This 10-year-old skipped recess — and headed straight for the boardroom.
Upper West Sider Julian Lin has been learning the art of the deal since he was just 4 years old, when he began volunteering to help stock produce and hawk it to customers at a fruit stand on West 68th Street and Columbus Avenue.
“I enjoy doing business and feel that exhilaration whenever I sell something,” a bowtie-wearing Lin told The Post from the living room of his family’s West 68th Street apartment.
Lin’s business spark was lit by his Netherlands-based grandfather, who has regaled him with stories of his career as an art dealer.
“He taught me how to haggle,” said Lin.
Lin perfected his salesmanship at other neighborhood businesses, including Épices Bakery and 67 Gourmet, an artisan cheese shop — where he loved to sell his personal favorite, Meredith Dairy cheese from Australia.
He embarked on his first business venture when the pandemic hit in 2020.
“I figured, everyone loves food. But GrubHub charges extra to get it delivered to you. So what if we made homemade food and then charged the normal amount for it?” he said.
The question sparked J’s DINR, a delivery-only “restaurant” that he ran from home, selling “Grandma’s Granola,” carrot soup and chocolate zucchini cake to other residents in his building, and in his granny’s two blocks away.
That same year, he also started his own lemonade stand.
In the beginning, he made the juice using free lemons he earned while volunteering at the fruit stand, and sold cups for $1 each – but barely churned a profit due to other expenses like sugar, cups and signs.
“And I remember the only reason I wanted to do the lemonade stand was for profit,” Lin recalled with a giggle.
So he altered his business strategy in 2022, after a “market research” assignment showed that his second-grade peers at PS 199 could barely tell the difference between his fresh-squeezed juice and the Trader Joes-brand lemonade, which costs less than $4 per half gallon.
To spice up the store-bought lemonade, he added popping boba – small, gel-like balls full of sweet liquid he bought for $20 per two pounds from Amazon – and voilà: Bobanade was born.
Today, he makes around $250 at the weekly stand – where Bobanade goes for $2.50 a cup.
But he’s a capitalist with heart — he donates 30% of his earnings to the Best Friends Animal Society.
“I think the animals deserve better,” he explained.
Lin was invited by the Best Friends Animal Society to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Feb. 8, 2024.
The money he pockets after donations will “probably not be used for college,” said Lin, who will start sixth grade at MS 245 The Computer School in the fall – but rather as “seed money for future business opportunities.”
So far, he’s stashed away more than $10,000.
The youngster doesn’t limit himself to selling on the street — he hawks $23 tote bags, $28 bucket hats and other household items, all branded with his own custom designs, on his website.
Lin recently organized a “Kids Business Fair,” where he and 14 other young entrepreneurs sold their self-made items – including artwork, homemade lip balms and a myriad of other products – at The Grand Bazaar NYC. Again, 30% of earnings went to a charity of their choice.
Parenting Lin is “like being invited to go on this great adventure,” said mom Julie Meerschwam, who works in video production, along with Lin’s father.
“When you have an 8-year-old who signs himself up for an SEO conference . . . you have to kind of reinvent the wheel,” she said with a laugh. “It’s very fun.”
Lin’s top piece of advice for his fellow businessmen? “Learn how to haggle, and how to block a haggle,” he said with a grin.
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