Most students learn about business in the classroom, but you can tell a young Lancaster County entrepreneur is learning the cold, hard facts on the job. Like most businesses, Bennett Dufrene’s has grown over the years. So did he – he was only 9 years old when he started selling ice cream. The 11-year-old now saw the need to expand not only his customer base, but also his ride. His father ordered one from abroad. It’s a mobility scooter with a built-in freezer. Bennett loads up with ice cream his family bought and dispenses the music you’d expect. It all started with his business plan to become Mr. Ice Cream Kid. “He literally had the watches. He had what he thought he would sell them for and what he thought they might cost. And they weren’t accurate at all, but it was amazing,” Bennett’s father said , Bernie Defrene. Bennett accepts cash, credit, debit and Venmo and offers gifts to anyone who buys. His customers are usually his neighbors in East Hempfield Township, but he has even been booked for events. Word is spreading through his Facebook, Instagram and TikTok accounts. “I mean, I wouldn’t say famous. I’d just say, a little bit known,” Bennett said. His goal is to raise money to pay for college, but he’s also donated to charity along the way. “Because my community gives to me, and I want to give back to my community,” he said. Bennett is learning how to make a difference. He is also learning which products to order and how to price them competitively. They’re all ingredients that you need to run a successful business.” Obviously there were some price increases, and so we had to adjust prices accordingly for a few different products. But we did it together and he saw that and then we came up with the plan,” Bernie said. Bennett originally wanted to be a meteorologist, but now says he’d like to own an ice cream parlor — or at least an ice cream truck — one day. As for how well his business is doing, his parents didn’t want to share how much his splash scooter cost, but said they are already broke.
Most students learn about business in the classroom, but you can tell a young Lancaster County entrepreneur is learning the cold, hard facts on the job.
Like most businesses, Bennett Dufrene’s has grown over the years. So did he – he was only 9 years old when he started selling ice cream.
Now the 11-year-old saw the need to expand not only his customer base, but also his ride.
His father ordered one from abroad. It’s a mobility scooter with a built-in freezer.
Bennett loads up on ice cream sundaes that his family bought and plays the music you expect.
It all started with his business plan to become Mr. Ice Cream Kid.
“He literally had the watches. He had what he thought he would sell them for and what he thought they might cost. And they weren’t accurate at all, but it was amazing,” Bennett’s father said , Bernie Defrene.
Bennett accepts cash, credit, debit and Venmo and offers gifts to anyone who buys. His customers are usually his neighbors in East Hempfield Township, but he has even been booked for events.
Word is spreading through his Facebook, Instagram and TikTok accounts.
“I mean, I wouldn’t say famous. I would say, like, little known,” Bennett said.
His goal is to raise money to pay for college, but he’s also donated to charity along the way.
“Because my community gives to me, and I want to give back to my community,” he said.
Bennett is learning how to make a difference. He is also learning which products to order and how to price them competitively. They are all the ingredients needed to run a successful business.
“There were definitely some price increases and so we had to adjust our prices to match some different products. But we did that together and he saw that and then we came up with the plan,” Bernie said.
Bennett originally wanted to be a meteorologist, but now says he’d like to own an ice cream parlor — or at least an ice cream truck — one day.
As for how well his business is doing, his parents didn’t want to reveal how much his finished scooter cost, but said they are already broke.