I’m only 17 but make £15,000 a month thanks to Xmas gift from my mum – now I’ve quit school & run a 6-figure business
Caelan struggled with his exams
A TEENAGER is raking in £15,000 a month from his personalised sticker business – thanks to a crafty Christmas present from his mum.
Caelan McDonald has even quit school after he was gifted a £150 digital drawing, cutting and printing machine two years ago.
He started printing transfers on this Cricut Joy which he stuck on glassware and acrylic – and when he shared them on Facebook he started getting commissions for personalised items.
At the start of 2024 he was selling around 200 personalised items a month – featuring the transfers he made at home – working three hours a day after college.
After quitting school and investing in huge industrial printers, he’s sold £74,000 of goods on TikTok shop and other platforms since July.
Caelan’s best seller this Christmas is a bauble featuring personalised angel wings, and last year it was snow globe tumblers.
The lad – who works 16-hour days six days a week – is on track to make £100,000 worth of sales by the end of the financial year, he says.
Caelan, from Lancaster, Lancashire, said: “It’s 100% the best Christmas present I ever got – it’s the gift that keeps on giving.
“I never imagined it would get to this point.
“If you’d have told me last year that this would happen I’d have just laughed.
“It kind of started accidentally.
“In June I thought ‘I’ll just give it a try’, and it’s gone crazy.
“Now I’m so busy I hardly ever stop.
“The last few months have gone so fast it feels like they’ve been about two seconds.
“I just invest everything back into the business, but it’s nice to be able to update my phone or iPad when I want or need to.”
Karen Newsham, 49, who works in hospitality, said: “I’m incredibly proud of him, and so glad he’s followed his own journey.
“I worried and wanted him to stay in education, but he was very unhappy and spending hours travelling in the cold when he wanted to be working.
“By June he had a really clear idea of what he wanted to do so we took some advice and I thought it was worth letting him try.
“He’s always been entrepreneurial. He’s great at selling, and listening and responding to his customers, and knowing what’s on trend.
“He’s extremely hard working and he’s certainly taught me a lot.”
Caelan said he had a tough time at school and struggled with mental health but found arts and crafts therapeutic.
He got his Cricut machine from Hobbycraft for Christmas in 2022.
It allows you to design items and then print and cut them into pieces of vinyl which can be stuck on many items.
He started posting designs – stickers to put on plant pots and glasses – for sale on Facebook in July 2023.
By October he had enough money to buy a better printer and started selling on TikTok shop in November 2023.
He bought another £4,000 UV printer in January 2024 to make larger designs.
Sales picked up so much in 2024 that Caelan left college in June.
He invested another £30,000 in two more huge printers – up 2m wide – in November 2024, one of which allows him to print onto clothes.
Do I need to pay tax on my side hustle income?
MANY people feeling strapped for cash are boosting their bank balance with a side hustle.
The good news is, there are plenty of simple ways to earn some additional income – but you need to know the rules.
When you’re employed the company you work for takes the tax from your earnings and pays HMRC so you don’t have to.
But anyone earning extra cash, for example from selling things online or dog walking, may have to do it themselves.
Stephen Moor, head of employment at law firm Ashfords, said: “Caution should be taken if you’re earning an additional income, as this is likely to be taxable.
“The side hustle could be treated as taxable trading income, which can include providing services or selling products.”
You can make profit of up to £1,000 a year tax-free via the trading allowance, but over this and you’ll usually need to pay tax.
Stephen added: “You need to register for a self-assessment at HMRC to ensure you are paying the correct amount of tax.
“The applicable tax bands and the amount of tax you need to pay will depend on your income.”
If you fail to file a tax return you could end up with a surprise bill from HMRC later on asking you to pay the tax you owe – plus extra fees on top.
At the start of 2024 he was selling around 200 transfers a month – working three hours a day after college.
In the last few months he’s sold around 2,500 items a month – working up to 16 hour days.
Caelan sells individual transfers for between £1.20 and £3.50, and £100.
He also sells blank items like glass cans for people to decorate themselves, and items that Caelan has decorated already with his transfers.
“Everything just snowballed,” he said.
“People kept asking for stuff and it kept snowballing. It’s crazy.
“I try to take a day off each week but even on those days I’m replying to messages and making new designs.
“It’s hard work but I really enjoy it. School just wasn’t an environment I fitted.
“I was bullied and my school was going through a lot of changes – 90% of the teachers were supply teachers at any given moment.
“I didn’t pass maths, English, science or history, but my business is very successful.
“There are always other options if school isn’t for you: don’t let exam results define your capabilities.”
