A ‘monster’ idea
July 10, 2020
Eight-year-old SouthPark resident Henry Haubenhofer takes advantage of extra time at home to launch a cookie business.
by Sarah Malone
Though he’s just 8, Henry Haubenhofer has been on the road to starting his own company for years now. From the age of 4, Henry learned the foundation of running a business by selling lemonade, hot chocolate and hot dogs in his SouthPark neighborhood. But when quarantine began this spring, he decided to take advantage of the extra time at home by bringing his entrepreneurial endeavors to the next level with Henry’s Famous Cookie Co.
Using a family recipe, Henry began selling “monster” cookies — a perfect mixture of M&Ms, peanut butter, chocolate chips and gluten-free oats. “I thought, ‘We make cookies a lot, why not sell cookies?’” the Charlotte Country Day student explains.
But Henry didn’t stop there. After making neighborhood deliveries on his bike, he also started selling containers of take-and-bake cookie dough, which can be ordered online and shipped throughout the country. Between baking cookies several times a week, delivering flyers and creating a website, Henry is learning the ins and outs of what it takes to set a business in motion.
His parents, Joe and Mary Haubenhofer, set up a bank account for Henry and he began using Greenlight, a debit card for kids. The Greenlight card and app teach children about budgeting and allows parents to oversee how their kids are spending money. It also lets children set savings goals and track their allowances and chores. “We tried to instill the value of money and savings just because Mary and I felt like we just never really got that at an early age,” says Joe, founder of Charlotte creative agency The Plaid Penguin.
Of the many roles that an entrepreneur plays, Henry says his favorite part is designing logos on Adobe. His creative designs can be found both on the cookie-dough packaging and on his website, which he built using Square, a platform that allows users to build e-commerce sites. Henry’s sleekly designed website allows customers to order the dough and learn more about his company.
Henry is excited about the future of his company and plans to continue operations when school starts up again. As someone who is already learning to do it all, we doubt that this will be the last you’ll hear about this young businessman and his delectable cookies.
henrysfamouscookies.com
