Here at DFWChild, we love to see kids stretching their entrepreneurial muscles. It’s inspiring to see the younger ones take on something that many of us would never have dreamed about at their age. One of those kiddos is 9-year-old Jasmine Cuchens. The Colony local started her scone-baking business—Jazzy’s Sassy Scones—right in the middle of COVID.
But it didn’t start out as a business right away. At first, baking scones was just something to pass the time and cure Jasmine’s quarantine boredom.
Billy Cuchens, Jasmine’s dad, tried her creation one evening. “[She] found a recipe for shortcakes on the back of a baking mix box [and] added chocolate chips to make it more ‘desserty,’” he says. “I loved them! Then the rest of the family sampled, and they loved them. [Then] a friend of the family asked for some, and Jasmine got the idea of ‘Hey, I could start a business!’”
For parents of a 9-year-old, that revelation can be surprising. For Jasmine’s parents, it was a little surprising, but Cuchens says it was also right up her alley. “She’s been into baking, food and kitchen-related items since we got her a toy oven set when she was a toddler,” Cuchens notes.
“She loves serving our big family—she’s the youngest of four—and has a little notepad she uses for taking orders. One evening, she asked the family if they wanted ice cream sundaes. After scurrying around the house taking orders, prepping whipped cream and slicing bananas, and passing out desserts, I noticed she wasn’t having any. ‘I’m not really in the mood for ice cream,’ she said. She just loves being a hostess.”
And Jasmine apparently is starting to love her new role as entrepreneur. She created a promotional video and posted it on Facebook—it received more than 12,000 views. Orders came in from all over town within a couple of weeks. She even established a Saturday pop-up stand where her average sales tend to fall between $800–$1,200. She also ships over 200 scones and prepares dozens of pick-up orders. And she’s started giving scones out monthly to the local police station.
Cleary, being a girl boss is second nature. “[Jasmine] never gets tired of waking up early on baking days, making videos, greeting customers, making deliveries or going to events,” Cuchens says. “She’s very savvy at understanding concepts like sales, expenses and profit. She really cares about the product being excellent and has a great eye for quality control—she has no problem throwing away a bunch of oranges if they weren’t zested correctly. She actually is incredibly capable in every aspect of the business.”
With her flair for baking, why did she settle on scones? Jasmine says she chose the tasty treat because they could be made dairy-free; scones don’t require eggs, and she subbed in almond milk and vegan butter. “That makes them fluffier and stay fresh longer,” she explains. Her favorite flavor? “Chippy chocolate. [It’s] my favorite because each bite I take has chocolate, because we use regular and mini [chips].”
Due to her incredible success, she was interviewed by both the local NBC news station as well as “Good Morning America.” Cuchens says when those opportunities presented themselves, he couldn’t believe it. “We’re only in our eleventh week of business, and we can’t believe what this small business has become,” he says.
“We’re actually overwhelmed by the support we get from small businesses, the Black community, female business owners—people’s generosity is so encouraging. Also, we’re so proud of Jasmine because none of this has gone to her head. She’s still very sweet and kind, especially when parents bring their kids at pick-up and say things like ‘You’re such an inspiration.’ Jasmine honestly doesn’t see this adventure as something extraordinary; it’s something she thought up because she thought it would be fun and wants to do her best.”
And of course, for a young girl to stay invested in her venture, there has to be some fun involved. Jasmine says her favorite part of running the business is getting to spend more time with her family. “I can spend time with [them] and have my own responsibilities and rely on myself to do the hard work.”
She also hopes her business inspires other young entrepreneurs. “I really want kids to know that they don’t have to wait until they are grown up to chase their dreams. They can start now. My mom says, ‘If you can see it, you can be it.’” Amen, girl.
Want to place an order? Jasmine has some tasty fall flavors now available—including cinnamon chippy, pumpkin spice and cranberry orange. You can place an order on Jasmine’s Facebook page, Jazzy’s Sassy Scones; it’s $6 for a 6-pack, $9 for a 12-pack, $15 for an 18-pack, and for shipped orders, the cost is $18 for a dozen. Pick-up is typically Saturday mornings from 9–11am in The Colony.
Photo courtesy of Billy and Laurie Cuchens.
