Jannesari’s (‘23) Entrepreneurial Journey: Turning Passion into Profit

Parmida Jannesari (‘23) has managed to  turn her passion for drawing into a profitable business. Through Sugadoodles, Jannesari showcases her skills as a rising entrepreneur while chasing her passion in the arts.  

“It all started in 7th grade when I bought a digital art app and just started messing around with it,” Jannesari said. She opened an instagram account to share her art later that year. The account has since grown to almost 2,000 followers. 

“I never planned to have a business,” she said. “This was just a fun art account.” 

As her own Instagram presence began to grow, Jannesari was contacted by  @youreverdayasian, an Asian comedy account, with a request to produce apparel using her designs. Having never been commissioned by a business before,  Jannesari learned the basics from the owner of @youreverydayasian. 

“He kind of took me through how percentages work and how equity works,” Jannesari said of the owner of the @youreverydayasian account. “It was a good experience as a 14 year old freshman.”

After the merchandise collaboration, Jannesari was inspired to open her own business making stationary out of her art. She began selling stickers, and has since expanded to include washi tape. In addition, though she can’t disclose much about it, Jannesari is in the midst of securing a partnership with The Boba Co. 

Despite her current successes, Jannesari said she faced her fair share of hurdles in the beginning. 

“I love the learning experience, but I also hate the learning experience,” she recalls. “In order to learn, you have to struggle at first.” 

During her first business collaboration, Jannesari said she was immensely underpaid. While working with @youreverydayasian, she was paid a flat rate of $300 for her services despite the immense profit earned from the apparel sales.

“Of course I was naive, I was new to this.” she said.

Though she now views it as a learning opportunity, Jannesari wishes she had been firmer in voicing her demands and advocating for the quality of her art. She also recalls struggling slightly to balance the constant communication required of a business collaboration with her academic life. 

“I remember I’d be in Bio class and I’d get a bunch of messages on my phone that I needed to respond to quickly,” Jannesari said.

As most of its products are manufactured locally, Sugadoodles has not been as severely affected by COVID-19 as many other small businesses have. Though she has struggled to promote her business on an entirely online platform, Jannesari is using the pandemic as an opportunity to expand her advertising methods. By creating accounts on older platforms like Facebook and Nextdoor, she is reaching kids through their parents. 

Despite the struggles that may come with running a business, Janessari remains passionate about SugaDoodles.

“I love logging onto Instagram and seeing people post their order summaries, or [seeing] people from around the world wear my apparel,” Janessari said. “It just makes me so happy,” Jannesari said.

For anyone looking to start a business, Jannesari emphasizes the importance of staying educated. She recommends doing research and joining clubs or classes that will teach you about business. Most importantly though, Jannesari encourages following your passion. 

“If you love teaching, if you love baking, if you love creating, just make something big out of it,” Jannesari said.