Victor “Beau” Shell is a lover of many things. He’s a history buff, a math whiz, and enjoys spending time with friends and family. His one true love though, happens to be ice cream.
Sure, most 10-year-olds love ice cream. However, most 10-year-olds aren’t the CEO and owner of their own ice cream company.
Beau is best known around Athens, Georgia as the “Lil’ Ice Cream Dude.” At 8 years old, he began his business catering ice cream to local events, and his entrepreneurial dream grew alongside his passion for frozen treats.
“We never thought it would grow to this extent,” Beau’s mother, Vickie Shell, said. “When a 7-year-old begs you for something like an expensive ice cream cart to start a business, we as parents have a habit of not taking stuff like that seriously.”
On his 8th birthday, Beau received his custom-made ice cream cart—which friends and family collaborated on—and his business, Lil’ Ice Cream Dude, was born.
Two years later, Beau has since catered over a hundred events around campus, being booked for everything from sorority events to tailgates and even weddings. “He’s so professional, and such a blast,” said Emma Major, the Social Chair/Event Organizer for Alpha Delta Pi sorority. “It’s not an ADPi event without the Lil’ Ice Cream Dude.”
Lil’ Ice Cream Dude offers a wide range of frozen novelty ice cream treats, which he and his family buy from Blue Bunny in Atlanta. Beau loves that there’s “a flavor for everyone.”
Beau, an Athens native, is also the youngest member to ever be admitted into the Athens Chamber of Commerce. Chamber president Doc Eldridge was so impressed, he gave Beau a free membership on the spot.
“I was so thankful to have met Mr. Eldridge,” Beau said. “I love when people believe in me; it makes me want to do good all the time and make them proud.”
Beau and his family live by the philosophy that age is just a number, even in the business world. “He’s spoken at many high schools recently, talking about becoming an entrepreneur to kids way older than him,” Shell said. “I never thought he’d be speaking in front of crowds of 300 to 400 people at such a young age.”
Beau may be only 10 years old, but he’s “leaps and bounds” ahead of other kids his age, according to his mother. “He gets so much exposure through this, and it’s helped him do really well in math and all of his other subjects,” she said. “Even if it were to end today, he would still grow up to be successful because of this experience.”
The concept for Lil’ Ice Cream Dude was not born only out of Beau’s young business drive. “I love giving back, and love helping support my family, my church and its missionary work,” he said. He also came up with the idea to help his family send his older brother to college.
“I want to grow up to help families like mine and tell their kids to never give up on their dreams,” Beau said.
Beau gives back to the local community, UGA Miracle in particular. “UGA Miracle raises money for sick kids, so their medical expenses aren’t as bad. I think that’s such a cool thing to do,” he said.
The Lil’ Ice Cream Dude may be little, but his dreams are big. “I want to expand my business and have my own ice cream brand and maybe even merchandise,” he said. Not only does the lil’ dude want his own brand, he wants to create new flavors of ice cream that will “turn the industry upside down,” including sugar-free ice cream for diabetics as well as lactose-free and gluten-free flavors.
Beau’s eyes light up at the words “ice cream.” He’s even created his own hashtag for his business social media, #happinessisicecream.
“For me, the hashtag is true,” Beau explained. “I love ice cream, and so do most people, it makes me so happy.”
For Beau, his fondest memories with his business so far have been the smiles he sees on customer’s faces when he hands them their favorite ice cream. “When people smile, it makes me smile,” he said.
It’s late afternoon, and Beau and his parents are setting up their cart on top of a float for the University of Georgia Homecoming Parade. His friends are distributed around the sidewalk, painting posters that say “Dream big” and “You’re the coolest.”
“I want to grow up to be a billionaire, Big Ice Cream Dude,” Beau says, while helping his parents set up his cart.
They laugh and exchange a glance. If they’ve learned anything from Beau, it’s that anything is possible.