What I learnt from starting my first business at age 11

For Hannah Mia Neo Labude, a love of craft-making has led to lessons in running her own business while in school, collaborating with partners and helping causes close to her heart.

Primary 6 student Hannah Mia Neo Labude, 12, shows some of her crafts at her home on Sep 7, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Ili Mansor)

This audio is generated by an AI tool.

I was 10 years old when I first started doing crafts.

During the December 2024 holiday break from school, I began making keychains, phone charms and hair accessories, giving them to my friends and family.

Everyone around me seemed to love what I made, and encouraged me to keep going.

I invited two of my close friends to join me, and together we started a small business selling our handmade crafts outside of school.

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less My parents were supportive and encouraged me to go ahead, as long as it did not interfere with my schoolwork.

My parents were supportive and encouraged me to go ahead, as long as it did not interfere with my schoolwork.

At first, everything went well. We were excited, our sales were steady and we enjoyed working together. We were also glad to receive some extra pocket money from the items we sold.

Our group grew from just three people to six as more of our friends asked to join in. Doing this together not only brought us closer as friends, but also allowed us to try out new things.

We also inspired a few other friends to start selling their own handmade items, which made me feel happy and proud.

However, as the business grew, it became harder to stay aligned on our vision.

We started to have differing opinions on things like what items we should each make and sell.

Eventually, we felt that it was more important to preserve our friendships than our business partnerships.

When I suggested disbanding, not everyone agreed at first – but we talked it through and eventually came to an understanding.

Hannah and her handmade crafts at her home on Sep 7, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Ili Mansor)

Being part of a group had been fun. It had given me a sense of safety and support. After all, which kid doesn’t like spending more time with their friends?

But we were only 11, and none of us really knew what it meant to run a business with partners.

It taught me important lessons about collaboration and leadership: I cannot always satisfy everyone, but I have a responsibility to make fair and thoughtful decisions.

I also learnt to listen to others, to explain my reasoning, even when it became difficult for a shy person like me.

If one teammate was reluctant to go with a suggestion, I couldn’t just ignore their concerns – I had to at least try to talk to them and help them see what the best decision was for the whole team.

After that, I continued my craft journey on my own, with my new business, Crafts Cove.

I encouraged my friends to do the same; for those who chose to do so, I try to support them just as they once supported me. Even if we were no longer business partners, we were still friends.

Hannah running a pop-up stall for her business, Crafts Cove, at a public market. (Photo: Hannah Mia Neo Labude)

After we disbanded, I had a massive learning curve to navigate. Working independently was scary at first, as I had high expectations of myself to make sales.

However, I quickly learnt to embrace a new sense of autonomy and purpose.

No longer being part of a group meant there were less communication problems, but it also meant I was now solely responsible.

Where my friends and I used to split deliveries, I suddenly had to handle every customer myself – especially tricky for orders placed by other students I didn’t personally know.

Starting my solo business journey also gave me the independence to pursue other passions. I began exploring how I could use my small platform to support good causes and give back to my community.

For as long as I can remember, I have always been passionate about the environment and animals. My parents have always made me feel empowered to take action when I feel it’s important – even though I may still be young, I know I can always make a change with the right mindset.

Hannah with her mother, Dr Jaclyn Neo, at their home on Sep 7, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Ili Mansor)

One of my proudest moments was collaborating with a flamenco dance group to create 30 handmade wristbands for their charity concert at a senior care centre in January this year.

It took a long time – about a few days – to make all the wristbands. At some point, I even felt like giving up as there were just so many to make.

Seeing the senior citizens smile as I helped them put on the brightly coloured wristbands, it immediately felt like all my effort had been worth it. This experience showed me that by making others happy whenever we can, we also bring joy to ourselves.

I also started participating in a few community markets, which were a completely new experience as I had previously sold my crafts only online.

I worried that I would struggle to find the right words to explain my craft, and found myself feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of strangers all at once.

Nevertheless, I kept doing more markets. Over time, I became less fearful when talking to new people and sharpened my marketing skills.

By making others happy whenever we can, we also bring joy to ourselves.

At every market, I tried to raise awareness about important charities aligned with my interests. For instance, I’ve made pledges to donate everything I make from a market stall to a certain charity.

One such charity was EB Impact, which supports youth engagement aligned with the United Nations' sustainable development goals. My mother was aware of my passion for the environment and making a positive change, and with that in mind, she helped me find this charity.

Another charity I worked with was the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (better known as ACRES), which promotes wildlife protection and works against illegal wildlife trade.

When I first heard about their work, I was eager to support them in any way I could, as I care deeply about animals and wildlife.

