Camilla Smith’s journey into the world of entrepreneurship and all things charcuterie began at the tender age of eight while having a cook-off with her cousin. The two had a blast creating adorable little cakes for their impromptu competition. Camilla shares, “In that moment, I just fell in love with creating art out of food. At the same time, I had a desire to become an entrepreneur — thanks to my amazing parents who inspired me with their own business ventures.” Camilla thought she’d dive into the business world once she graduated from High School and started college, but everything changed when her sister got married.
It’s incredible what you can learn by simply being curious!
Charcuterie, loosely translated, means ‘cold cuts’ in French, and charcuterie boards have been around since at least the 15th century; however, their popularity, especially in the events space, has grown exponentially over the last few decades. These self-serve tables full of meats, cheeses, fruits, and veggies, artistically displayed on and around serving ware, and interspersed with floral arrangements, greenery, candles, and lights allow for lots of creative expression using food. So, naturally, Camilla organized a self-serve charcuterie table for her sister’s reception. It was a huge hit — everyone loved it! But, what surprised Camilla the most, was how crazy the profit margins were. The entrepreneur in her thought, “Wait a minute! This could be something big! Let’s try it.” And, that’s how Little Gouda was born! Camilla laughs as she tells me she was 15 years old at the time, and now, two years later at 17, she couldn’t be more thrilled about her journey.
“With that one event in my pocket, I entered the Invest Nest program.” Invest Nest is a scholarship program that offers Utah High School students investment opportunities for their business ideas. Imagine a Shark Tank-style competition where students pitch their business or business idea to seasoned entrepreneurs. Students can win up to $10,000, and go through several rounds: first, an elevator pitch, then a five-minute presentation with PowerPoint —all to impress the judges. Students are paired with a mentor between rounds two and three, and only the top ten make it to the final round. Camilla explains, “I didn’t make it to the top ten my first year. Initially, I thought this was just a fun idea to do for family and friends; it’s probably not going to be that big. But my mentor really helped me see it as more.” With her mentor’s guidance, Camilla learned how to effectively market her business, and her mentor also helped her find her first non-family gig. Last year, Camilla did make it to the top ten and she won $1,000! Students who win scholarship money can choose to use the full amount for college, split the winnings: half for college half for their business, or reinvest the entire amount back into their business. “I chose to reinvest the entire $1,000 into Little Gouda, bringing in professional supplies and ramping up my marketing efforts to attract more customers.” This year marks her third and final year participating in the program — stay tuned for the results!
There are six students in her group; all of them are entrepreneurs and own a business. During class the students run their businesses while learning and developing real world business skills. Camilla says that having the opportunity to work with wonderful mentors while being involved in both Invest Nest and Wasatch CAPS has been a huge part of her success as a business owner.
Although, her parents have been instrumental in her journey, Camilla has worked hard to do most everything herself. “The startup costs were low and came mainly from my pocket.” Camilla expounds, “My mom hired me, and I worked for her to earn the money I needed to start a business. I’m not a super tech-savvy person, but my parents create websites professionally so, they taught me how to build and set up my website.” Camilla’s mom, Cassandra (aka Mama Gouda) often assists, particularly during events when she needs an extra hand. Camilla also has some amazing employees who help out with larger events.
In speaking with Camilla, one has to think that her bubbly, friendly personality, enthusiasm, and professional work ethic are enormous factors in Little Gouda’s achievements. These attributes combined with Camilla’s passion and good business sense create the perfect recipe for setting Little Gouda apart from other catering companies. Camilla explains, “Most companies that do charcuterie only do the set up and take down — you won’t see someone out there keeping the boards or tables looking pretty. That’s one of the main issues with charcuterie, you set it up and it looks amazing but within the first ten minutes, after everyone starts eating, it begins to look like a war zone.” She is unreserved and excited as she continues, “But, we don’t let that happen! My employees and I stay throughout the entire event. We’re there to replenish and restock the charcuterie boards and tables, making sure they remain gorgeous and inviting.” Keeping tabs on the food also allows Camilla to do one of her favorite things — interact with and meet new friends. “What I absolutely adore about this job are the people! It’s hard to put into words, but the connections I make with clients, like the bride and groom, and others that I meet at each event, are just magical. I’m such a people person! I love hearing their life stories — like how the couple met or how long they’ve been together. Those little moments are simply precious!”
It’s obvious that Camilla absolutely loves what she is doing. Loving what you do is good counsel — it’s what she tells other young people who are thinking about starting a business. Her advice? “Just do it! Try it out, even if it’s just once. Make sure you absolutely love it, and if you do, dive in headfirst! It’s all about passion, so go for it!” And go for it Camilla does. When clients are surprised by how young she is, Camilla is usually met with one of two responses: encouragement or doubt. But, Camilla quickly proves the doubters wrong by going all in and working her magic. It’s hard not to be impressed by her business smarts and professionalism. And then, of course, there’s her incredible talent with creating beautiful works of art with food! For someone who says her paintings and drawings end up looking like an alien landscape, I think it’s safe to say there are many who are grateful she didn’t give up on discovering where her artistic abilities lie. She shares, “It’s incredible what you can learn by simply being curious!” Camilla’s curiosity about creating art with food has led her to some amazing opportunities for learning, and meeting wonderful people in the industry. One of which showed her how to make the wonderful meat florets that everyone loves. Camilla is grateful for these experiences and adds that she really enjoys the pre-planning process, and collaborating with clients to create what they envision, and to make their event special. She also shares how appreciative she is for the opportunity to support local businesses by purchasing products from them whenever she can. One of her favorite collaborations has been her partnership with Heber Valley Artisan Cheese for all of Little Gouda’s delicious cheeses.
Speaking of ‘cheese,’ this amusing story of how the name Little Gouda came to be is too entertaining not to share, “When I told my mom I wanted to start a business she loved my idea and was like, ‘Let’s make this happen,’ so, we started brainstorming ideas for a name and we came up with Cheese Cutter — then we busted up and were like wait no, that sounds too much like who cut the cheese — so we kept going and talking about all the different kinds of cheese and we just stumbled across Little Gouda and fell in love with it.” Camilla is an absolute joy to speak with and we were both laughing, especially when she followed with, “It’s way better than Cheese Cutter!”
So, what’s in the future for this delightful young entrepreneur? Following graduation, Camilla plans to attend college for summer to finish her Associates degree with a minor in Spanish, and then she’s off to South America where she will be teaching English to elementary students for three months! After that, she plans to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, upon her return she intends to dive right back in to running and growing Little Gouda! Camilla plans to continue operating Little Gouda while attending college. Cassandra will be jumping in to help with scheduling and any emergencies that might pop up. As for who will handle the business while she’s out of the country and serving her mission — well, she’s still working on that, but you can rest assured that Camilla has everything under control — after all she’s having a blast running Little Gouda!
