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10-Year-Old Entrepreneur and His Mother Build Cookie Empire

Cory Nieves started Mr. Cory's Cookies with his mother after deciding they needed a family car for the cold weather.

One New Jersey fifth grader is making his mark on the culinary world thanks to a simple idea sparked five years ago.

Cory Nieves, 10, and his mother Lisa Howard, were riding the bus home when Cory told his mother they should get a car because it was too cold outside.

"'Cory, how am I gettin' a car, off of my looks?' I told him that and then, he said, 'Well, we can sell hot cocoa,'” Howard told CBS News. "And then, he wanted to add something to that, like, something, a dessert base. And he wanted to try the cookies.”

Today, as the founder, CEO and head of distribution of Mr. Cory’s Cookies, the young business man has long since achieved his initial goal of buying a family car. Sold for almost $1 each, his company’s in-demand cookies contain no preservatives and are all-natural and “made with love.” Up to 1,000 cookies are sold each weekend, with a portion of the proceeds going back in to the community, according to the company's website.

Nieves originally developed the recipes and baked the popular treats in his tiny home kitchen. But after Mr. Cory’s Cookies was incorporated into an LLC corporation, Nieves’s mother became legally required to do the baking in a commercial space. As the chief operating officer, she also oversees the financial parts of the business, although Nieves likes to contribute when he can.

"Sometimes I cannot believe my son is my boss,” Howard told CBS News. "Like, hold on a second. And sometimes, I have to correct him. Because he sometimes takes that to the head. And I have to say, 'Hold on, Cory, I gotta cut the check. You can't. So, let's get it together.'"

So, what’s next for this young mogul in the making? "[I want to] have my own, like, clothing line, under the brand Mr. Cory,” he told CBS News, pointing to Pharrell as an example. With more than 30,000 Instagram followers and television appearances under his belt, Nieves is well on his way.

"All the new stuff that's gonna come out, it's secret," he said about the next phase of his career. "You know, a lotta new stuff I wanna come out, G-14 Classified. That's, like, highly secured. Like, high security. If you bribe us, you might just go to court.”

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(Photo: CBS Productions)

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