Teenager Olivia Piazza encourages young people to follow their passion into online business
She might be just 16 years-old but Olivia Piazza has launched her own handbag fashion label and her number one tip for other budding teen entrepreneurs is to follow your passion.
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Leichhardt teenager Olivia Piazza has the handle on the fast-paced world of online trading, with her tote-style handbags enjoying strong sales, and now she wants let to other teenagers know you are never too young to set out on the path to success.
The 16 year-old launched her online business, Olivia Jean, selling neoprene bags in late 2017 and within just eight months she had sold all 500 of her original bags.
The profits, then sitting at $20,000, have climbed a further 25 per cent with the market hungry for her collection that has expanded to include a range foldable lightweight handbags launched under her own label, Olivia Jean.
“I didn’t want to work in the fast food industry which seemed to be the only job options for most 16 year-old girls so I put my mind to creating a range of handbags for women that are unique and stylish,” she said.
An avid traveller, Piazza said she had designed her latest tote bag line after New York as she couldn’t find the perfect lightweight travel handbag which was both stylish and practical.
She said she saw a gap in the market for lifestyle accessories that were “versatile, good quality, well priced and unique”.
“With Olivia Jean I want to empower other young people and show them that as long as you are passionate and have a hard work ethic you can be studying while earning an income online,” she said
“I sell my bags while in class and even when I’m asleep, it’s a great way to make an income with limited time.
“Teenage students don’t just have to have the option of working at the McDonalds down the road, they can start their own online business and earn an income.”
The Olivia Jean handbags are sold online and at markets across Sydney, including Glebe, Coogee and Waterloo.
OLIVIA’S TOP 5 TIPS FOR ONLINE SUCCESS
1. Find what you’re passionate about and do online research to see that there is a market out there for your product. Look at Google trends to see what is hot right now.
2. Get started today! Don’t procrastinate and over think it.
3. To start your own ecommerce store I highly recommend a Shopify website as it’s easy to setup and maintain.
4. Learn learn learn, keep learning and educate yourself by going to seminars as e-commerce is rapidly changing and what’s working last year will most likely be different to this year.
5. You don’t need a lot of money in the bank to get started. If your budget is low, start with dropshipping where you sell other people’s products and they pay you a commission, this way you can see what the demand is like.
JUST RELEASED
The New Yorker Tote is a must-have and super compact travel handbag using only premium materials for those living an active lifestyle but who also want to travel in style. Specially created and designed by Piazza, the bag is lightweight and compact – making it the stylish solution for an everyday bag. It can be folded down easily into a lightweight purse or unfolded into a very stylish tote bag.
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