Emily Garcia knows a thing or two about making lemonade out of lemons. At 16, she started a specialty lemonade business, Francy Emilade, in order to help establish financial independence.
Now a sophomore at New Mexico State University studying Civil Engineering Technology, Garcia is funding her education with revenue generated from her business.
“It was something I had to do to financially stay stable for myself, since I am a first-year college student within my family,” Garcia said. “And so doing that really gave me the push and motivation to be like, look, if I want to get this started and going, I’ve got to do it myself.”
Establishing her business has not been without hurdles—Garcia says she’s had to fight to be taken seriously.
“It requires a lot, especially not only being a woman, but also being a younger woman,” Garcia said. “A lot of people you know, at my age, 20 years old, don't own a business. And so, it definitely was harder to get people to see that I'm really serious.”
Those challenges haven’t stopped Garcia. She expanded her business this spring with the introduction of the Francy Emilade trailer, which can be seen around Las Cruces or at select festivals and special events. Already, Garcia has taken the trailer to the La Luz Cherry Festival and has plans to work the Hatch Chile Festival over Labor Day.
“It's really been an extremely exponential growth. When I first started, I was doing maybe one or two events the entire year,” Garcia said. “It was just a really cool thing to see how much it has grown. And I never thought it would.”
Francy Emilade is just one example of business success in the wake of the pandemic. A2021 Small Business Owner Report by Bank of America finds that 60% of small business owners are forecasting for revenue increases.
The impact small businesses have on the national economy is significant—the over 30 million small businesses across the nation make up 99.9% of all businesses within the United States and create two-thirds of net new jobs.
But for Garcia, her business is more than just a number. It’s a testament to hours of labor and brainstorming, offering her both greater financial freedom and an opportunity to strengthen familial bonds. Garcia says her business is not just about selling a product—it’s about the family that has supported and fostered her dream.
“Having my father be the one who built the trailer and my mom helping with all the behind-the-scenes stuff, and my friends, the community, I think the thing that makes it most unique, more than just lemonade, is that it's family,” Garcia said.
That family focus is evident even in the name of her business, a tribute to her late grandmother Frances Moen, who helped to encourage Garcia’s entrepreneurial spirit.
It’s a spirit Garcia hopes to see cultivated more in the youth of Las Cruces—encouraging young potential business owners to pursue their dreams early.
“I really love seeing other people pursue a business,” Garcia said. “If you're able to have that within yourself to pursue a business and make it your own and sell your own product instead of someone else's, it just gives you such a huge amount of gratitude and satisfaction knowing that you did this, and it wasn't through someone else.”
