By Tita Smith For Daily Mail Australia
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Two teenage entrepreneurs who made $72,000 in four weeks during lockdown have revealed their tips for starting a business from scratch.
Lachlan Delchau-Jones, 18, and Taylor Reilly, 19, from Brisbane, built a successful online business overnight from their bedrooms by selling craft and hobby products to bored Australians stuck at home.
With Melburnians now under a strict stage four lockdown, the pair say the next six weeks are an ideal opportunity for those holed up inside to create a project of their own.
Over the past couple of months, as Melbourne’s COVID-19 restrictions tightened to battle the city’s horror second wave, the teenagers’ family and friends have felt the financial blow of services slowing down.
Brisbane entrepreneurs Lachlan Delchau-Jones, 18, (left) and Taylor Reilly, 19, (right) made $72,000 in a month with an online business they built during Australia’s recent lockdown
As Australia’s 7.4 per cent unemployment rate continues to rise, the pair said more and more people are recognising the importance of having a second stream of income.
‘A lot of people relied on one source of income and have felt the impact,’ Mr Delchau-Jones told Daily Mail Australia.
‘I think it is very important that people diversify and learn how to have a second stream of income as a safety net.
‘People that have just been laid off are in two minds about whether to try and do something to get quick cash or whether to start a passion project.
‘The next six weeks is key to build something practical that you can have over this time to keep the ball ticking over, but also something that can also be maintained afterwards.’
For those who find themselves in dire financial circumstances, the pair recommended rummaging through the house for items to flog for quick cash.
But once financially stable, the teenagers said there are four steps you can take to start earning some money on the side.
Mr Reilly (pictured) said: ‘Choose something they are passionate about, is because if you don’t you will give up on it very quick’
Mr Delchau-Jones (pictured) said the next six weeks are an ideal time for locked-down Melburnians to build a passion project
The first step is to pick a product or a skill you are passionate about, which will keep you motivated to see it through.
‘The first thing you want to figure out is do you have a skill monetise from your job,’ Mr Reilly said.
‘For example, if I were a graphic designer I would be trying to figure out a way to become a freelancer and monetise my skills outside of employment.
Step one: Pick a skill or a product that you are passionate about
Step two: Build an online presence
Step 3: Go live
Step 4: Take the leap
Alternatively, select a product or skill you possess that you can turn into a business, that satisfies a ‘need’ rather than a ‘want’ in the market place.
‘If your product satisfies a need, then people will buy it,’ Mr Reilly said.
‘Determine your market. There will be a group out there who will need your product. Their money will go to the products that solve the biggest problems for them.’
Next, start building an online presence.
This entails creating a website and leveraging your relationships to build a social network to spread awareness about your product or service.
While building a website seem daunting, Mr Delchau-Jones and Mr Reilly said there are many free resources available online to guide people through this process.
‘A lot of people panic about this part,’ Mr Reilly said.
‘But there are so many resources that they can utilise for free. You can learn how to build something and get it up in a day.
‘This is the stage to begin growing your network. Ask your friends and family who they may know that may need your service.
‘Leverage Facebook groups by posting about your service. Even if people in the group do not need it, they may recommend it to someone that might.’
Step three is to go live with your website and begin running advertisements.
This can be done easily using social media advertising programs, such as Facebook Ads manager.
‘Try to use Instagram, Facebook advertising and all of these things to bring in business,’ Mr Reilly said.
‘You may not make as much money as you want, but you need to just jump in and get the ball rolling.
The final step is to take the leap and evaluate how big a role your new project will play in your life.
‘Once you set up all of this infrastructure, you have to decide whether this is a hobby, or a side hustle, or a new business for myself,’ Mr Reilly said.
‘There is going to come a time in three or six years time, where people are going to have their jobs. They will get to a point where it is time to decide whether or not to pursue it or keep going back to work.
The light bulb moment was sparked by Lachlan Delchau-Jones (pictured) while watching the news while in lockdown
‘You will have to decide what is going to be a bit more profitable.’
The ambitious pair have been creating their own business ventures and websites since their early teens, long before they met online.
A light bulb moment while watching a new segment about the soaring sale of brainteaser puzzles while cooped up in their homes in Brisbane during the recent lockdown in April.
It sparked a lucrative online store that earned them more than $70,000 in 30 days.
‘I called Taylor and told him I had just watched a news segment on ”how to stay occupied during the lockdown” and I said ”there is something here”,’ Mr Delchau-Jones previously told Daily Mail Australia.
Using a retail method called dropshipping, the pair decided to sell products in the craft and hobby niche to keep Australians entertained during isolation.
Dropshipping involves a vendor fulfilling orders from a supplier who then ships the product directly to the customer.
Knowing timing was vital as Australians would be seeking ways to stave off boredom over the impending Easter long weekend, Taylor rushed to Lachlan’s house to begin building a business from scratch.
Taylor Reilly (pictured) hopes he and Lachlan can expand the business venture internationally
Over the next four hours, the teenagers sourced a supplier in China and built a website then set up Facebook marketing to run ads for the product online.
