Fifteen year old Shea Gouldd was named Young Woman Entrepreneur of the Year by the National Association of Women Business Owners at a recent ceremony this past March. She is the owner and chef for Shea’s Bakery, a bakery that she runs from a commercial kitchen. It is here that she produces orders and even delivers some of them locally.
Gouldd started the business in 2008 at age 14 as a way to continue her passion for baking and further her community service.
“Even when I was a toddler, I’d rather watch cooking shows than cartoons,” says the fresh-faced baker.
“She would push her little step stool up to the counter so she could watch me make dinner and ask if she could help,” says Gouldd’s mother, Lesley Marlo. “So I’d let her snip green beans with scissors, measure rice and things like that. She loved to see how our work would turn into a tasty meal that we could sit and enjoy together.”
While the cooking gene may have been passed down, Shea’s mom insists that the teen’s talent for baking is all her own.
“As she got older, Shea’s love of cooking grew to into a passion for baking, something I have almost no experience with,” says Marlo. “She started testing recipes she’d find online or see on TV, and her natural gift became clear right away.”
“By seventh grade, I was baking every chance I got,” recalls Gouldd. Then, her single, self-employed mom posed a new challenge. “My mom said I had to find a way to support my expensive habit, so I started taking orders from family friends.”