Teenager Harry Edwards is raking in $100,000 a year by selling his video editing skills on Fiverr

He’s only working seven-hour days and is using a self-taught skill to pull in the cash, which has allowed him to quit school and move out of home.

Most 16-year-old boys would be found lounging in front of Netflix or hanging out with their friends after school – but not Harry Edwards, who turned his passion for video editing into a gig that earned him more than $100,000 last year.

The Melbourne teenager has always loved filmmaking and dabbled in video editing since he was 11.

But he decided to take his self-taught hobby seriously when he realised he could make money through global freelancer marketplace, Fiverr.

In January 2020, he started testing out Fiverr and by April he was making $6000, working from 10pm to 8am, and then juggling his school work during the day.

He ended the year earning more than $100,000, in records seen by news.com.au. But when he started out he never expected to be rolling in the money and his aim was just to make more than minimum wage.

“At the moment, I’m doing about 15 to 20 jobs per day and that equates to about $20,000 a month,” he said.

Harry Edwards has quit school and is currently earning up to $20,000 a month.

The whiz kid said he works seven hours a day with clients from around the world.

“I’m doing video editing for e-commerce video ads that are used on Facebook and Instagram advertisements – probably 90 per cent of clients are wanting an ad that they can publish on Facebook and Instagram – and 10 per cent of video ads are for other things like lawn mowing businesses and landscaping business,” he said.

The teenager has been so successful he decided to leave school and has also moved out of home, which initially was a shock for his parents.

“I knew that I could use those six-and-a-half hours at school more effectively than going through the traditional formal education system,” he said.

“I knew I would be able to learn the skills that were practical to me and that I aim to do in life. My time could be more effectively used out of school, which in my opinion, is a very ineffective way of learning new skills compared to self study.”

Mr Edwards said he moved out because he wanted his own space set up entirely focused on his business.

“I knew I couldn’t have that laser focus with no distractions at mum’s home, like with the couch being so comfy and the TV being there and the lovely meals she was cooking,” he said. “But now living alone in the city, I have no TV. I just have a bed, a desk and chair and couch and coffee table, so I have optimised it for labour.”

The whiz kid quit school when his freelancing took off.

He hasn’t just splashed out on a new pad to rent either, but invests $250 a week in a portfolio of various stocks and has also donated $4000 to charities such as the Langa Langa trust, which helps disadvantaged children and young adults from Kenya.

The teenager said anyone can earn as much as him.

“We have so much time. We say to ourselves, ‘We have no time’ – but we also binge watch Netflix for three hours after school,” he said.

“Instead what if you spent one hour on Netflix and spent two hours on refining life skills so you can take that into an advantage to make new income sources.”

For aspiring entrepreneurs, he recommends having a solid business plan, taking risks and using mentors.