‘Within a few hours we went from nothing established to a full fledged business,’ Mr Delchau-Jones said.
‘I called Taylor over at 10pm, and by 2am our computers were off and we were rocking and rolling to start the next morning. By 7am Saturday our ads went live.’
‘We went into it thinking ‘let’s try and make a couple of hundred dollars this weekend’.
The teens’ optimistic expectations were exceeded in the days that followed.
‘The first day we were in business we made $600 bucks,’ Mr Delchau-Jones recalled.
Orders amassed over the weekend and by Tuesday, when they could cash out their earnings via Shopify, they had hit $16,000 dollars having only spent $1600 on social media advertising.
The teenagers started processing thousands of dollars worth of orders within days of starting their online store. A screenshot shows their income days before they ended their project
A graph shows how their sales progressed throughout the first few weeks of their month-long coronavirus project
Mr Delchau-Jones and Mr Reilly used Facebook Ads Manager to keep track of their advertisement campaigns (pictured)
When they ended the project on May 10 they had made a whopping $72,000.
Mr Delchau-Jones and Mr Reilly credit their success to timing and the coronavirus lockdown which saw more Australians spending time at home while businesses cut down on advertising costs.
‘In terms in dropshipping those numbers are something you don’t normally see. It is completely out of the ordinary,’ Mr Delchau-Jones said.
‘We created it as a project for the month to prove what was possible.
‘It was very surprising. I knew we were onto something, but I still wasn’t 100 per cent certain about capitalising at this time so I wasn’t sure how it was going to go.
‘A lot of people were pulling out [of ads] and people were unsure going in to lockdown. Everyone stopped advertising and ads got cheaper so we were just trying to capitalise and that we did.’
Mr Reilly (pictured) is an Australian eCommerce businesses owner and the founder of TBR Enterprises,. He is also a Co Founder of Ecom Gym and Better Brand which he started with Mr Delchau-Jones in the past 12 months
In the wake of their newly found fortune, Mr Delchau-Jones is now renting a flashier apartment, while Mr Reilly has decided to save his earnings.
The pair each currently have four side projects running, including working with Influencers to help them better manage their business.
While entrepreneurship is not for the faint-hearted, the Queenslanders said their steps can be adopted by anyone, from parents, people working full-time, to students.
However, they acknowledged many people may be hesitant to step outside of their comfort zone.
‘People are naturally scared of failure but it is natural to expect that you will encounter them in everything you do,’ Mr Reilly said.
‘What you will find is that a lot of people make excuses as to why they don’t have the time.’
The Brisbane entrepreneurs (pictured together during recent lockdown) rushed to build a website on Good Friday in time for the Easter long weekend
‘Everyone has an hour a day, it adds up.’
‘When you don’t have a job, doing something is better than nothing.’
Although they promise there will be setbacks, the teenagers said the process is an opportunity to learn.
The only way to gain experience is to make the jump.
‘Of course there are errors but don’t over think it. Once you jump into action and start implementing what you have learned you can reach success,’ Mr Delchau-Jones said.
Mr Reilly added: ‘You have to put yourself in an uncomfortable position to put yourself in a more comfortable position.’
‘You can’t sit on the fence with these things.’
‘Go in and get your feet in the mud.’
Step 1. Find your product
Research- Check the news or across social media to find out what the public is talking about and what the public want.
Step 2. Source a supplier
Mr Delchau-Jones recommends Aliexpress. Search to see if they have your product and use the rating system to find a great supplier.
Step 3. Create an open line of communication with the supplier
Talk to the supplier and ask for their WhatsApp number to speak to them directly and build a relationship.
Creating trust and making sure you have constant line of communication is essential know what is happening with your product.
‘The bottom line is you are working with a stranger, so you need an open line to communicate with them very fast and easily,’ Mr Delchau-Jones said.
‘If you can’t get in contact anything could be happening that could interfere with your sales. The last thing you want is your customers not receiving their items.’
Step 4. Create your business website.
‘We recommend Shopify. It is super easy for beginners. There are templates and you can get into it very quickly and have a store built’.
The supplier will give you pictures, but Mr Delchau-Jones advise to order them to your house because you can take pictures of the product and test the product quality and check if it something that you want to be selling.
‘I would suggest have a $15-$20 profit mark up on your product because you are going to be spending money on ads and testing. It will act as a bit of a barrier,’ he said.
‘Not every business or ad you run will be successful. So it you mark up you will not run as at much of a loss.
‘You can’t just slap a price on everything. It will depend on the item. Having a product with a high perceived value. The product needs to look like the product is worth every dollar and worth it’s value.
Step 5. Run ads
Ads can be run on any social platform but Mr Delchau-Jones and Mr Reilly recommend using using Facebook ads manager.
‘When you create an ad you get to pick which countries and demographics. You get full ride to customise everything and catering your ad to your product.’
Step 6. Once products are purchased, send orders to your supplier
The Oberlo app can be installed on Shopify website for free. It will direct the customer’s purchase order to the supplier.
Step 7. Monitor ads to identify trends and patterns
Double down ad targeting on demographics that are buying your product
Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd
Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group
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