8-Year-Old Boy Starts a Bakery, hopes to buy mother a house
An 8-year-old California boy who loves to bake is cooking up big plans for his family, one confection at a time.
Fresno resident Jalen Bailey runs a home-based bakery, where he creates and sells cookies, bread, muffins and tarts in hopes of earning enough money to buy a house for himself and his mom, Sharhonda Mahan.
This summer, when other kids his age are in swimsuits at the pool, Bailey is wearing his apron, hard at work in the kitchen. Instead of running around a ball field, Bailey is running a hand mixer, whipping up fresh batches of yummy treats.
"I just love to bake," he tells PEOPLE. "It's fun!"
Especially when there is a goal to pursue.
"I want to buy a house with a pool and a big back yard and a kitchen so me and my momma can bake and make memories."
Bailey and his mom, a single parent, live in a small rental house. While still a pre-schooler, Bailey got started in baking by helping his mom during gift-giving season.
Eventually, though, Bailey got the knack not only for peeling, but also for cracking eggs, measuring ingredients, reading aloud the instructions to his mom, and running the mixer.
"It got to where he could make his first peanut butter cookies all by himself.
Before long, Bailey was baking up a storm – and cooking up ideas.
During one of the duo's weekly "pow-wow" meetings, where they discuss plans for the upcoming week, Bailey floated the idea of starting a home-based bakery.
"He was serious," Mahan says. "So we researched it. We figured out food safety, the type of license you need, and how to run a cottage food operation."
Bailey obtained a license from his city.
Mahan then sent her budding business kid to a workshop for mini-impresarios. There, he learned the finer points of sales, marketing, and how to reach a target audience.
Now, the proprietor of Jalen's Bakery produces and sells goodies by the dozen.
When he is not in the kitchen, the young go-getter runs an annual back-to-school drive, compiling supplies for kids in homeless shelters. He also has a book club, where he and other kids take turns reading to one another
Strongly supporting Bailey is his dedicated mom, who previously homeschooled her bright son.
With Bailey now in school while Mahan works to support them, the proud mom is thrilled to see the little bakery in progress.