Entrepreneur’s path to her dream
MORE than anything in the world, 19-year-old Bella Pauls’s dream is to become a dance teacher. There is only one thing that gets in the way – earning enough money to support the cost of getting there, be it tuition, exams or dance equipment.
“I love dancing. Ballet, modern, jazz, they are all my favourites,” she says.
“I also love teaching and can think of nothing more fulfilling than seeing young dancers succeed.”
Bella’s mother, Lorna Pauls, is a well-known Kwazulu-natal wildlifewatercolour artist, who believes that entrepreneurship will become the driving force for many young people who don’t necessarily want to follow an academic career.
“My daughter is one of them. Dancing is her life, but she needed to find a business opportunity that would help her achieve her goals.”
We are chatting at her home off Inanda Road between Hillcrest and
Waterfall, where one can’t help notice that besides her classic watercolour paintings there are a host of quirky designs, from fat penguins to pandas and cute bunnies.
Bella quickly explains that the two things she enjoys – apart from dancing – are digital design, using Photoshop, and children’s art.
“I needed to use both those skills in my business plan.
“My mum, who home-schooled me to matric, agreed to assist.
“We had such fun working it out together. It proved to me that if you really put your mind to something, it is possible to achieve amazing results.”
The mother-daughter brainstorming journey culminated in the idea of creating a personalised digital platform, offering niche hand-painted watercolour artwork that would appeal to as wide an audience as possible.
“My cute kiddie designs were pathetic,” says Pauls with a grin.
“But Bella’s were gorgeous. She has a real talent, so it was best to let her get on with it, while I sorted out the admin side of the business.”
For those not too familiar with digital platforms, Bella explains how it works.
“Say for example you want to create a set of designs for a baby’s first birthday. You choose a theme, like funny bunnies, with designs that could be used for invitations, decoration or as a guide for icing a cake.”
Once the artwork is ready it is downloaded on to a Google www online site like Etsy, which deals with creative and handmade merchandise on an international basis, including South Africa.
“My idea was to make it really affordable, mostly under $6 (about R70), in the hope of getting a lot of orders. Since the launch of my brand Lolagraphicimages,
I have sold my design packages to several countries, including the US, China, Britain and
Europe. South Africa is still lagging in these
new
LIZ CLARKE
digital event ideas, but I am hoping it will catch on because it makes a lot of sense.”
The interactive element of Bella’s new online business goes something like this…
Her themed set of designs – suitable for a number of events, including Christmas and birthdays – is posted on the site with the price. When the client has paid for the digital package online, the designs are immediately made available in high-resolution format that can be downloaded and printed to any size.
“Because it is still a new market, certainly in South Africa, you have to be careful about copyright and protection clauses,” says Bella.
“Again, this has been quite a learning curve for me, starting out. But we have worked our way through this one, restricting the number of times that the artwork can be printed and offering another deal to those who want to use my designs on a commercial basis.
“But it is all part of the journey. I always say one day when I have my own dance academy I can look back on this venture – and hopefully be proud of what has been achieved.”
lizclarke4@gmail.com
IN AN AGE WHEN YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE TO EXPLORE AND CREATE THEIR OWN BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES, MEETS AYOUNG ARTIST MAKING HER MARK IN CYBERSPACE
HER TIPS FOR ENTREPRENEURS:
You are never too young to start thinking about your own business.
Choose what you are good at and what interests you and work a business plan around it.
Make sure you get good advice from people who have wide experience in setting up their own business, but don’t let the pitfalls put you off. There is always a negative side to everything, so best to just push on and see what happens. You never know what is out there.
CONTACT DETAILS:
Go to Lola Graphic Image on Facebook and search the Etsy site for Bella’s designs under “Lolagraphicimages”. E-mail: lolaimagesonetsy@gmail.com.