Partner Article

11 year old Darlington schoolgirl shows business startups how to do it

Whilst the number of businesses started by 18-25 year olds continues to grow, one 11 year old schoolgirl from Darlington is showing them just how it’s done by launching a new brand and making a profit within the first 3 weeks of trading.

At 11 years of age, Ellie Lloyd, a final year pupil at Reid Street Primary School, started taking an interest in her mum’s craft business several months ago and began suggesting new ideas for the product range. This led to her joining her mum on craft workshops in the run up to Christmas where she was able to design and sell her own products directly to the public.

Ellie was so successful at the workshops that over the course of 3 weekends she made £100 profit. She has now launched her own brand ‘Ellie’s Angels’ as part of the NEDay Crafts web site, from which she sells her new range of craft kits designed and inspired by her ideas about what children love to do.

Vicky Lloyd, Ellie’s Mum and owner of NEDay Crafts explains:

“I could see how interested Ellie was in my business so encouraged her to get involved and join me on the workshops. She designed and made new crafts to sell and I was amazed how many people were chatting to her and buying her craft products, so it seemed natural for her to have her own web page and develop the business.“

Author of the widely acclaimed book Enterprising Child, Lorraine Allman, says of Ellie’s endeavours:

“It’s wonderful to see Ellie’s natural interest in arts and crafts being supported and at the same time developing her enterprise skills and experience. New business start-ups can learn a lot from Ellie as she has effectively test-traded, proved there is a market for her products, and is running a profitable enterprise. She is learning so much about running a business – from pricing and customer service, to communication and online selling that whatever she decides to do in the future, the experience will be invaluable.“

Despite the excitement and success of her range of products, Ellie is very down to earth and coping well with juggling her school work with the business.

She says: “I love my mum’s business and it’s because of her that I wanted to have my own mini enterprise. I love making crafts and it’s been fantastic to go out and sell them. Last year I was interviewed for Global Entrepreneurship Week and have received so many lovely words of encouragement, I can’t wait to do more this year.“

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Notes to Editor

About NEDay Crafts NEDay Crafts Limited launched 4 years ago to promote and encourage creativity for all ages, from bespoke craft workshops to creative mentoring. They have been shortlisted for a number of awards including and were a Theo Paphitis #SBS Winner in 2011. Visit www.nedaycrafts.com

Ellie’s Angels page can be found at http://nedaycrafts.com/category/ellies-angels/

About Enterprising Child Enterprising Child was published in November 2012 to wide acclaim and supports the development of entrepreneurial potential in children aged 4 to 14 years. Find out more at www.enterprisingchild.com

For press enquiries, photographs and interviews, please contact Enterprise Promotion on 0843 523 6835 or email lorraine@enterprisepromotion.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Lorraine Allman .