom gave me ideas and one of them was a lemonade stand," Natalia said. "I really liked lemonade. So that was what I did."
Even though Natalia did not get her American Girl doll, she did get a doll, she said.
A 'caring heart'
A few lemonade stands later, Natalia had a new goal.
She decided to raise money through her lemonade stand for another doll, but this time it wasn't for her.
The doll was for a child whose family had lost everything in the 2018 Camp Fire.
"It was a local restaurant business that was taking collections for victims of the Camp Fire," Liz said. "I suggested that maybe she can do something for that family."
The fire took place roughly 145 miles north of Stockton. It became one of the most destructive and deadliest wildfires in California history, The Record reported.
"I just really wanted to help them," Natalia said.
Liz, who was also born and raised in Stockton, works as a San Joaquin County social worker. She said she was touched by her daughter's "caring heart."
Outspoken, innovative, and thoughtful is how Liz describes her daughter.
For Thanksgiving, Natalia cooked 10 meals for the unsheltered residents.
The meals included all the Thanksgiving staples like turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy and even a cupcake. Natalia and her mother handed out the meals to unhoused residents around the city.
Natalia also passed out dog biscuits to their furry friends.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Natalia also placed care packages in her neighbors' mailboxes with items such as instant soups, Kleenex, oranges, and water, Natalia and Liz said.
"I hope I can do more next year," Natalia said in December. "Maybe some around Easter."
Big dreams and aspirations
This year, Natalia said she wants to learn more about her passion topics: basketball, fashion, and writing.
When asked, what she wants to be when she grows up, Natalia had a lengthy list of careers in mind.
"I want to be a therapist and a makeup artist or a reality TV star or a basketball player on one of the WNBA teams," she said.
The young dreamer is learning how to play the ukulele and is also involved with an afterschool science program.
She still sells lemonade but has expanded her business.
Natalia owns Angel Glow Cosmetics and sells handmade lip glosses, cuticle pens and sometimes even body glitter. She offers many fruity-flavored lip-glosses from pomegranate, bubblegum to even root beer.
Her favorite lip gloss flavor, and the most popular, is cherry, Natalia said.
She makes her lip-glosses at her dining table, where she also makes bracelets that she sells.
You can find her businesses mainly at community pop-ups or on social media.
"More people got to know her in the community and know that she had her own business," Liz said. "When we would go to other small business pop-ups, they would start noticing and they would invite her out."
Liz has a message for parents, who may be inspired by her daughter's story:
"Pour into your children, whatever their hopes or desires are. Try to make it happen and keep them encouraged to be their own person, but also just to be thoughtful of others."
Record reporter Angelaydet Rocha covers community news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at arocha@recordnet.com or on Twitter @AngelaydetRocha. To support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Stockton girl entrepreneur
