| Azaraimy HH |
BRUNEI is increasingly seeing its youth taking the plunge into the entrepreneurial world. Many of these start-ups are now thriving despite initial teething troubles; some to the extent that they’ve even opened their second or third outlets.
Even so, one is amazed and inspired when one comes to know the story of a 13-year-old local girl who decided to open her own shawl shop.
In an interview with the Sunday Bulletin, Adriana, a student at Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan Science College, sounded more like an adult businesswoman rather than your typical high school teenager, talking at length about modern business skills, serving customers with a difference, creating core business values and business branding.
The young entrepreneur said she started her shawl business – subsequently named Adreana Shawls – at the tender age of 11. By age 12, she has already mastered the skill of listening to customers, creating and building a brand, and following consumer trends.
Adriana added that she is the sole person running her business, and does not rely on her parents other than for moral support or encouragement.
She tells us that Adreana Shawls was established sometime in December 2016, and that before that year, she already had some experience doing business by participating in ‘Tutong FoodCon’ – a district bazaar held frequently in the Tutong District.
“My involvement at Tutong FoodCon began as a hobby, because as a child I also loved cooking. This hobby eventually grew into a business called Adreana Bakery,” she explained.
She explained that her shawl business came about when she started seeing the fun of wearing shawls and noticed the increasing demand for the fashion accessory, which ignited her entrepreneurial spirit.
“My parents loaned me BND200 for my initial capital to sell shawls. It sounds like a small amount but it was enough for me. From that, I learnt a lot about the benefits of starting small, because if you spend too much money at the start, I believe you might think of profits straight away, and that can be risky in this type of business,” Adriana said.
Armed with her modest seed money, Adriana added 60 plain shawls to her inventory, made of a chiffon material, which she sold for BND7 each, initially to classmates and relatives.
Once these were sold out, she decided to continue the business and imported more shawls. At this point, she was already thinking of creating a brand identity – eventually dubbed ‘Simple Elegance’ – for her products by developing a signature line of beaded headscarf with floral patterns on the corner of each headscarf.
She now works with designers and tailors to produce high-quality handmade beaded headscarves.
“I learnt that customers want to buy products that are associated with a brand identity which has a tag emblem. I believe this is important in the fashion business. We now have the ‘Adreana Shawls’ emblem displayed on all our products, right from the packaging all the way to the ‘thank you’ card, to make our Adreana Shawls brand stand out,” said Adriana.
“Our core business value is to produce elegant headscarves that are of high quality, affordable, stylish and locally-made.”
To date, Adriana has sold more than a hundred of her new beaded headscarf line, along with several hundred basic shawls. She converted a small living room at her family’s home in Manggis into a showroom and office, allowing potential customers to browse and try out the scarves in person.
“But this also creates a challenge for us, because some customers want to buy something that is similar to another design. However, we need to listen to our customers and we try to replicate the scarves as best as we could,” she said, adding that she is looking to diversify the product line.
When asked about her plans for the business going forward, the ambitious teenager said, “Although I am very focussed academically, I am serious about my business.
“In fact, this is what I want to do in the future and the long-term.”
Commenting on the current economic and business climate, she added, “I am aware of the unemployment issues faced by graduates. My entrepreneurship pursuits today can serve as a fallback option should I encounter difficulties when I graduate. It’s reassuring to know I have a business to fall back on.”
The bright young girl said that she has already received business enquiries from Korea and China, and is considering expanding her business beyond Brunei when the time is right.