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“I was so excited to hear the news,” Wood said. “It really made my day 3 lockdown pretty special.”

Wood, who has been running her indoor plant business Grow Easy for five years, came up with her new business this year, printing budding artists’ pieces on shirts then selling them – giving the students both a cut from the profits and a confidence boost.

The New Plymouth Sacred Heart Girls’ College student took out the validation and promotion sections of the competition, with the latter getting a special mention.

“It was overwhelmingly unanimous when deciding on the winner of the promotion challenge, and we were very impressed with Abbie’s ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking,” Elizabeth Pittman, the head of Yes, said.

“The promotion challenge has helped me make some great local connections. People’s enthusiasm to support small businesses is really special,” Wood added.

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