"As a teenager, I stumbled head-on into the world of entrepreneurship.

With limited resources, my passion for these fields allowed me to pursue educational freedom. I did this by building applicable real-life skills through mentorship, hands-on experience, and self-teaching. I continuously challenged myself to find unconventional methods to achieve my goals and continue to do so throughout my professional career.

 

Starting at the age of twelve through fourteen I took my first steps within the leadership and event planning communities working alongside professionals and mentors.

At the age of sixteen, I started my first business venture, a pop-up gift store. My store was situated in downtown Victoria, nestled amongst some of the most innovative projects and strongest leaders within the business community.

 

YYJingle was formed with my love for Christmas in mind. Our products were curated through a wholesale method in order to give exposure to local creatives. we were able to give products back that did not sell which served a dual purpose as an act of sustainability and to aid me in low start-up costs.

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Although this project was viable to carry on indefinitely, I chose to keep it as a pop-up and move on to other avenues of learning.

 

At the age of seventeen, I was able to learn about cosmetic chemistry with the help of my science teacher. After connecting with a local manufacturing company my knowledge and efforts were scaled up. I formed my liquid lipstick company with the help of a chemistry student from UVIC, and together we manufactured our products for online, craft fair, and in-store sales.

 

During this time I was featured in the New York Times Bestseller "Side Hustles" by Chris Guillebeau. After the release of this book, I was contacted by international brand managers with an offer to grow my company on a larger scale. As offers to carry my products online and in-store started to come in, being a teenager with multiple jobs and the responsibility of high school education, I lacked the financial means to produce on a wider scale.

 

With that, my project was retired.

Since having the store, I have dabbled in almost every aspect of business and various industries. With experience in corporate events, public speaking, retail,  leadership roles, influencer training, and more- I am so thankful for my time in each project and phase of my professional career, so far."

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To learn more about my past in retail, browse the "publications" section.