I-Team： Kid Enterpreneur

It's a rite of passage from the older generation to dismiss the younger one, but here's a story of young people getting a leg up in business early. The Fox 5i team's Dana Fowl is here and she's got the story of a young, and we are saying very young, businesswoman. She is, and anybody watching, anybody knows it's starting a business. Whether you've done it or not, it's just fraught with challenges. Well, meet a 10-year-old who has opened a business, watched its struggle, and is now watching it thrive. When I was seven, I went to a business camp. How many children start a conversation this way? Well, Katherine Miles-Bauer does. She's been several times to Atlanta's break-into-business camps and workshops, and this is where children ages 9 to 16 just learn how to run a business. And for this 10-year-old who owns Curious Katherine, it's paying off. Filling the wax to the top makes exactly seven candles. She is a candle maker, and like many upstart businesses, Curious Katherine's soy candles are made at home in the kitchen. This one we're going to use today is called peach nectar, but the scent we call it is hot lanta. But her idea got its steam back when this then-seven-year-old learned at business camp just how to make it happen. Just sets them up for success down the road. Monica Lage is the executive director of break-into-business. It also takes out a lot of the intimidation factor of starting a business, making a website, pitching to a bunch of investors. Our 10 and 11-year-olds are doing that now, and so a few years down the road, if they get into that situation, it'll be a breeze for them. The program sponsors The Final Pitch. It's a place for these young people to pitch their business ideas to real investors. Katherine got in there and she did it, and won, which is really cool, unless you're her mother, who of course worries about her 10-year-old running a business while going to school. Someone asked her recently, like, what's the biggest thing that you're, you know, having to deal with? And she said, having to balance work and school. So far, so good. Curious Katherine's soy candles are sold online. Someone from Switzerland ordered some candles, and so that was pretty cool. And at boutique retailers all around town. So write this name down, Katherine Miles-Bauer, because we may be working for this young lady one day. I learned to never give up and to keep going, be persistent. And in this case, persistence is key. Katherine's first time out with her homemade candles, she said, was to an ice cream parade. It was hot. She said the candles melted. She didn't quit, though. She's still at it, as you can tell. And she's lined up to be in four retail shops now. We've got a link to her website on myfoxatlanta.com. Just look in the Good Day section and click on that viewer information there. That is so fantastic. It's cool. So now, where are these kids' business camps? I know, that was another intriguing layer here. I was like, what is all this? Well, over on my Facebook page, you can find that, Dana Fowl Fox 5. Got all the information you're going to need and learn about break into business camps and workshops. You can see where she's going to be in shops. You can check out her website. It's all right there. Check it out. And my first question to you was, is her mother helping her with this? And her mother really initially didn't want her to do it, did she? No, her mother was not down with us at first because she's a kid. And she has apparently brought this up to her mother over and over over the years. I want to do it. I want to do it. Her mother gave her an opportunity, and she's succeeding. And she's got a lot of after school things. She tutors. She does all sorts of stuff. What an inspiration. Yes, she is. Dana, thank you so much.