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The Brisbane teen earning a fortune through e-commerce side hustle

JACK Bloomfield is still in high school. But on a good day, the Brisbane teenager rakes in more than most adults do in weeks.

Business Lessons from a Teen Entrepreneur

DURING the day, Brisbane teen Jack Bloomfield heads off to school like any other 16-year-old.

But when he gets home, the Year 11 student immediately jumps on his computer to manage his e-commerce side hustle.

It’s a venture that’s paying off far more than the part-time jobs most teens have on their resumes.

Since launching his parent company BloomVentures at age 15, Mr Bloomfield now runs a number of e-commerce stores, including Best Bargain Club, which all sell a variety of different products from novelty items to skincare online.

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While he declined to reveal his company’s total revenue and stressed that his earnings varied from week to week, Mr Bloomfield said that during a strong period, he was he was making “north of $2900 a day”, and bank documents seen by news.com.au support his claim.

“Currently, I am turning over just north of $2900 a day through multiple ventures but primarily Shopify and e-commerce,” he said.

“Between the age of 14 and 15 I was trialling different side hustles like Forex trading. I made a few thousand dollars here and there but I got my big break when I was 15.

“I got into the world of e-commerce, and I started out selling carbon fibre money clips … then I scaled it all the way up through a method called drop-shipping.

“I now have over five e-commerce stores turning over thousands per day … Through that time I have scaled my personal brand up and I now have more than 17,000 followers on Instagram with hundreds of connections within Australia and overseas.

“Last year I started to aggressively build the business and I started to get real numbers in December last year, and from there it’s been wonderful.”

The teen said drop shipping — a method where the seller doesn’t have physical items in stock, instead transferring orders to either a manufacturer, a different retailer, or a wholesaler to then ship the goods directly to the customer — has been the key to success.

But Mr Bloomfield has always had an entrepreneurial streak.

When he was 12, he sold greeting cards online via a virtual application that allowed customers to choose different options and write their own messages.

He followed that up by creating an online platform which helped patients and doctors keep track of all their health records in one place.

But these days, he’s fully committed to e-commerce.

“I’m in grade 11 right now so there’s a fine art to time management. I’m working constantly, as much as possible, from 3pm after school to 10pm,” he told news.com.au.

“A lot of kids complain they don’t have time but then they spend hours playing games, talking to their parents, doing their homework and watching TV but I believe you can use every minute of the day effectively, it’s just an excuse to say you don’t have time to start a side business.

“If you look at how you use your time in the day you could probably find at least a few extra hours.”

Best Bargain Club is one of Mr Bloomfield’s e-commerce sites.
Best Bargain Club is one of Mr Bloomfield’s e-commerce sites.

After school, Mr Bloomfield plans to skip uni and instead focus on his business full-time.

He hopes to eventually move the business overseas to the US.

“After I finish school I plan on pursuing the business full-time — I’ve learnt so much in the last two years, it’s phenomenal, and I don’t feel uni is the right step at this point in time,” he said.

“My parents own a business and they’re my inspiration. I’ve seen them working so hard to get results and I’d much rather work for myself because it’s directly proportional, the amount of effort I put in and the reward I get, compared to working for others.”

The sports enthusiast said he spent at least 25 hours during every working week on the business as well as most of his weekends, making sure Facebook ads are working correctly and checking his virtual assistants are filling all orders.

Mr Bloomfield said he had mentored “hundreds” of people over the years and that he wanted to inspire others to believe in themselves and achieve their goals.

He said other people hoping to launch a business or side hustle should find a good mentor, read books and take online courses to build up their skills.

- alexis.carey@news.com.au

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/the-brisbane-teen-earning-a-fortune-through-ecommerce-side-hustle/news-story/d6124e84019b8cc9d3cef941c109bc36