I want to share with you the first time I did some business that made me more than £1 (I say more as I used to be that kid who would knock on your door and offer to wash your car for 50p)
The year was 2003 – I had just joined a new high school after leaving primary school. I would of been 11/12
For those of you that remember limewire will remember how great it was but at the same time you would be fearful of downloading a virus that would destroy your computer and you would have Mi5 knocking at your door…well thats what I always thought.
At my high school It was right next door to my primary so many of my friends also went to this one, luckily that means an automatic friendship group – many which I am proud to say I am still very close with today.
I think this is the time my entrepreneurial bug really caught hold of me, I would be able to form relationships with people instantly. I remember I was best buddies with the local shop keeper who offered me a job at 12 and pretty much free rain to the store if I didn’t have any cash on me – funnily enough, he owns a shop at the bottom of my friend’s road now and we still have a natter when I walk past.
Anyway I digress
The year was 2003, I was 11/12 and into the mix of the first year of high school with my oversized blazer and looking up at the 16 year olds thinking they are HUGE!
I can’t remember the exact moment I thought to make some money from limewire, but I do remember the moment I asked my mum to buy me a case of 16 blank CDs. The next day I went into school with a notepad and started to drum up some sales.
The deal was, for £5 you could choose 12 songs of your choice to be put on a CD. Most people just went for full albums such as Eminem.
I remember my first customer, his name was Antony, he was so excited to be getting a custom CD with the music he wanted on it that he pre-paid and I tried to play it cool.
That evening I had my list of 12 songs and got to work, searching each one out on limewire and being careful not to download a dodgy virus.
Who remembers CD ripping and Burning? I developed a nice little system to download, rip and pack the CDs for the customers.
The next day I stroll into school with Antonys CD in my bag and I hand it over, he is over the moon and places another order….my first recurring customer!
I went about this for around 6 months, without any expenses either as my mother was buying the blank CDs (cheeky I know) she also did ask me why I needed so many so I came clean…she was fine with it…lucky!
From that day I have been making and losing money by doing my own projects and business.
Entrepreneurs don’t have to be born an entrepreneur but you do have to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset if you are going to make it in this game.
So how did you make your first £5?
Oh and I just checked, with inflation that £5 is worth £7.25 today!
I have no doubt it won’t be long before I will be writing a post about “How I made my first £