STANDARDS

CCSS: 6.RP.A.3.C, 7.RP.A.3, MP1, MP3, MP8

TEKS: 6.5B, 7.4D

Ava’s Healthy Pet Treats

THE KIDPRENEUR FILES

Meet some amazing kids who started their own businesses!

Courtesy of Ava’s Pet Palace (All Images)

NAME: Ava Dorsey

AGE: 14

BUSINESS: Ava’s Pet Palace, a line of all-natural dog and cat treats, based in Chicago, Illinois

Starting A Business

Ava at age 8 testing an early recipe in her home kitchen

Ava Dorsey has loved animals for as long as she can remember. “I always knew I wanted to do something that would benefit them,” she says. Ava was 8 years old when she came up with the idea to create her own all-natural pet treats. “I learned that many store-bought treats can contain unhealthy ingredients or allergens,” Ava explains. “I thought, My family eats healthy—so should our animals!”

Ava set to work in her kitchen at home, experimenting with different recipes and using her family’s dog, Rock, as her official taste tester. She started passing out the treats to her neighbors and selling them at craft shows near her home in Chicago. Today, Ava’s Pet Palace treats are available online and in 25 stores across the country.

Ava Dorsey loves animals. “I always knew I wanted to do something that would benefit them,” she says. When Ava was 8 years old, she came up with an idea. She wanted to create her own all-natural pet treats. “I learned that many store-bought treats can contain unhealthy ingredients,” explains Ava. “I thought, ‘My family eats healthy—so should our animals!’”

Ava set to work in her family’s kitchen. She experimented with different recipes and used her dog, Rock, as a taste tester. She started passing out homemade treats to her neighbors. She also sold them at craft shows near her home in Chicago. Today, Ava’s Pet Palace treats are available online and in 25 stores across the country.

On The Job

Since starting the company in 2015, Ava has sold more than 20,000 treats to customers in all 50 states. She still makes many of her products by hand in her family’s kitchen. She also runs the company’s social media channels and does interviews with local and national news outlets.

In 2020, Ava became the youngest-ever winner of the L.E.G.A.C.Y. Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. “I was nervous, but the night turned out to be so fun!” she says.

Ava gets a lot of help from her mom, Ina, who is the company’s only full-time employee. Still, it’s a challenge to balance her schoolwork with her responsibilities for the company. “Time management is something I’m still working on,” she admits.

Since starting the company in 2015, Ava has sold more than 20,000 treats. Her customers are in all 50 U.S. states. She still makes many of her products by hand in her family’s kitchen. She also posts on social media and does interviews for the news. In 2020, Ava became the youngest-ever winner of a special award for young entrepreneurs. “I was nervous, but the [awards ceremony] turned out to be so fun!” she says.

Ava gets a lot of help from her mom, Ina. Ina is the company’s only full-time employee. Ava sometimes struggles to balance her schoolwork with her responsibilities for the company. “Time management is something I’m still working on,” she admits.

Today, Ava sells her treats in pet stores!

What We've Learned

Ava says the most important thing she’s learned about running a business is that there will always be challenges to overcome. “When I started, many people didn’t take me seriously because of my age,” she explains. “But I worked hard and just kept going.” When you’re doing something you’re truly passionate about, she says, “it’s worth just moving past all those bumps in the road.”

But Ava has learned that running a business means overcoming challenges. “When I started, many people didn’t take me seriously because of my age,” she explains. “But I worked hard and just kept going.” Because she’s passionate about it, she says, “it’s worth just moving past all those bumps in the road.”

Ava promotes her treats on news outlets.

MATH BEHIND THE BUSINESS

Key Math Idea: Calculating Sales Taxes
Ava sells her treats online. When creating an invoice, the seller needs to know where the buyer lives in order to calculate sales tax. Each state has its own general sales tax. (Some states, like Alaska, don’t have sales tax at all!) This is a fee charged to consumers when they purchase a product. Sales taxes are expressed as a percent of the cost of the goods purchased. This is then added to the cost of goods sold to find the total payment.

Key Math Idea: Calculating Sales Taxes
Ava sells her treats online. When creating an invoice, the seller needs to know where the buyer lives in order to calculate sales tax. Each state has its own general sales tax. (Some states, like Alaska, don’t have sales tax at all!) This is a fee charged to consumers when they purchase a product. Sales taxes are expressed as a percent of the cost of the goods purchased. This is then added to the cost of goods sold to find the total payment.

Here's how they do it. Record your work and answers on our answer sheet.

Here's how they do it. Record your work and answers on our answer sheet.

A customer in Nevada orders 2 packages of Peanutty Paws Cookies for $6.00 apiece. Sales tax in Nevada is 6.85%. What is the total cost of the order?

A customer in Nevada orders 2 packages of Peanutty Paws Cookies for $6.00 apiece. Sales tax in Nevada is 6.85%. What is the total cost of the order?

A customer in Arizona, where sales tax is 5.6%, orders a Cheeze Pleeze Bites subscription that costs $5.40 every 2 months. How much sales tax is collected in a year?

A customer in Arizona, where sales tax is 5.6%, orders a Cheeze Pleeze Bites subscription that costs $5.40 every 2 months. How much sales tax is collected in a year?

A year’s subscription of Salmon Snax costs $172.80. California sales tax is 7.25% and Colorado’s is 2.9%. How much less does a customer in Colorado pay than a customer in California?

A year’s subscription of Salmon Snax costs $172.80. California sales tax is 7.25% and Colorado’s is 2.9%. How much less does a customer in Colorado pay than a customer in California?

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