Nyla Clayton stands behind the counter of her shop, smiling as she hands a box of strawberry donuts to the woman in front of her. She thanks the woman for her time and bids her farewell before adjusting her stand, counting the remaining boxes of donuts on the table — two. The bakery has only been open one hour and she is close to running out.
Clayton is a 17-year-old entrepreneur that got her start during Covid. During the pandemic, Clayton became vegan and found herself wanting to pick up a new hobby. Reminded of a mini donut maker gifted to her, she used the tools to make desserts.
“In Harlem there’s no vegan bakeries. You have to go downtown for them and because we were at home I just decided to bake at home,” said Clayton.
As her interest for baking grew, so did the idea of turning the hobby into a business. When the world returned to in-person events and shifted away from quarantining, Clayton expanded her business, serving not only her mother and sister but anyone that was interested in her vegan donuts.
“From then I was like ‘this is it.’ We made the business idea and did pop-ups in Brooklyn, we did pop-ups in Harlem and this spot opened up. This opened up in February and we took it over in March.”
After five years of building her business, Clayton saved enough money to rent out a store-front at 405 W 145 St. where she sells gluten-free donuts to everyone that walks through the door. Clayton reminisces on opening day, recounting her biggest lesson learned from the experience.
“I really learned to never underestimate the amount of people that walk in.”
She takes this to heart as she pauses to interact with customers that enter the store-front, answering questions about the flavors of the day and catching up with customers that have followed her business for a while. Clayton attributes her ability to communicate with her customers to her family who are also entrepreneurs.
“I tend to learn how to talk to people more naturally because as a kid, I was very business up-front. My mom is an entrepreneur, my dad is an entrepreneur, my grandma is an entrepreneur so it’s been very ingrained to me on how to talk to people in a certain way.”
Clayton was recently featured on popular Instagram account Secret NYC’s page, highlighting her business, which garnered over half a million views, and even getting the attention of famed musician Questlove. The featured post has brought in a larger crowd of people to the store since its release. Along with the post, Clayton has utilized LinkNYC, the communication network that has since replaced payphones to post an ad for her business.
“I’m very big on social media,” said Clayton in reference to the importance of social media to boost her business.
As more customers come to her business, Clayton reflects on her position as a young entrepreneur in a neighborhood affected by gentrification and the impact it has on small businesses.
“If you’re going to come here, you better be supporting small businesses, you better be supporting your community. It’s important that we as Black and Brown people stick together. As long as we have our community tight, that’s all that matters.”
Despite the challenges presented, Clayton continues her journey as a businesswoman, taking pride in her business and her role as a Black woman in the business industry.
“I get a lot of little kids in here and I tell them don’t let anybody omit what you want to do and what you need to do. Don’t let yourself get discouraged, that’s what I always tell the kids. Don’t let yourself get discouraged because of your age, because of your race, gender, everything.”
Now a senior in high school, Clayton is looking forward to attending college where she will major in psychology. She still plans to continue her business while in school.
Clayton sees the dwindling amount of donuts left on the counter and excuses herself as she makes the trip back to her home nearby where she will make another batch of mini donuts from her kitchen to sell to the community until closing time. Though she has only been open an hour, she approaches her first sell out of the day and with the media traction she has been receiving, it looks like it won’t be the last.