Julie Wood

Julie's first entrepreneurial endeavor came at age 8 when she and her brothers set up a Lemonade Stand at the boat races near her home on a hot, humid day in Madison, WI. After selling out and begging their mother to run to the store to buy more mix, she was hooked (after all, the penny candy store was there waiting for them to spend their earnings). She then went onto running neighborhood penny carnivals and craft fairs.

Julie experienced her first business failure at age 13 when she and her friend started a business together. They both lived on a farm and both liked plants, so they came up with the idea of starting a plant business. They bought peat pots, soil and seeds, planted the seeds in the pots, watered them and put them in the window of her shed to sprout and grow. At first, they checked them every day and after several days they finally sprouted into seedlings. They were already dreaming of what they were going to spend their money on. Once the seedlings sprouted, they thought it would only be days until they could start selling plants and making money. Then one day, Julie rode her bike down the road to check on the plants and to her dismay, they had all dried up and died.
She was devastated; her first real business had failed!
She thought how could my friend let this happen, after all the plants were at her house.

At the time she didn't realize it, but she learned two very valuable lessons about starting a business.
1) Make sure you have a partnership agreement that includes who is going to do what when.
2) Sprouting the seeds is the easy part; it's cultivating the seedlings that takes time, care and attention.

After several other business ownership and corporate opportunities throughout the years, Julie states that "Her entrepreneurial endeavors have taught her more about business than she has learned in her many years of school and as an employee." With a B.S. in Elementary Education, a M.S. in Curriculum & Instruction, specializing in Educational Communications and Technology, (both from University of Wisconsin-Madison) and an Associate's Degree in Accounting from Madison Business College that is something to be said.

When she had the opportunity to work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Small Business Development Center she was so excited since she could use her education and entrepreneurial experiences to help others. What was even more exciting was helping with center's Youth Entrepreneur camp. The kids were the same age as when she started her plant business and she knew she could help teach them the lessons she learned the hard way. When funding for the center was cut in 2008 the camp was in jeopardy of being cancelled.

That is when her entrepreneurial mindset took over and she proposed to rewrite the curriculum so that it could be taught with existing staff. The camp has been a huge success ever since. She saw the need to help others implement youth entrepreneurship and that is why the E-Seedling, "More Than a Lemonade Stand" youth entrepreneur camps, curriculum and training started. She hopes to cultivate tomorrow's entrepreneurs and help others to do the same.

Through her experience as an entrepreneur, educator and corporate trainer she brings a unique combination of skills that engages and inspires both youth and adult audiences.