Meet Ed, 24, from Nottingham and find out more about his life as a business owner. Ed's the owner of a specialist truck advertising business called DrivenMedia. Part of our Bitesize world of work series.
Ed:
Hi, I'm Ed I'm 24 and I'm a truck advertising specialist. My business helps brands across the country or region by connecting them with a haulier like one on site today. A haulier is a business that transports goods around the country in a truck. When a client decides they want to go ahead with a truck advertising campaign, we effectively take their artwork and create a layout, basically showing them how the artwork will look on the trailer. This is printed around the UK and it all comes together on the haulier site. We use a variety of methods to stick this to an existing truck. We attach a GPS tracker to show where the trailer's been and then we can roughly work out how many people have seen it.
I've always known I wanted to be an entrepreneur from a young age. I went to primary school, secondary school, A-levels, and graduated and went to university and studied Business Studies. When I left university, I had all the skills and the knowledge I needed to succeed, I just didn't have the right idea. So I set myself a little challenge. Six weeks to come up with a business idea or I'd get a graduate job.
About two weeks later, I had a light bulb moment. Walking back from dropping my partner at work at the traffic lights, there happened to be three blank trucks blocking the road with a good queue of a hundred cars behind them. I thought, if I had a business, that's where I would be advertising.
When I started this business, I didn't know what I was doing. I started it on my own so a lot of time I was researching, reaching out to hauliers and clients over the phone and over email. Now, with social media I have managed to use a few of those sites to reach out to people.
I've got dyslexia, so I struggle with certain things like spelling and I found lots of things throughout my life, both academic and since becoming an entrepreneur, to help me overcome things.
We might be a small business now, but we've got huge ambitions to grow. I wouldn't change what I do for the world. If you want to be an entrepreneur, just do it.
Never underestimate being stuck in rush hour.
- Ed knew he wanted to run his own business so he chose Business Studies, Business Materials, and Finance at A-level
- To learn the ins and outs of running a business, he studied Business Studies at university
- He had a light bulb moment when he was stuck in heavy traffic – why not businesses on the side of trucks? And so his company was born
- Despite facing challenges with his dyslexia, he has become a successful businessman and advertising specialist. He thinks if he can do it, you can too!
What to expect if you want to be a business owner
The salary and working hours when you own a business can vary enormously but what's most important is that you work hard and love what you do.
Working for yourself looks different for each person and each business, but in general it means you:
- run your own business and are responsible for its success
- can decide how, when and where you do your work
- charge an agreed, fixed price for your work
- sell goods or services to make a profit
- can hire people at your own expense to help you or to do the work for you.
You can be both employed and self-employed at the same time. You can work for your employer during the day, for example, and run your own business in the evenings and at weekends. It’s important to HMRC for advice if you’re not sure if you’re self-employed.
You can get help with setting up or developing your business, through the government’s business services, for example, for advice about tax or about how to find funding to start your business.
This information is a guide (source: GOV.UK).
For careers advice in all parts of the UK visit: National Careers Service (England), nidirect (Northern Ireland), My World of Work (Scotland) and Careers Wales (Wales).
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Tips and advice
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