SYRACUSE, N.Y. ( NCC News) – Running a business always has its challenges and obstacles, but for Amanda Hughes, she faces all of them one scoop at a time and always with a smile on her face.
Hughes opened up The Ice Cream Shop seven years ago after receiving a degree in business and marketing and design. With her father owning a restaurant, and her mother running a catering business, opening up an ice cream shop was an easy and somewhat natural decision for Hughes.
But it hasn’t always been easy running a seasonal business. Hughes explains that since COVID, getting much needed supplies to run her shop has been difficult.
“Right now, supplies, ice creams, paper products,” Hughes says. “Things like that are still really hard to get.”
Unfortunately, this isn’t even the most challenging hurdle Hughes faces as a business owner.
“It’s definitely harder and harder to find help, and to find competent help. I do feel lucky because over the years I’ve always had great teams and although my team is small this year, I’m really grateful for them and they’re doing a great job,” Hughes says. “But it’s really hard to find people who want to work and that’s that’s tough. That’s definitely the biggest challenge .”
This worker shortage has forced Hughes to alter her business hours, but what motivates Hughes to persevere is the example she sets as a female business owner. Hughes takes pride as a woman business owner and she recognizes she is a role model for the next generation.
“It’s incredibly special and it’s even more special knowing that my family and particularly the women in my family, have really paved the way and my mom is just such a rock,” says Hughes. “So I think it’s important and I see young women and even little kids come in and just to see me here and to have their parents interact with me and say like, ‘oh, she’s the owner’ and have them witness that. It’s really so much bigger, you know, and it puts things into perspective. And I love having the opportunity to show people what’s possible.”
And there is a high possibility that if you do step into The Ice Cream Stand, you’ll be welcomed by Hughes’ bright smile and the delightful aroma of freshly made waffle cones.