The Palette Team has had the pleasure to interview an incredibly talented young entrepreneur, Lin! She is the founder and CEO of a sticker shop based in Australia called Cloudxninestudio. Here are some of the experiences Lin has shared with Palette Magz to give you an insight on the life of an entrepreneur!
HOW DID CLOUDXNINESTUDIO COME TO BE?
Cloudxninestudio was officially opened on the 23rd of January this year, created during a time of adversity for many business owners due to the Covid19 pandemic.
Since I was young, I was wired with a business-oriented mindset and because of that, this business has been a long time coming! To sum it up, I was inspired by other small businesses when I started my journaling account @cloudxnine__ as a place where I could relieve my stress as a senior in high school. I promised myself that as soon as I graduated high school, I would start my business and here we are today!
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE TO MANAGE A SMALL BUSINESS?
Currently, I’m attending my first year of university whilst juggling personal life, working and cloudxninestudio. There are a lot of gaps in my knowledge that I had to teach myself as the business went along like using the machine, making designs, shipping and marketing on social media. As a small business owner, I have to sacrifice a lot of things to make the business work with my other priorities (university assignments and part time work). There are days where I only get 2-3 hours of sleep and weeks where I’ve self-isolated to meet deadlines and plan for the future. Despite the sacrifices I’ve had to make, working on the business makes me so happy! I get to control the direction and the image that I want the business to have and as a bonus, I get to make stickers that I’ll use in my journal.
HOW DID COVID19 IMPACT ON YOUR BUSINESS?
Whilst some businesses struggled to get through the pandemic, since my business was structured and planned on the basis of COVID19, I did not feel that it negatively impact my business. Rapid globalisation and access to social media has helped online stores to really grow and thrive with minimal risks. I think that if it was not for COVID19, I would not have made the decision to start cloudxninestudio.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF OWNING A SMALL BUSINESS?
Definitely the connections you make with your customers, and the satisfaction you feel when they love and support you by buying your new releases. I put my heart and soul into the business, so the fact that people are loving it as much as I put effort into it makes me the happiest person alive!
THE FUTURE OF CLOUDXNINESTUDIO
It has been approximately 2 months since the start of cloudxninestudio and I’m still quite unexperienced and lacking in how to manage a small business. As I continue to mature and the business continues to grow, I hope that I will not lose sight of the feelings and passion I have right now in the early stages of my business. I would love to keep growing this business into a larger scale; expanding into other products such as memo pads, bags, photo-card books – basically everything collectors and journalists like me needs. Personally, I wish for this business to be a success to the extent where I can earn enough to sustain myself and grow as a person.
Thank you for reading this far and showing interest in cloudxninestudio! Whether you’re a stranger who has never heard of cloudxninestudio, or you’re a regular customer of mine, I hope that I’ve inspired you to do whatever you want to do! A big thank you to Palette for letting me have this opportunity to talk about my experience as a young entrepenuer! Dreams truly do come true. Let’s keep working hard and I’ll see you up on cloud nine!
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