They also invited me to their animal sanctuary for a private tour. There, I saw the amazing work that the ACRES volunteers do, from rescuing victims of illegal wildlife trade to rehabilitating animals which had been treated poorly in their previous homes, such as turtles and birds.

I felt incredibly proud to have been able to help raise awareness of an organisation doing such important work.

Hannah (right) was invited to a private tour of the ACRES sanctuary earlier this year. (Photo: Hannah Mia Neo Labude)

I feel lucky to have had all these experiences, made possible by my little craft business. Not many 12-year-olds have the chance to build communication and marketing skills or to give back to the community in this way.

I took a brief hiatus from the business in August to focus on my Primary School Leaving Examination, which I recently completed. Now, I’m back to work and already looking forward to what’s in store.

For starters, I will be participating in ACRES’ World Animal Day Carnival on Oct 17, where I plan to sell crafts made with reused materials.

This will be a new experience for me, and I’m excited to explore new ways to use sustainable materials to make crafts.

I hope to encourage more young people to realise that it really doesn’t take much effort to make a positive impact in their communities.

What matters is taking that first step – learning a skill you’re interested in, exploring a talent you have, or simply sharing what you love with the people around you.

Whether it is a small hobby or simply a talent, once we put our minds to helping others, to serve the community, we can achieve that and more.

Hannah Mia Neo Labude, 12, is a Primary 6 student and the founder of Crafts Cove, a small craft business. This contribution was penned with support from her mother, Dr Jaclyn Neo, who is with the National University of Singapore.

If you have an experience to share or know someone who wishes to contribute to this series, write to voices [at] mediacorp.com.sg ( voices[at]mediacorp[dot]com[dot]sg ) with your full name, address and phone number.

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对于汉娜·米娅·尼奥·拉布德来说，对工艺制作的热爱让她在上学期间学会了如何经营自己的生意，与合作伙伴合作，并帮助她所关心的事业。

2026年9月7日，12岁的六年级学生汉娜·米娅·尼奥·拉布德在家中展示她的一些手工艺品。（图片：CNA/伊利·曼索尔）

这段音频是由人工智能工具生成的。

我十岁的时候第一次开始做手工。

2024 年 12 月学校放假期间，我开始制作钥匙扣、手机挂饰和发饰，并将它们送给我的朋友和家人。

我周围的人似乎都很喜欢我的作品，并鼓励我继续创作。

我邀请了两位好朋友加入，我们一起在校外创办了一家小企业，出售我们手工制作的手工艺品。

CNA游戏猜词游戏 逐行破解单词 流行词游戏 用给定的字母组成单词 迷你数独 小小的谜题，强大的脑力挑战 迷你填字游戏 小方格，大挑战 单词搜索 尽可能多地找出单词 显示更多 显示更少 我的父母很支持我，鼓励我继续玩下去，只要不影响我的学业。

