04 Mar Raising an Entrepreneur

By Tiffany Rucker, MBA

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
–African and Chinese Proverb

It all started with a conversation about summer. My then 14-year-old son, Jeremiah, sat me down and told me he had an important question. I sat down and braced myself for what I thought was a question about the new iPhone that he wanted. He started by telling me that he has needs and wants, and then he asked the question that I never would have expected: “Mom, can I have a summer job?”

At first, I didn’t know what to say. I was shocked and amazed that he decided he wanted to earn the things that he wanted. I told him that I needed to think about it; first, because I was unsure if he could get a traditional job at the tender age of 14, and second, I struggled with the idea of someone potentially taking advantage of him because of his youth and innocence. I couldn’t sleep that night—until it hit me: Use a skill that he already had to create his summer job. And so, Jay Bakes Cakes was born.

Jeremiah called up his grandfather, who is an amazing baker, and asked for family recipes; then he researched how to create his own glazes and icings. He created a list of necessary supplies and made a spreadsheet with the prices to present to me and my husband. Once we purchased his supplies, he was ready to make test cakes. My husband was the “Professional Cake Taster.” At one point we had about 10 cakes on my kitchen counter! Our home smelled delicious, but we could not eat all that cake by ourselves.

As we were trying to think of ways to rid ourselves of all the test products, we decided to pass out samples to the truly kind people who were homeless nearby our community. They were beyond appreciative and congratulated him on his mission.

Jay Bakes Cakes ended up being a huge success. He received so much support from family and friends that he had surpassed his financial goals! During this experience, Jeremiah got to experience firsthand what it was like to manage his own business. When he made a mistake, he pushed through. One day, none of the cakes came out right, he cried, and said, “Mom, I give up. I can’t do this.” But before I could respond, he stood up and went back into the kitchen determined to get it right.

He led with compassion and determination. He learned time management, professionalism, independence, Microsoft Office, sanitizing, mixing and mastering natural flavors and many other valuable skills.

And what this experience allowed me to see was that my son was not only extremely capable of being an amazing business owner but that he pays more attention to my lectures (as he calls them) than I realized. He created a budget and a cost analysis and discovered how to network all from watching me.

What I learned from this experience was patience, effective leadership, and networking strategies for young entrepreneurs. I now have peace of mind that no matter where life takes Jeremiah, he will be able to fall back on his baking business skill set.

One Mom’s Tips for Raising a Young Entrepreneur

• Encourage them every step of the way.
• Let them tell you how to help them in their business.
• Encourage everyone you know to support their efforts.
• Allow them room to make mistakes, which are life’s greatest lessons.
• Never allow them to give up.

Jeremiah has since retired his baking empire; he’s moved on to his real passion, men’s fashion. His line, Garb x Sole, is expected to launch August 2021.

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Tiffany Rucker is a small business and financial literacy coach as well as wife, mom and special needs advocate. She lives in Tampa, Fla.