Shea Gouldd began selling from Shea’s Bakery when she was 14. She made a cake for a friend in 2008, and before she knew it, she had thirty more orders in a short period before Thanksgiving. From this point, Gouldd started selling her product as a true business. Recently she was voted the best bakery in her town, and young entrepreneur of the year from the Young Entrepreneur Foundation. Gouldd bakes a variety of sweet treats, such as wedding cakes, pies, cupcakes, cheesecakes, and even cake pushup pops!
Gouldd was recently interviewed by the National Federation of Independent Business. In her interview, she was asked to give her advice to others who may have ideas for businesses but who haven’t yet decided to take the next step. Gouldd unequivocally states that people should not be afraid of failure, and that her case is not an extraordinary one. She says that she doesn’t believe she was extraordinary in her idea; rather, it was because she decided to act on it that she succeeded.
She also said not to be afraid to work hard. She balanced this business in the midst of also completely highschool, and she had to forgo some social events to invest in her business. But she is now able to see the payoffs in the forms of her success. She has also enjoyed being able to contribute to the local economy by hiring employees.
You can click here to visit the webpage where the video of her interview is posted, if you want to hear more about Shea Gouldd and her young business!
I thought this particular post was inspiring because it shows you don’t have to have an “out of the box” idea to be successful as a young entrepreneur. As long as you work hard to achieve your goals, you can be successful in whatever you choose to do. This is a good example that all young entrepreneurs should learn from.
It just goes to show that with a good work ethic, a good idea, and a willingness to take some risk, anybody can turn their dream into a reality. I really love just how unoriginal this idea is- their are thousands of other people who are doing the same big this she is doing every day, like baking, decorating, and selling cakes an other such morsels. The difference is that not everybody has the will to make their idea succeed. Great story, solid execution, and astounding success!
A bakery giving to charity is something that I have never heard of. Giving away something for free is different. She is giving 10% of her profit! As well as receiving such a title. For a young woman she composes herself very well. Baking is not something easy and she is still finishing high school which must be very hard!
I’m very impressed that Gouldd was able to begin her bakery in high school. Talk about millennial entrepreneurs! It’s so great that she was able to turn something she loved doing into a business and that the initial word was spread only through word of mouth. It’s very impressive also that she has been able to employ people so soon. Very cool!
This is really incredible! Again it is really great to see that these individuals are able to start their businesses at a very young age. I used to want to own my bakery when i was in high school, so this is really cool to see that someone was successful in fulfilling her dreams.