Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
15-year-old cleans up with his new business
A YOUNG entrepreneur has started his own valet business just months after leaving school at the end of fourth year.
Christopher McDonell, 15, said goodbye to schoolwork three months ago, when he left Morgan Academy to set up his own valet company, AR Valets.
With the help of his dad, James, the youngster conducts his business from the home they share on Arbroath Road.
Together they are currently laying tarmac on their driveway to convert it into a car port.
Chris said: “I always wanted to do my own thing and start my own business.
“I come from a self-employed background, both my dad and mum were self-employed and I’ve always known that’s what I wanted to do.
“I was in a hurry to leave school as soon as I could to get a head start and get on with it.”
Chris says he hit the ground running as his dad already owned a large amount of vehicle cleaning equipment, having previously owned a fleet of buses and a company called Airport Travel.
Despite being officially retired, 67-year-old James still drives a school bus and does the legal side of things for Chris’s business until he is old enough to take over those responsibilities himself.
Just three months after setting up, Chris says his business is thriving with about 20 regulars and between 10-15 bookings per week.
He said: “I’ve been doing odd jobs here and there for the past year or two to build up experience.
“I wasn’t getting paid for it at the start but then I began charging and got more customers by word of mouth.
“I made the Facebook page about three months ago and it’s grown and grown.”
Chris says that starting his new business in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic has allowed him to introduce extra safety measures and precautions right from the start, and given him a taste of what lies ahead.
He said: “I’m really enjoying it – a lot more than school.
“There’s a lot more freedom and it’s great to be able to decide my own schedule, manage the bookings and getting to know my customers.”