Today we’d like to introduce you to Briady Hutchinson
Hi Briady, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Starting during the pandemic in late 2020, I had more free time and became fascinated by small businesses and unique products not available in Wichita Falls. Discovering rolled ice cream piqued my interest, and I began researching how to start a business. I even visited cities with rolled ice cream shops to experience it firsthand. This fueled my desire to start my own rolled ice cream business.
With modest savings from birthdays and holidays, I began investing in stocks, learning about the market, and successfully growing my savings. This allowed me to purchase the equipment needed to start my business.
Combining my love for cooking and entrepreneurship, I created a pop-up style rolled ice cream stand to complement local restaurants. At 14, I partnered with a local pizzeria, pitching my idea to set up my stand inside their venue. The response was excellent, and my unique dessert became popular, especially during local art walks. The pizzeria’s support led to my stand becoming a more permanent fixture.
After a while, the restaurant I was partnered with underwent management changes. I needed to adapt and research new options to continue growing my business. By saving diligently, I was able to buy a food trailer and generator, which gave me the flexibility to move my business wherever needed.
Now, at 16, I’m proud to be a business owner and hope to inspire other young entrepreneurs. My journey has taught me that with vision, hard work, and courage, challenges can lead to new opportunities.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I was fortunate to have some guidance through the start up process of Bee’s Rolled Ice Cream so it wasn’t too difficult in the beginning. However that wasn’t the case running my business after a while. It was definitely a learning process when serving others rather than making a fun product and sharing it with others like I was used to. Along with working the food service side of the business I had to learn how to manage money, how to improve sales, marketing, hiring and managing workers, improving processes in the workplace and even learning how to keep motivating myself when I started to feel burnt out.
It was an extreme learning curve since starting Bee’s Rolled Ice Cream that I couldn’t be more grateful for. I’ve definitely had my fair share of struggles either from self error or things I just couldn’t control, so instead of letting them hold me back I try to learn from them and move forward.
From forgetting to order ice cream cups to accidentally hauling my food trailer to my set up location and forgetting to lock the fridge closed (There was ice cream base everywhere). I learn from each not so ideal experience from the beginning to now. I try to not let the spontaneous troubles I may face every now and then cloud the success I’ve already started to make with my business now.
Thankfully I’ve had helping hands throughout some of the more serious trials I’ve faced like when issues with my generator arose or sudden breakdowns with my equipment. Starting out as young as I had came with some challenges already, but having my parents there as a built-in support system really helped push me to continue growing Bee’s Rolled Ice Cream.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I started Bee’s Rolled Ice Cream when I was 14 years old and have been operating it over the course of almost 3 years now. I always knew exactly what kind of product I wanted to provide to customers and I knew I would always strive to create the best homemade rolled ice cream possible. Starting as young as 14 the first thing I had to achieve was to be taken seriously. I wanted to use the best quality products, always use fresh ingredients and provide clean and delicious flavors by never adding artificial dyes or preservatives to my recipes. I wanted to show people I enjoyed creating a delicious dessert, and even though I wasn’t as experienced as most restaurant owners I would never sacrifice quality. I am very proud of what I have accomplished with Bee’s Rolled Ice Cream and I’m excited to further expand in the future and continue this journey. I am truly grateful to have found myself on a path of entrepreneurship and I couldn’t be happier to continue serving my customers in my hometown.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
It truly is difficult trying to determine what my most important lesson is that I’ve learned with this business. After running Bee’s over the course of almost three years now, everything has become so second nature, so routine that even sudden changes don’t phase me like they would’ve when I first started. Looking back now, I’ve definitely grown and adapted with my business through every set back or mistake I’ve experienced. My parents have really helped me through a lot of struggles I’ve faced and have taught me to adapt to problems rather than succumbing to them. When I think back to every lesson learned, the pattern I find in most resolutions is to adapt to the situation and create the solution rather than trying to find it.
Contact Info:
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/Bees.Rolled.Ice.Cream/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bee-s-rolled-ice-cream-wichita-falls
Image Credits
Rob Agu
