“It’s really simple and easy to make,” are the words you’ll hear if you stop by Nichole Rosati’s table in the Canon Student Center during lunch in September. An avid lover of all things fun and nerdy, Rosati has adapted her passion into her profession with her 8-bit artwork. The senior Accounting major from Greensboro understands the value of a quality product and produces a wide array of merchandise ranging from television characters, comic book heroes, and the occasional sushi. Rosati has built her business around the child-like wonder that us millennials have inside for television, movies, and culture that surrounds us and I’d say she’s doing a bang-up job.
Discussing how she got started with her business, Nichole said that it began as a simple hobby, merely making and presenting her work to her friends and family as gifts. Eventually, she gained attention from friends and her fellow students which prompted her to start taking commissions. After gaining a loyal audience, she went from selling one or two from her little container to showcasing her work at local conventions with high success. With the help of pearler beads and a hot iron (which you should never try to touch—trust me, I’ve tried), Rosati has become a self-made businesswoman.
Catawba College strives to promote the values of entrepreneurship to its students of the Ketner School of Business and Nichole is a prime example of that. Through her hard work and dedication to creating a quality product, she now understand how to function as a professional business owner dealing with deadlines, supply and demand, and proper customer service. “I sell at conventions and I have the merchandise available online through Etsy,” she said as we discussed her work. “Typically, depending on the commission, it could take me one day to two weeks. It all depends on how many beads I have, whether I need to get special colors, and the timeframe.”
Regarding her plans for the future of her business, Nichole plans to incorporate a wider variety by expanding her reach into the Disney properties. “I’ve had so many people, especially little children interested in Disney stuff so I think that will be my next goal.” We certainly hope that she won’t go crazy! Somehow, she has managed to balance schoolwork, an active campus life, and friends on top of having a booming business and we couldn’t be more proud. Shoot for the stars, Nichole!
[This article is featured in the Fall 2016 Print Edition of the Catawba Pioneer.]
