Beauties turn entrepreneurs

Zhang Wenjing, a model-turned-storeowner on Taobao, China's largest online bazaar, parades products from her online store. Photos Provided to China Daily

Wu Yanyan, a 26-year-old Shanghai office worker who spends about 2,000 yuan shopping on Taobao every month, can't agree more on that.

"It's like the restaurant you frequent every week. When the chef is replaced, you can easily taste the difference. When it comes to clothes, as many stores on Taobao sell similar things, the model matters more than the designer. A model can bring out a design," Wu adds.

"Taobao is a hotbed for getting well off overnight. And we are not only the witnesses, but also the insiders who know how easily it happens," says Nijat.

Despite her failed business experience, Nijat is now one of the investors of a Taobao store that she used to model for.

"I am still modeling for every new collection from the store, and it's good working for myself," she says.

But Zhang Wenjing, a senior Tao Girl who started her girly-styled women's wear store on Taobao from scratch, has a long list of reasons to be self-employed that has little to do with money.

"Honestly, modeling takes little brain work, and I want to do something using my brainpower," says the 27-year-old Beijing native, who has been working as a model for eight years, starting with magazines and bulletins, before moving to Taobao.

"Besides, I am aging," she says jokingly during a phone interview with China Daily.

With a few thousand yuan of investment, Zhang started her business career a year ago all by herself. There have been ups and downs, and sometimes she has to model for her former employers to make up for the income.

"I am making less money compared to my modeling days, but I am not giving up yet because I am doing something that makes me happy," she says.

Having worked as a fashion magazine editor before becoming a full-time model, Zhang disapproves of the styles and qualities of many of the clothes sold on Taobao. She opines that models are paid well to give a fake impression of the styles and qualities.

Zhang says she aspires to sell her own designs or even have her own women's wear brand, so that young girls "can dress more stylishly".