I made £1K from my business at 15 but had to shut it down

A teenager has explained why he had to liquidate his successful business.

Dylan Williams, 16, from Birkenhead, has been a fan of DJing and live music from a young age. He performed at many events himself before he came up with an idea three years ago.

Speaking to the ECHO, Dylan said: “Throughout covid, I was sitting at home with nothing to do. I had the attitude of, if I put my mind to something, I can do it. I saved up my pocket money.”

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Dylan set-up Merseyside DJ Team Ltd, and as venues began to open up post-lockdown its popularity exploded. He said: “We would do young children’s birthday parties, adult’s birthday parties, sometimes adult pubs and bars too. We were running regular events at a Rock Ferry pub.

“I was earning over £1,000 even though I was 15. We had one that was a family party rave. It was in a big massive private house. We had to bring six or seven PA speakers. One of my family members helped me out.”

Despite this success, Dylan was forced to liquidate the company last year. He said: “Basically, where it went wrong is that my family was struggling. The only option was to sell my equipment and put my company in liquidation.”

Dylan claims the money he received from his music equipment went to his parents, Shan and Mike, cousins and other family members. He said he was happy to support them but nevertheless, it was tough to see his business go.

Dylan said: “It was quite upsetting at the time. My bank balance dropped really bad.”

However, with his family’s financial situation now improved, Merseyside DJ Team has now been revived in the form of a crowd funder.

He said: “Now my parents have said to me, look, time to get out and make more money. I thought, members of the public really enjoyed it the first time around. I was playing local pubs. I thought I'd put a GoFundMe page up so I can re-buy all the equipment.”

Dylan has set the fundraising goal at £1,000 to do so. Anything after that is considered a bonus for a business he hopes will last a long time. Laughing, he said: “I’m hoping it’ll last until 2030 when I’m really old.”

You can find out more about Dylan’s fundraiser here.

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