The Bhutanese Leading the way.
A 27-year-old, Yeshi Choden started her business Yeechun Creations on 13th January 2018 She first started Yeechun Creations as a hobby and never intended to turn into an enterprise. She said, ‘’This whole art actually acted as a way to release stress and I loved the idea of creating something out of a ball of unspun wool. Later after I had left my job under health grounds and I had a lot of free time in my hands, that was when I wanted to start up a niche business just to keep myself busy. I bootstrapped to start my business. I invested the money I had saved from my previous job into my business and that was how Yeechun Creations began.’’
She said, ‘’I always had an interest in Art and Craft ever since elementary. I always read and watched videos related to Art and Craft. One day I stumbled upon a tutorial where they made toys from unspun wool. This was also similar to the technique the Nomads (Merak Sakten people) used to make their hats and clothes. That was when I fell in love with this art known as needle felting and I wanted to pursue my passion in this art to generate income.’’
However, some of the challenges she still faced were spreading understanding about this art and coming up with all the locally made materials. She also had difficulty in stocking up her products as she was the only one making them for now. Adding that, ‘’If I could somehow find a way to maintain the quality of my products and speed up the process of making them, then I think it is in fact a very profitable business.’’
Yeechun Creations have not employed people yet and she said its because her business is niche and she do not intend to do mass production for some time as she wants to advance her skills first. She also said that, ‘’On top of that I have seen that when it comes to handmade products it is very difficult to maintain the same quality of the products.’’
During the initial stage she said that she faced a lot of difficulty with the art because she did not know much about it and she had to learn techniques through tutorial which took a lot of practice and determination.
‘’Later onwards I got suggestions and constructive criticism on the designs from my family that urged me to improve a lot. I would also get suggestions and feedbacks from my friends. For the continuous support from my friends and family I am very grateful to them. I am also thankful to Aue Sonam Tashi from Miniature Bhutan for always pushing me when at times I did not feel like working.’’
She also conveys message to those youth aspiring to become an entrepreneur that, ‘’If you want to start up your own business it is very important to research about what you will be doing. You need to understand what you will be doing, about your competitors and also on how to further diversify your ideas. Ultimately you need to believe in yourself, your business and you need to constantly keep pushing yourself. Always remember that nobody should know your business like you do.’’
Yeechun Creations is located at Changzamtog, Thimphu.
