An entrepreneurial teenager has managed to turn lockdown into a bit of a moneymaker, having set up his very own business flogging potatoes - raking in around £1,500 in the process.
Tom Brennan, 16, came up with the idea when he realised many people might be struggling to get out to the shops due to the pandemic, especially when it came to bulkier essentials like potatoes.
Keen to come up with a solution, Tom also realised he could help ease his own boredom by helping others, and decided to use his free time to get potatoes to the people.
Tom, a student from Chester, told LADbible: "I was sitting at home bored, doing nothing during lockdown and I was thinking of things to kill the boredom.
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"One idea that popped into my head that I liked the thought of was selling things, so I thought about what to sell and decided on potatoes because it's hard for old or vulnerable people to get to the shops or carry the heavy potatoes out of the shops."
Tom set up a Facebook page and put out a post announcing his unique business idea, telling social media users he'd be delivering 'locally sourced potatoes' delivered straight to people's doorsteps in eco-friendly brown paper bags.
Tom, who is now onto his 10th week of delivering spuds, continued: "From Thursday to Monday I advertise on Facebook and then message people who have ordered previously to see if they would like any more potatoes or veg that week, then on Monday afternoon I will file all the orders into an Excel file and order the potatoes.
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"Tuesday I will go and buy the potatoes from a local farmer with my Grandad, Tuesday night I bag all the potatoes weighing each one to make sure there is 2.5kg of potatoes in each bag.
"Wednesday morning, I have to wake up at 3am to go to the farmers' market near me and buy all the veg I need for that day.
"When I get back home (around 5 am) I must bag all the veg and label them which bag goes to which person. Then at around 9am I leave the house and go delivering!
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"That usually takes all day, so I get back around 4-5pm and sort out all admin stuff. The process then starts again!"
Tom said the venture has become something of a family affair, with sister Molly, 19, often helping deliver and bag potatoes, along with dad Mike, 48, while his granddad Peter, 72, takes him to pick up the potatoes.
And all the hard work has paid off, as Tom estimates he's made £1,000-£1,500 in profits, having collected around £2,500 from his customers over the past couple of months.
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"At first my friends laughed at me, they thought it was a stupid idea and thought it wouldn't take off," Tom said.
"They now are grabbing at the chance of helping me so they can get some money!
"My customers love it, pretty much all of them are loyal and are kind if I make any mistakes, they always order!"
Saying he'd like to continue with the business when he starts sixth form in September, Tom added: "I would like to carry on with it if it keeps going on how it's going now.
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"When I get back to school, I will have to change the delivery days from a Wednesday to a Sunday so that I'm not missing school, and I will have to buy the potatoes on a Saturday."
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