Financial Success from an Act of Appreciation
Mika Scott may never know his biological father. His mother was a victim of a vicious rape that left her emotionally scarred and pregnant. Initially devastated by this ordeal, after much prayer and with the support of her family and friends, Kimberly decided to carry the baby to term and keep the child. Nine months later she gave birth to a son and named him Mika, a Hebrew name meaning “a gift from God.” 1
Throughout Mika’s early childhood Kimberly noticed that he enjoyed helping others. It was this character trait that led Kimberly to believe that her son was indeed a gift from God, and that he would be used by God to bless others.
In 1999, at the age of 6, Mika attended a birthday party where the host family owned a 3-year-old Chow housedog. The children were cautioned by the owners to stay away from the dog, as it seemed to be in a grouchy mood. While at the party Mika entered the kitchen area to get a drink of water. To his surprise, he saw the dog, his eyes transfixed on a 14-month-old baby boy who had wandered into the kitchen. The dog’s fixed stare suddenly turned into a snarl accompanied by an aggressive run toward the child. Without hesitating, Mika rushed toward the baby boy and pushed him away from the dog’s open jaws. With Mika lying helplessly on the floor the dog pounced, bit into the side of his face, and tossed him violently. The owners heard the commotion and came running into the kitchen. To their horror, they saw that the dog had bitten off a portion of Mika’s face, between his cheek and jaw. An ambulance was called and Mika was rushed to the hospital where emergency surgery was performed to repair his facial wounds. After the surgery the doctors told Mika’s mother that he might not be able to smile again and that there was a possibility his face would be permanently disfigured.
While recuperating at home, Mika’s heroic act was publicized to the general public by the media. To the family’s surprise well-wishers from the community came to their home showering Mika with flowers, cards, and financial donations for the medical expenses he had incurred because of the attack. The depth of love and support demonstrated by the community members overwhelmed Mika, and he wanted to show his appreciation to his visitors. “That’s where I got the idea of baking them some homemade appreciation cookies,” Mika recalls.
Six-year-old Mika had never actually baked his own cookies, but he had watched his mother bake food products and believed that he also could put together a mixture to bake cookies. With his parents’ permission, he chose a list of mixing products that he thought would make a good mixture of oatmeal cookies and blended them together. He then called his mother for assistance in cutting the dough into neat cookie circles and placing them in the oven. “I thought that his actions were noble,” recalled his mother, “but I thought that the cookies would turn out terribly. After all, he has zero experience making cookies. I wanted to appear supportive, so I went along with what he was doing.” After they were finished she thought it best to taste one cookie before handing them out to his well-wishers. To her surprise, they were good. “In fact,” she states, “they tasted very good.”
Mika placed his first batch of cookies in small plastic bags with a thank-you note, and delivered them to his supporters within the community. This process of baking and delivering what he called “Appreciation Cookies” continued for about two weeks.
Soon after delivering the cookies calls came in from some of the recipients, requesting more cookies. Mika responded to these requests by baking more cookies and giving them to his supporters free of charge. Most offered to pay, but Mika and his parents refused to accept money for baking the cookies. It was during this period that Mika began experimenting with various types of cookies to fill the requests for more cookies. The requests for Mika’s cookies began to grow as people from his support group shared their newfound cookie resource with others. Mika and his family found it difficult to accept any form of payment as the cookies were an act of appreciation for the community’s goodwill. It was not until a church called with a large order and insisted on paying that Mika and his mother decided the time had come to yield to public pressure and make the “Appreciation Cookie” experience into a business.
With the assistance of his mother, a pricing plan was developed, and the first cookies were sold to a local church for an out-of-town women’s retreat. The cookies never made it to the retreat. A small number of cookies were distributed to the women as snacks while traveling on a bus to the retreat. After tasting the cookies there was a continuous request for more until the cookie supply was depleted. Many of these women became future customers for Mika’s cookie new business enterprise.
It has been eight years since the initial cookie making experience, and 14-year-old Mika is well established in his own home business. With the assistance of his mother, Mika has researched and developed his own brand of unique gourmet cookies with a wide assortment of choices such as red velvet, macadamia pecan, and cherry vanilla to name a few. In fact, Mika believes that given time and the access to ingredient products, he can research and develop great-tasting cookies of almost any flavor. According to his mother, Kimberly, who keeps the financial records and invests the funds from the cookie sales, Mika’s business has been very profitable. When asked about yearly sales, she laughed and simply replied, “Let’s put it this way, Mika won’t have to pay a dime for college.” In addition to his growing regular local customer base, Mika has managed to obtain contracts from a variety of sources including several large companies, a federal government agency, and a local school that has contracted to purchase his cookie dough to sell as a fund-raising venture.
The benefits of financial success from this business venture have definitely been a blessing to Mika and his family. However, what is most impressive about Mika is his humble spirit and commitment to helping others within his community who are in need. Mika routinely uses part of the revenue from his sales to assist less fortunate families. “I just really enjoy helping others,” he states.
Kourilsky and Walstad’s study of Black youth entrepreneurial aspirations clearly suggest that most Black youth between the ages of 14-19 have a strong desire to initiate their own businesses, and believe that successful entrepreneurs have a responsibility to give back to the Black community.2 Mika has already incorporated the practice of giving back to the community. However, he has also taken this one step further by sharing his vision for youth involvement in entrepreneurial business by conducting motivational speeches for youth within his community. He has accomplished this feat within a variety of arenas such as civic groups, school and community groups in the Madison County region of North Alabama, the North Alabama Center for Excellence, North Alabama African-American Chamber of Commerce, Davis Hills Middle School, Oakwood Elementary School, and numerous local churches. When asked if he could suggest one thing that he believes would motivate the lives of other young people to get involved in entrepreneurial business activities, Mika states, “Do something that you love, and something [that can be used] to help others.”
If your organization would like to purchase cookies to raise funds for your community project, please contact Mika at (256) 489-4112.
Mika Scott is the CEO of Mika’s Heavenly Cookies. He is a 14-year-old African-American male who lives with his mother and stepfather in Huntsville, Alabama. Mika’s face has completely healed from the dog attack. He plans to attend Oakwood College with aspirations of being a mechanical engineer.
GEORGE ASHLEY, PH.D., and his wife, Pamela, are marriage enrichment leaders at the Oakwood College church. Dr. Ashley currently serves as the chair of the Social Work Department at Oakwood College.
1Rosenkrantz, L., & Redwood Satran, P. (2004). Beyond Jennifer & Jason, Madison & Montana: What to Name Your Baby Now. St. Martins Publishing: New York, NY.
2Kourilsky, M., & Walstad, W. (1998). Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. Entrepreneurial Attitudes and Knowledge of Black Youth. Volume 23. (2) pp. 5-18. |
