09 Apr 2017

With beads becoming a trending part of fashion and lifestyle and a means by which women express themselves, Serenade Palace managing director, Roseline Panzirah saw this as an opportunity to build a successful career and help others do likewise.

Panzirah recently held an exhibition of necklaces, earrings, wrist bands, ankle beads, watches and bags made and decorated with beads, the road to which she said had been sweet and tender as she was successfully managing her bead making and training business.

“Bead making is a small business centered on a person’s creativity. The business is arts and craft related and has to do with fashion accessories,” she said.

She said most of those into bead making business probably ventured into it because of unemployment or out of interest in acquiring the skill.

“To get started, we provide training on bead making. In order to make beads, you will need some metal strings for connecting the beads, wire cutters, a tape measure, pins, clasps and different types of beads, of course. More importantly, you will need a bead design board to help you make the job much easier and organised,” she said.

Panzirah said the market was flooded with all kinds of beads so there was need for those interested to be prepared for competition, adding that the key to survive and succeed in the business was to create a unique brand as carving a niche in the market was difficult, but not impossible.

“Fashion accessories are either high end craft-work or general use accessories and as such beads are always in high demand as they are used to enhance garments and worn in several ways. They also have lots of cultural and ethnic significance in many countries,” she said.

She said she was determined to provide training for those interested in learning the craft as a way of empowering women and the girl child as they could easily start their bead business from the comfort of their homes.

She condemned the misconception that most people had that in order to start a business, one needed a lot money, something she said had stopped many from actualising their dreams and living up to their full potential.

“Truly, there are businesses that require a large amount of money as start-up capital, but not this one as most materials could be found from recycled materials. People must not shy away from the idea of making a business, as it is a way to make quick money,” she said.

Her products, she said ranged from P100 to P2 000, resulting in an 80 per cent profit margin.

She said they would be holding a workshop from August 31 to September 2 and invited those interested to visit their Facebook page Serenade Palace. ENDS