Age proves no barrier

PERTH businesswoman Anouska Taylor is proving age is no barrier to business success.

At nineteen years of age she has bought her first business, Names and Meanings, at Whitford City Shopping Centre, making her the youngest shop owner in the centre.

Ms Taylor had spent time working at the shop part-time and seized the opportunity to buy it earlier this year.

To do so she had to seek bank finance which proved difficult because of her age and lack of a credit history.

Ms Taylor also mixes a modelling career and completing the second year of a Geography degree with running her business.

“I enjoy modelling but if a job comes up during the day, I have to decide if it’s worth employing someone to cover for me,” she said.

At the moment Ms Taylor runs the shop from Monday to Saturday and only employs someone to run it on Thursday nights.

She said her degree could lead her into a career in an environmental area.

“I’ve always been interested in biology and environmental science,” Ms Taylor said. “I’m interested in working for Alcoa one day.”

Ms Taylor said she went into business with a “romanticised” view.

“It’s certainly not what I expected but I am learning new things everyday. It’s a challenge,” she said.

Despite only having her business since March, Ms Taylor is considering expansion options.

“Perth is pretty well saturated with Names and Meanings type stores,” she said.

“But I think a Names and Meanings stall travelling through WA’s north could be quite successful.

“It’s hard to see how I would be able to run it. I may need to lease it out to someone else.”

Ms Taylor is also considering the possibilities of taking the Names and Meanings concept to the UK.