Eleven-year-old Ella Psaila appears to be an ordinary child with her fondness for bacon, moustaches, and the fashion show Project Runway. However, her accomplishments far exceed those of many twenty-somethings.
In early 2017, Psaila entered a spirited entrepreneur contest reminiscent of Dragons’ Den called Lions’ Lair, where she competed against ten seasoned business owners. Impressing the judges with her innovative ideas, she received $1,000 to kickstart her venture, Cause WE Create: an online platform enabling children to sell their handmade creations.
The Value of Creativity
Before diving into entrepreneurship, Psaila took up sewing as a hobby. “I became interested in sewing because my Auntie Lynnette makes awesome costumes,” she says. “A year later, my mom suggested that I start my own business.”
Monica Candy, Psaila’s mother and assistant, believes her daughter’s creative endeavors have facilitated meaningful bonding moments. “I cut fabric while she sews. It’s quality time together,” she explains, emphasizing that reducing screen time for sewing has improved their communication. “Sitting down to create has been very meditative for us.”
Why Creativity Matters
Engaging in creative activities offers immense benefits for children and adults alike. Here are several compelling reasons to embrace creativity:
Enhanced Fine Motor Skills
Activities such as drawing, sewing, and dancing can boost children’s fine motor skills, self-awareness, and confidence.
Improved Critical Thinking
Creative play encourages children to explore the world. For instance, art allows kids to think critically about their creations.
Increased Intelligence
Those dreaded piano lessons may have actually improved your intelligence. Specifically, musical training can elevate a young person’s IQ along with other disciplined creative pursuits.
Aspiring Business Leader
Psaila’s inaugural venture, Sew-Awesome, began with holiday gift-making. “We started creating bookmarks for her classmates at Christmas,” her mother shares, “and it has blossomed from there.”
On her website (sewawesomedesigns.com), Psaila markets handmade cards, bookmarks, pouches, and simpler items to create. Elaborate projects, however, are saved for her friends, who each receive customized gym bags for their birthdays.
The concept for her nonprofit, Cause WE Create, emerged during her participation in Lions’ Lair—an intensive, six-week entrepreneurial training program backed by the British Columbia Institute of Technology.
Cause WE Create aims to be a platform similar to Etsy but tailored for kids, envisioned by Candy as “a community of creative kids.” The initiative is set to launch at causewecreate.org in early 2018.
Understanding the Purpose of the Business
However, Psaila specifies, “There’s a catch.” Participants in Cause WE Create will be required to donate a portion of their earnings to various charities. The mother-daughter duo is actively researching charities that resonate with them and are relatable for children.
Giving back has always been Psaila’s motivation—the impetus behind her entrepreneurial journey. She donates 25 percent of her proceeds to Sewing Seeds, a nonprofit focused on empowering women and children in countries like Sierra Leone, Ukraine, Peru, and Mexico via sewing training initiatives.
“When I sell a bookmark and can donate the money raised, it creates a joyful feeling in my heart,” Psaila notes. “Many kids don’t experience that because they often lack their own businesses. I want to help kids understand that feeling.”
Although being an entrepreneur involves hard work, Psaila’s schedule is a balanced mix of business planning, sewing, Highland dancing, Girl Guides, and, of course, school.
Her mother reflects on the rewards: “Seeing her diligence and her commitment to donating proceeds has been deeply impactful. As a parent, it’s incredible to teach this lesson as I gain insights from it myself.”
