Lockdown may have spelled disaster for the independent high street, but I spoke to some of the young female entrepreneurs turning this lockdown into a positive online.
When Covid-19 hit the UK in March 2020 and businesses were forced to close their doors, the headlines sparked fear in small businesses eyes. One thing we all have in common however over lockdown was that our internet usage spiked more than it probably should have. Whether this was for family zoom quizzes or online shopping.
It then became apparent that in order to survive or thrive in this new pandemic world, things would have to go digital.
Eva Malley is a 21 year old University student at Brighton University who studies illustration. Like many, Eva found herself bored and with a lot of extra spare time when lockdown hit. She had been working in an office for the NHS but found herself with few shifts.
Having set up a website 2 years ago she reignited an old flame to help make some money and cure some boredom. Little did she know, it would soon be her full time job, with 1000s of orders in her latest drop.
“I started selling my work around two years ago, and then gradually it kind of progressed into a business and now this year it's become my full time job and it's what I do all day.”
Like many, Eva’s success was never an intention from the offset, but lockdown made it a reality.
“I never saw it as a business. I never thought it would ever get to this point. It honestly started with me and my friends. We were in a cafe and we LOVE a tote bag.
“I’ve always been a drawer, always been interested in art and so we were like why don’t I design a tote bag just for our little friendship group!
“I started getting more confident”
“So I sent designs off to the printers and got 20 tote bags and gave ten to my friends. I put the remaining 10 up on my website and Instagram despite having only around 100 followers. Over a couple of months I sold a few and then I think I started getting more confident, I started making more sales and then I just went all in and spent all of my money on stock this year and here we are!”
For many, lockdown was this birth of a lot of time yet little money. Unemployment became a huge issue, with the number of young people in employment falling by 278,000, a 7% fall. The fall for men has been noticeably larger at 9% for men compared to 6% for women. With more than 181,000 young people becoming ‘economically inactive’, data from the House of Commons Library Young People Employment Report of the 15th December.
With money being a worrying factor for many over lockdown, Eva does warn of the things she wishes she had been told before starting out, such as upfront costs.
“I didn’t realise how much it would add up to for packaging and stuff. Now that I am earning enough to invest more into it, it's not as much the problem, but I remember when I first started out it was.
“I really wanted to have fully recyclable packaging but the cost of doing that is just insane; I’ve only been able to do it recently.”
But the struggle outweighs the costs, and evamalley.com is now Eva’s full time job, earning up to six figures she tells followers, along with her uni studies, and she would recommend the journey to anyone.
“It’s honestly the best thing I could ever do. I absolutely hated my job and all I wanted to do was this, and now I’m doing it which is crazy.
“I’m finding my place in the business world”
“I always thought I didn’t have the right personality or brain for business. And now I realise that you can be yourself and you don’t have to be super professional or wearing a suit for people to take you seriously. Because they like your products and you’re good at what you do.”
This has become such a trend amongst young people over lockdown that it has even sparked some into action themselves to help people on their way.
Sophie Miller, 23, saw a gap in the market of young female entrepreneurs and businesswomen like Eva, who needed help. Miller created @prettylittlemarketer on Instagram and LinkedIn in June this year, and uses her studies as a marketing student to help others. Sophie’s page is a curation of advice tips and graphics, rolled into her own brand.
With Pretty Little Marketer, Sophie aims to “inform and inspire my followers into achieving their dream careers.”
In June this year Sophie took the plunge to fill the hole she had noticed.
“I was googling something like ‘what to put on your CV or ‘good words for your CV’ and Google brought up over 5 million results. I went through the top 10 and every single one of them said something different. If page one said this was a good phrase to use page five would say to avoid it.”
The lack of clarity and consistency out there for young people in business startled Sophie into action.
“I remember thinking, why is there not just one universal place where you can go and learn. Any websites I did find that were good gave you the information but didn’t assist you to do it yourself. And so I just thought that all these things in place for students and graduates would be amazing”
“I just wanted a place where everyone could go and find everything they need”
Sophie’s pages have since racked up an incredible joint 22,000+ followers across all platforms. It is a prime example of how social media is imperative in this world of online business.
“I think the potential for [social media] is crazy now. And because of the rise I do think there’s a lot of pressure to run a business or start a business or support a business”
For teen girls there’s been this notion of a ‘side hustle’ in recent years. From the wording of the pyramid schemes (a business model that recruits members via a promise of payments or services for enrolling others into the scheme) in your Insta DMs to the adverts you see online it is a common phrase. However Sophie has been committed to giving girls who are into marketing and business the best advice she can on how to be successful.
The biggest mistake Sophie has seen people make is people starting in business that don’t stick to their ‘niche’ and she believes this, along with consistency, is key.
Having worked for a marketing agency herself, Sophie shared her number one piece of advice for girls starting up businesses.
“Business is all about trends. They have to keep up with what the public wants. Therefore being proactive in understanding that and just keeping up with things I think is really important.
“I also think commercial awareness. Understanding what's going on in the world and how that's going to affect you and your industry. You have to be really forward-thinking in your research and understand that even just watching the news to get a general gist of what's going on is really important.”
Pretty Little Marketer isn’t an income stream for Sophie, but is a demonstration of the different ways young women are contributing to this new wave of entrepreneurship. Her success and accounts like these are imperative to those just starting out whether that be looking for a job, or starting their own business.
With even more platforms now widely available to many such as Depop and Etsy, it’s no surprise that businesswomen like Sophie have noticed a rise over the pandemic of people trying their hand at selling their crafts.
Jemma Crossley, 20, turned a negative into a positive and used her spare time in lockdown after her uni work was finished to start up her own handmade earring shop on Etsy and Instagram. @jemsjewellery_ is an excellent example of how social media and these sites can combine to generate sales.
Etsy is an online platform for e-commerce that has a focus on handmade or vintage arts, crafts and supplies.
“I’ve found [Etsy] really, really good. To be honest I chose to have it up because I thought when I got back to uni it would be more helpful in managing my time a lot more.
“It’s where everything that is up is available so then if you buy that I can get it sent out basically the next day.”
Though a popular site, Jemma says that most of her sales are actually made through Instagram, where she holds over 6 thousand followers. In an economic time where consumer spending is at a low, all sales add up to a journey that Jemma is proud to have started.
“The beauty of having a small business and doing it all yourself is that it feels so much more rewarding. Every sale even six months on still leaves me jumping round my living room with joy.”
With its new shopping feature, Instagram itself has clocked on to the tech savvy ways that entrepreneurs are using to reach their audience.
With many avenues available, it is evident that even during the coronavirus restrictions this year has brought, it’s not all doom and gloom for young people in the business world.