15-Year-Old Missouri Entrepreneur Wants to Be 'Oprah of Cookies'

Fifteen-year-old Tamia Hawkins-Coleman of Florissant, Missouri, has always had an entrepreneurial spirit. The young businesswoman started her first business at the age of 8 and hasn't looked back since. Her ultimate goal is to the be the "Oprah of the Cookie Business."

"I get a lot of cookie orders," Tamia told KMOV4. "We based it off Oprah's saying, 'You get a car,' but 'It's you get a cookie.' Oprah's journey, in general, is inspiring."

Tamia began her journey to cookie greatness after learning about entrepreneurship in her third-grade gifted economics class. Combining her newfound knowledge with a passion for cooking and a strong desire to help others, she founded Mia's Treats Delights in 2015.

"I always encouraged Tamia to become her own boss when she became an adult," Tamia's mother Tamishio Hawkins told Southern Living. "But she didn't want to wait that long."

So, Tamia and Tamishio put their heads together to create Mia's Treats Delight, a baked goods company specializing in cookies, brownies, and cookie cakes baked by Tamia herself. Over the past seven years, Mia has scaled her business considerably, adding new menu items, multiplying her customer base, increasing efficiencies, and inspiring other kid entrepreneurs.

Through her work, Tamia has also been able to fulfill her desire to help others. Beginning at the age of 3, Tamia accompanied her mother on volunteer trips to feed her community's homeless community. A strong desire to give back has led Tamia to years of volunteer work at homeless shelters, and most recently a partnership between Mia's Treats Delight and a homeless and domestic violence shelter where Tamia provides mini cookie cakes for boys and girls living in the shelter on their birthdays.

Though she's accomplished a lot before even earning the legal right to drive, Tamia has no plans to slow down. In the short-term, she hopes to hire employees to keep up with her increasing website orders. She also has her sights set on a food truck to help grow her brand and business, and eventually she'd like to open a brick-and-mortar dessert shop in her hometown. That, she says, could lead to multiple Mia's Treats Delight locations throughout the U.S. and even abroad.

Tamishio says she's endlessly impressed with her daughter's tenacity, work ethic, and belief in herself.

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"I am extremely proud of Tamia and her drive, even at the young age of 8," she told Southern Living. "She has inspired me to step outside the box and dream bigger. Tamia has taught me that you control your own destiny… Life is way too short, so you should always do something that brings you joy."

Way to go, Tamia!