我的父母很支持我，鼓励我去做，只要不影响我的学业就行。

起初一切都很顺利。我们很兴奋，销售额稳定，而且我们很享受一起工作的时光。卖东西还能赚点零花钱，我们也很高兴。

随着更多朋友要求加入，我们的小组从最初的三人增加到了六人。一起做这件事不仅加深了我们的友谊，也让我们有机会尝试新鲜事物。

我们还启发了一些朋友开始出售他们自己的手工制品，这让我感到高兴和自豪。

然而，随着业务的增长，我们越来越难以在愿景上保持一致。

我们开始在一些事情上产生分歧，比如我们各自应该制作和销售哪些产品。

最终，我们觉得维系友谊比维系商业伙伴关系更重要。

当我提出解散乐队时，起初并非所有人都同意——但我们经过讨论，最终达成了共识。

2026年9月7日，汉娜在家中展示她的手工工艺品。（图片：CNA/Ili Mansor）

加入团体很有趣，它给了我安全感和支持感。毕竟，哪个孩子不喜欢和朋友们待在一起呢？

但我们当时只有 11 岁，我们都不知道与合伙人一起经营企业意味着什么。

它教会了我关于合作和领导的重要一课：我不可能总是让每个人都满意，但我有责任做出公平和深思熟虑的决定。

我还学会了倾听他人，解释我的理由，即使这对于像我这样害羞的人来说很困难。

如果一个队友不愿意接受某个建议，我不能忽视他们的担忧——我至少要试着和他们谈谈，帮助他们明白对整个团队来说最好的决定是什么。

之后，我继续独自从事手工艺事业，创立了自己的新公司 Crafts Cove。

我鼓励朋友们也这样做；对于那些选择这样做的人，我会尽力支持他们，就像他们曾经支持我一样。即使我们不再是商业伙伴，我们仍然是朋友。

汉娜在市集上为她的手工艺品店 Crafts Cove 摆摊。（照片：汉娜·米娅·尼奥·拉布德）

解散之后，我需要经历一段漫长的学习过程。一开始，独立工作让我感到害怕，因为我对自己的销售业绩抱有很高的期望。

然而，我很快学会了接受新的自主感和目标感。

不再是团队的一员意味着沟通问题减少了，但也意味着我现在要独自承担所有责任。

以前我和朋友们会分担送货任务，现在我突然要独自处理每一位顾客的订单——尤其是那些我不认识的其他学生下的订单，就更棘手了。

开始独立创业也让我获得了追求其他爱好的自由。我开始探索如何利用我的小平台来支持公益事业，回馈社会。

从记事起，我就一直对环境和动物充满热情。我的父母总是鼓励我，当我觉得某件事很重要时，要勇于行动——即使我还年轻，但我知道只要拥有正确的态度，我总能做出改变。

2026年9月7日，Hannah和她的母亲Jaclyn Neo医生在家中。（图片：CNA/Ili Mansor）

今年一月，我与一个弗拉明戈舞蹈团合作，为他们在一家老年护理中心举办的慈善音乐会制作了 30 个手工腕带，这是我最引以为豪的时刻之一。

制作这些腕带花了很长时间——大概好几天。有好几次，我甚至都想放弃了，因为数量实在太多了。

看到老人们在我帮助他们戴上色彩鲜艳的手环时露出的笑容，我立刻觉得所有的努力都值了。这次经历让我明白，当我们尽可能地让别人快乐时，我们自己也会感到快乐。

我也开始参加一些社区集市，这对我来说是一种全新的体验，因为我之前只在网上销售我的手工艺品。

我担心自己找不到合适的词语来解释我的技艺，而且一下子面对这么多陌生人，我感到不知所措。

尽管如此，我还是继续参加更多的市场活动。随着时间的推移，我与陌生人交谈时变得越来越自信，营销技巧也日益精进。

通过尽可能地让别人快乐，我们也能给自己带来快乐。

在每个市集上，我都会努力宣传一些与我的兴趣相符的重要慈善机构。例如，我承诺将我在市集摊位上赚到的所有钱都捐给某个慈善机构。

其中一家慈善机构是EB Impact，它支持青年参与联合国可持续发展目标。我母亲知道我热衷于环境保护并渴望做出积极改变，因此她帮我找到了这家慈善机构。

我曾合作过的另一个慈善机构是动物关注研究与教育协会（简称 ACRES），该协会致力于野生动物保护，打击非法野生动物贸易。

当我第一次听说他们的工作时，我就非常渴望尽我所能地支持他们，因为我非常关心动物和野生动物。

他们还邀请我去他们的动物保护区进行私人参观。在那里，我看到了ACRES志愿者们所做的令人惊叹的工作，从营救非法野生动物贸易的受害者到康复那些在以前的家园中遭受虐待的动物，例如乌龟和鸟类。

能够帮助提高人们对这样一个从事如此重要工作的组织的认识，我感到无比自豪。

今年早些时候，汉娜（右）受邀参观了ACRES保护区的私人行程。（照片：汉娜·米娅·尼奥·拉布德）

我很幸运能有这些经历，这都得益于我的小型手工艺品生意。很少有12岁的孩子有机会培养沟通和营销技能，或者以这种方式回馈社会。

八月份我暂时放下工作，专心备考小学毕业考试，现在已经顺利通过。现在我重返工作岗位，已经开始期待未来的挑战了。

首先，我将参加10月17日ACRES举办的世界动物日嘉年华，届时我计划出售用回收材料制作的手工艺品。

这对我来说将是一次全新的体验，我很兴奋能够探索利用可持续材料制作工艺品的新方法。

我希望鼓励更多年轻人认识到，其实并不需要付出太多努力就能对社区产生积极影响。

重要的是迈出第一步——学习你感兴趣的技能，探索你的才能，或者只是与你周围的人分享你所热爱的事物。

无论是小小的爱好还是天赋，只要我们一心帮助他人、服务社区，我们就能实现这个目标，甚至更多。

12岁的汉娜·米娅·尼奥·拉布德（Hannah Mia Neo Labude）是一名小学六年级学生，也是小型手工艺品企业“工艺湾”（Crafts Cove）的创始人。本文由她的母亲，新加坡国立大学的杰克琳·尼奥博士（Dr Jaclyn Neo）协助撰写。

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