Ava’s Healthy Pet Treats

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.

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.”

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.