HAPPY VALLEY-GOOSE BAY, N.L. — When Ashlee Adams of Happy Valley-Goose Bay told her parents she’d like to buy an ice cream bike and freezer/cart, the family had a discussion about the 11-year-old’s plans.
When her parents, Tracey and Patrick, realized Ashlee was serious about the venture, they supported their daughter every step of the way.
Whether selling ice cream from the bike or setting up the freezer/cart at local community events, Ashlee has already proven to her parents that she is indeed enthusiastic about and dedicated to her business.
Since she bought the bike and freezer/cart in May, Ashlee has had great support from people in the community who are quick to buy a frozen treat.
“People come up to me and buy my ice cream and say, ‘You’re doing a wonderful job,’” the young entrepreneur said.
Ashlee also has lots of support from her parents, her 15-year-old brother Connor, both sets of grandparents as well as her aunts and uncles.
From helping load and offload the ice cream freezer/cart and bike to setting it up in parks, ensuring there is extra change and many other tasks that go hand-in-hand with running a successful business, family members are quick to lend a hand.
“I sell my ice cream around the splash pad, around the block where I live and the baseball field and playgrounds,” Ashlee said. “I got a lot of bells and they are all hooked together on the bike and they are really loud.”
While she is selling the ice cream treats, Ashlee also enjoys an ice cream herself.
“My favourite kind, right now, has to be the Twisters,” she said.
Ashlee is confident she will make a profit and plans to donate some of the money to the Janeway Children's Health and Rehabilitation Centre. Ashlee and her brother were premature at birth and spent time in the Janeway.
“And I’m also collecting the little tabs from (pop) cans to give to the Janeway,” she said. “I’ve got a big bag full of them right now.”
Patrick and his wife are proud of their daughter for the initiative she has taken in setting up Ashlee’s Ice Cream.
Ashlee speaks her mind and her ice cream business is a great self-confidence booster for his daughter, he said.
“We are overjoyed about just how professional Ashlee is about all this,” he said. “When she first got (the bike) in May she was going out around the block (selling ice cream) with her hats and mitts on. She really enjoys it.”
When asked if she plans on setting up her business again next summer, Ashlee answers quicker than ice cream drips down a cone on a sunny afternoon.
“Absolutely!” she said.
