Teen Spirit: Coby-Lee Davis
While most teenagers are Tik-Toking their way through life; Carlie Wacker discovers a local teenpreneur who is fast tracking her way to financial freedom and wants to help others do the same.
It’s hard to believe that 18-year-old Coby Lee Davis cringes when she looks back at the first novel she self-published in Year Seven. Halfway Through the Darkness is a kid’s fantasy thriller that served as an important tool to navigate life at school with a learning disability. Although the early school years were tough for Coby Lee, she says writing has been her saviour. The Steiner School nurtured her talent, and this led to her next novel, Dead Obsession. Her dream project and book number two is a dark and reflective fiction story that mimics the emotions and teen angst she was experiencing.
“There was a real sense of therapy through writing during this time,” says Coby Lee. “The planning was intense, each chapter planned out using sticky notes.”
It is that attention to detail and organisation that has laid the foundation for how successful Coby Lee is today.
She began a small succulent business whilst writing her second book. It began as a hobby collecting recycled jars and pots, propagating the succulents, and selling at car boot sales and school markets. In 2019 Coby lee found herself amid an indoor plant trend that saw the business swing into full gear. Her succulent creations were flying out the door at The Shed in Cooroy (where she also currently works casually) then local florist Rambling Rose Flowers requested stock and most recently she had an order for 100 terrariums.
As her business grew, Coby Lee found that there were extremely limited resources or business help for teenagers and roadblocks kept popping up. This led to her next big project, a follow-along guide for young entrepreneurs wanting to start a business. The book, Thrive: A Young Entrepreneurs Guide To Starting a Business will target 12–25-year olds and cover the start-up business basics like cost, time and sales strategies; how to apply for an ABN and other legalities; as well as networking, marketing and personal growth.
She has spent hours interviewing Australian business owners to share their stories and encourage other young entrepreneurs to achieve their dreams.
“If you want to run and jump – just do it,” says Coby Lee. “I want to share these stories with other teens and in Australia and prove that they can do it too.”
Coby Lee says the project has been a three-year process and she has been fully supported by her community, family and school.
“I felt I lacked the credibility to write a book about business so with the help of my maths teacher I gained a Diploma of Business through my school,” she said.
It should also be noted that Coby Lee is currently in Year 12, working multiple casual jobs including support work for a local teen with a disability; at Pomona Organic Honey and The Shed all while writing her third book.
This driven young woman with a fertile mind is the most positive and empowering person to be around. Her third book will launch in early October and I sense there is a lot more ahead for Coby Lee Davis.
