L-R Teenpreneurs Rose McMahon, Hope McConnell and Denise Arnold. Photo/George Novak
As the saying goes, age and wisdom go hand in hand, but a popular Tauranga women's group is turning the adage on its head by drawing inspiration from two of the city's young entrepreneurs.
'Teenpreneurs' Rose McMahon, 15, and Hope McConnell, 19, enthralled Wonder Women attendees when they shared their success stories at the group's latest event, run by Tauranga law firm Lyon O'Neale Arnold.
To the extent that one woman, as she was leaving, said that, if she was given the chance to live her life again, she wanted to come back as one of them.
"While it may be true that the more years you have under your belt, the more you learn about life, wisdom and youth are not mutually exclusive," says Lyon O'Neale Arnold co-director Denise Arnold, who established Wonder Women to bring women together to share ideas and foster friendships.
"Rose and Hope are amazing young women and I think they made an impact on every single woman in the room, by inspiring them to nurture talents in their children and grandchildren, or even to follow their own childhood dreams that they have perhaps neglected."
Home-schooled Rose has a successful photography and film business, while Hope, who completed her secondary education at Tauranga Girls' College and is now studying illustration and photography at the Auckland Institute of Technology, is in hot demand for her commissioned portraits.
For Rose, who bought her first camera when she was 12 and has now worked every major wedding venue in the Bay of Plenty, Wonder Women was her second public speaking experience.
"When I was trying to write my speech, I got all grumpy with Dad and he asked me 'what message do you want to send?' and, after I had calmed down, I said that I was doing it in the hope of inspiring at least one person to follow their dreams," Rose says.
I have always been a crazy art freak, but it has been the support in my life - my parents, my grandparents and my teachers - who have helped bring this out in me.
"Did I achieve my goal? Yes I did," she says, fizzing.
Rose, whose ambition is to become the youngest director of photography on a big Hollywood film, says she has always loved art, in all its forms.
"When I saw the Mona Lisa in Paris last year I just stood there for 30 minutes with tears streaming down my face. There were lots of people stopping and taking selfies but I felt as if it was just me standing there," she says.
Her passion for photography was ignited three years ago when a family friend lent her a camera for the winter. When it came time to hand the camera back, she was determined to buy her own, but was devastated when she learned it would cost her $5000. "I cried myself to sleep," she says.
But the tears didn't last long. Not being one to rest on her laurels, Rose started looking on Trade Me. Finding a camera that was not as expensive, but still out of her reach, she explained her situation to the seller, who turned out to be a professional photographer who had started taking photos at the age of 8.
Connecting with her story, he offered her a discount and she saved up all her birthday and Christmas money to become the proud owner of her first camera.
At first she offered to take photos for free, which then led to paid work. Rose puts her success down to her homeschooling lifestyle and the support of her parents, who have always encouraged her to follow her passions.
Hope likewise credits her parents with nurturing her talents. "My family taught me to see beauty in the world," she says.
Hope's mother Kirsty is a professional artist and could see that, from a young age, her daughter had the same eye and pull towards visual arts.
While it may be true that the more years you have under your belt, the more you learn about life, wisdom and youth are not mutually exclusive.
Dress design was Hope's first foray into the arts world. She came second in the Young Designer Awards in Christchurch when she was 10, and won a fashion stylist competition in Girlfriend magazine when she was 13.
However, as she delved deeper into her studies, she discovered that she had both a talent and a passion for portraits.
With the help of social media, her work gained a following and people started approaching her to commission her work.
Hope is also developing a website, TwoBrokeDesigners, that will feature young designers and give insights into life as a design student, as well as providing a platform for the sale of artwork by little-known artists and designers.
"I have always been a crazy art freak, but it has been the support in my life - my parents, my grandparents and my teachers - who have helped bring this out in me," Hope says.
Both Hope's mother and father attended Wonder Women, as did Rose's, making it the first time that men have attended the event.
"We were more than happy to make an exception for these proud dads," says Denise.
Wonder Women is a free, quarterly speaker series held in central Tauranga.
While it attracts a number of businesswomen, Denise is loath to label it a 'networking' group.
"It is about the sisterhood of women, about supporting each other and forming genuine friendships,"she says. One of the motivations behind forming Wonder Women was the repeated cry from other women that they found it hard to meet people in Tauranga.
"We all lead such busy lives these days and we live in a digital age where we don't even have to leave home to do the shopping if we don't want to. But it's important that we make time to connect and form meaningful bonds with other people," Denise says.
"Wonder Women is proving to be the antidote I hoped it would. There is a genuinely warm atmosphere and it is so popular now that, regretfully, we sometimes have to turn people away."
The format consists of a 'meet and mingle' with complimentary snacks, followed by speakers and then a raffle to raise money for the Cambodia Charitable Trust, which was established by Denise to help girls in Cambodia escape trafficking and slavery, through education.
"Wonderful things happen when you get a group of women together like this. Their generosity comes to the fore and we always get a positive response," Denise says.
"At our last event we raised enough money to buy eight bikes to help children in Cambodia get to school. I was blown away, but then it isn't called Wonder Women for nothing!"