What were you doing when you were 13? We are asking because Eleora Liang, a 13-year-old Singaporean teenager, is running a side hustle that makes over SGD $2,000 a month.
That side hustle? It’s selling pickleball paddles. But Eleora, according to a feature story by 8Days didn’t start off with selling paddles right away. Encouraged by her mother in 2022 to start a business as a project to learn important life skills, the then 10-year-old began by selling stationery. Unfortunately for the young lady, it didn’t work out well enough. So, she pivoted to selling pickleball paddles as the sport was already generating buzz at that time.
Eleora needed help, and so her mum lent her SGD $2,000 to begin her second venture. By January 2024, young Eleora was selling China- and Vietnam-made pickleball paddles both on her website and Carousell. Oh, and that SGD $2,000 she borrowed from her parents? That’s how much she’s earning now—monthly.
Putting in the Time and Effort in a Prelude to a Dream
But being a young entrepreneur isn’t child’s play. Eleora puts in the time and effort required to make her business profitable. In particular, she devotes at least four hours per day to her small venture, updating her website, posting on Carousell, checking inventories, and all the other nitty-gritty. But she’s also getting some great help, with her parents, for instance, handling the venture’s finances and negotiating with suppliers, and her 17-year-old sister helping out with social media promotion.
Then again, Eleora is still just a kid, and she admitted to 8Days that she sometimes uses her small business as “an excuse to skip homework.”
“I’ll tell my mum, ‘I need to update the website.’ She usually says okay,” Eleora told 8Days.
Then again, if learning life lessons is the main goal of putting up a business, it’s safe to say it’s mission accomplished for Eleora, who has fashioned herself into quite the businesswoman—even at the tender age of 13.
Just don’t expect Eleora to be in the business for too long. Her ultimate dream is to become a professional violinist, and her business has so far given her the means to purchase her first professional-grade violin worth SGD $5,000 (with mum’s approval, of course).
But that’s for the future. In the meantime, Eleora is striking while the iron is hot, so to speak—and it’s hotter than ever with pickleball’s unprecedented rise continuing unabated.
Those interested to support Eleora’s small business can check out her collection of paddles for sale at her very own website.
