Wool power drives young entrepreneur
In the lead-up to the Young and Inspired event in June, where young Nelsonians will share their stories, theNelson Leader catches up with the presenters. This week talks to James Perham, the brains behind Where’s Woolly.
Up to the end of last year, James Perham wanted to join the Royal New Zealand Navy.
In a complete turn about, his fulltime job is now running his own company that started off as a school project.
Perham, 18, was one of the five Nelson College students who came up with the business idea of a ‘‘Where’s Woolly’’ book in The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise competition last year.
Together with Duncan Murray, Braydon Drummond, Alistair King and Ben Higgins, Perham won the The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Company of the Year title.
‘‘I was dead set about going to the navy, I had it all exactly planned out,’’ Perham said.
‘‘But after the national awards and winning company of the year, that’s when I was kind of realised I actually really enjoyed doing this.’’
He said after winning the award, the business had gone from just a project to a fulltime job.
‘‘You work horrible hours that are way too long, I don’t know what a weekend is and all those things.
‘‘[But] it’s kind of cool, creating something from scratch, to becoming an international success.’’
Perham said they had sold more than 2500 copies of the book in 28 different countries around the world, and it had been translated into Mandarin and Te Reo.
He said only he and Allistair, who was now studying in Dunedin, had continued with the book, setting up a business under the name Where’s Woolly Productions.
‘‘I do day-to-day operations of the business, literally everything, so sales, finance, marketing, production, any problems that come about distribution, as well as making improvements to the book in inDesign and Photoshop.
‘‘I don’t go drinking with mates, it’s just work, work, work.’’
The book was doing so well that Perham said he could live off the profits, just.
‘‘That is pretty cool, I don’t have to have a real world job as such.
‘‘University was something that I never really wanted. I would spend a lot of money and four years of my time when I can just do it.’’
Perham said working on the business was ‘‘a pretty big change’’ from his idea of becoming part of the navy.
‘‘To a degree it’s almost the exact opposite, working for myself.
‘‘I didn’t mind the [navy] structure of being up at 5am and getting to bed at 10pm.
‘‘I was going to enjoy that in a way, because I quite like having everything structured as much as possible.’’
Perham said he had never been a fan of 9 to 5 jobs and enjoyed the long hours and subsequent freedom of being his own boss.
‘‘That’s what I like about it, it’s a lifestyle job.
‘‘Not going to the office, doing your eight hours a day and then going home.’’
He said they had anticipated for the book to fizzle out in the next three years and were looking at other products to get into after that.