‘I left school at 16 and now make £20,000 a week selling trainers’
MOST of us probably don't remember our 12th birthday, but it'd change Joe Franklin's life.
The savvy Londoner, now 17, had saved up birthday money and bought a pair of Jessie J's signature Nike Air Max 90s.
He wanted the trainers to impress his friends, but later that day, someone offered to pay him double so he agreed to the deal.
Today, Joe turns over between £5,000 and £20,000 in an average week by buying and selling shoes from his exclusive collection, reports .
'I couldn't do my business while being in college'
The trainer fan, who still lives with his parents in north-west London, dropped out of college at 16 with just a couple of GCSEs.
He told the BBC: "I had so many people getting in contact with me requesting to buy trainers and asking if I could source them trainers, and I couldn't do it while being in college.
"It was too much to deal with."
Joe, who's dyslexic, says he was never particularly academic but that people at school knew he had an "eye for a deal".
Since he started to buy and sell trainers, the most expensive pair of shoes he's sold went for an eye-watering £62,000.
He'd made a sweet £17,000 profit on the shoes, which were the Back to the Future Nike Air Mags that lace themselves up, as he bought them for "only" £45,000.
Of course, this is out of reach for the average Brit, but Joe says high net-worth collectors see trainers like art.
Most of his clients live in Russia and Dubai, but he's also sold trainers to UK-based rappers including Dizzee Rascal, AJ Tracey, Notes and M Huncho.
Joe shows off some of his products on his Instagram account , and brings potential clients to a space he works out of in east London by appointment only.
'Shoes are products I can make profit on'
His parents didn't instantly approve of him dropping out of college, but Joe says they've now realised the business is based on supply and demand.
He said: "They just saw it as a product that I could get hold of and make profit on."
The business has enabled him to travel around the world, including Los Angeles to deliver a pair of shoes.
He was also once given two hours to source a pair of Nike SB Dunk Paris trainers, worth £30,000, and deliver them to a client on a private yet at Luton Airport.
'I use my money to make more money'
Next up, Joe plans to launch a social media music app, but says he'll keep on selling trainers until he finds something better to sell.
But despite the success, it hasn't got to Joe's head as he reinvests the money he makes to go back into the business.
He said: "I use my money to make more money."
Keen to be your own boss? Joe's tips to anyone wanting to start a business include learning from your mistakes, take criticism and never give up.
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Another entrepreneur who turned love of trainers into a successful business is Josh Luber, who's even got Eminem and Mark Wahlberg to invest.
While Louie Wilkinson, 17, makes £20,000 selling customised trainers from his bedroom.
Plus, we spoke to the three founders of phone case giant Skinnydip London about how they started their business.