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After transforming a £150 gift into a £15,000 monthly business in just two years, a 17-year-old has dropped out of school.
In 2022, Caelan McDonald’s proud mother, Karen Newsham, 49, gave him “the gift that keeps on giving” on Christmas Day.
The £150 Cricut Joy—basically a digital sketching, cutting, and printing device—was given to the adolescent from Lancaster, Lancashire.
Vinyl, cloth, cardboard, and sticky sheets are just a few of the materials it can cut through.
The little machine, which is only 26 cm long, can create labels, cards, and invites, but Caelan came up with an alternative.
The 15-year-old used his Cricut Joy to print transfers that he adhered to acrylic and glassware, rather of merely creating birthday cards.
‘How on earth can you make money from doing that?’ is a common question.
In order to earn a percentage from each sale, Caelan would print the personalized transfers and post them on Facebook as a side gig after school.
After selling an astounding 200 things a month at the beginning of 2024, Caelan decided to drop out of school and spend £4,000 on a UV printer, followed by £30,000 on two more.
He’s now on course to reach £100,000 in sales by the end of the fiscal year after selling £74,000 worth of goods on sites like TikTok Shop since July.
A Christmas bauble with personalized angel wings is his best-selling item.
“I’m really proud of him, and I’m so glad he’s followed his own journey,” said Karen, a hotel worker.
“He was miserable and spending hours traveling in the cold when he wanted to be working, which disturbed me and made me want him to continue in school.
He had a very clear notion of what he wanted to accomplish by June, so we followed some recommendations, and I decided it was worthwhile to give it a shot.
“He has always been a businessman. He is an excellent salesman who also knows what’s popular and listens to and responds to his consumers.
“He’s extremely hard working and he’s certainly taught me a lot.”
“It’s 100 percent the best Christmas present I ever got – it’s the gift that keeps on giving,” said the teenager.
“I never thought it would reach this stage.
“I would have simply laughed if you had told me last year that this would occur.
“It began rather by accident.
“I decided to give it a shot in June, and it’s taken off.
“I hardly stop now since I’m so busy.
“The past few months have flown by so quickly that it seems like only two seconds have passed.
“I just invest everything back into the business, but it’s nice to be able to update my phone or iPad when I want or need to.”
