A lad has become Britain’s youngest shopkeeper after opening his business without having any GCSEs.
If find yourself having a wander through Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire you may find Hutchings Emporium – a shop which sells a range of items from antiques, tools, clothes and fishing equipment.
The shop was opened by Finley Hutchings, a 16-year-old who decided to dedicate all his time to his business.
The business savvy teen says opening his shop meant leaving school with no qualifications but he has ‘no regrets’ about dropping out.
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“I can read, write and count money which is all I need really,” he said.
Hutchings began selling ‘anything he could get his hands on’ via Facebook marketplace during the Covid-19 lockdowns and running his business became an after-school commitment once it reopened.
But the teen says he ‘lost interest’ in school and dropped out.
“When I ended up having to go back to school I didn't see much point in it anymore," he explained.
''I knew that eventually I'd go back to what I was doing, working for myself, so I didn't see the point in doing school.
"I never really enjoyed school much anyway, my head just wasn't in the game for school and I never really had a drive to go into higher education.
"For a while I was still going to school and running the business after school in the evening, just making it work around school.
''Then this year I just thought I'd go for it. The last few years it's really come together and I knew what I wanted to do instead.
''So I left school and I've never looked back - I can read, write and count money which is all I need really."
Because of his age, Hutchings had to enlist the help of his dad Mark to set up the business by having the lease in his own age until he turns 18.
To put it into context, the young businessman will also be able to get married or enter into a civil partnership, leave his home without his parents’ consent and have access to more banking facilities as well as get the lease to his business in roughly two years.
"Some kids are naturally really into school, but he never has been,” his 'proud' dad Mark said. "He's always wanted to do his own thing so it was a no brainer really.
"I'm very proud of him, it takes a lot of courage for someone of any age to take on and do something like this. He works seven days a week but he's sticking to it and doing really well."
It sounds like business is booming, too. Finely shared “: "We've been astronomically busy so far to be fair, it's been nuts. I'd like to thank the local people of Tewkesbury who have been so supportive coming to visit and sharing posts.
"I'm going to keep moving forward with the shop, push it and progress it. It's doing really well so far and I'm excited to see how it goes."
Gregory Robinson