A shrewd teen businessman who started selling homemade cookies aged 15 is now raking in more than £4,000 a week after starting his own sweet shop.
Callum Baker, 17, started The Sweet Shack a week before his 16th birthday after being inspired by confectionary sellers on TikTok, reports Wales Online.
The young entrepreneur from Pontprennau in Cardiff started out with only £50 in his pocket, but has seen his business grow rapidly over the past 18 months and has turned over around £74,000 since January 2022.
He is continuing to expand the firm and now stocks more than 700 different sweets, crisps and drinks - but still makes sure to sell his original treats.
Callum currently runs the business from a purpose-built shed in his parents' back garden which he has dubbed 'The Shack', but is already looking into expanding into larger premises.
He has also recently taken on a new employee after bringing in his neighbour in the evenings to help him pack the orders.
Describing the humble beginnings of The Sweet Shack, Callum told the local newspaper: "I was really bored and I watched a lot of TikTok and I was watching these sweet business videos. I
" bought some sweets online with £50 of my own money and set up a small website with just five products and then just started posting on Facebook pages and TikTok,”
“At first I had the corner of my bedroom, the one shelf, then two and then I took over the spare room as things got more popular.”
Callum has also seen huge benefits to his mental health from running the business after previously spending time in hospital because of depression.
He described being at "rock bottom" and feeling as if he "didn’t feel like I had much to live for" prior to the start of his sweet shop journey, but says it has now given him a new "drive" in life and provides him an opportunity to reach out to new fans on social media.
Callum said: “My confidence has shot up, going on TikTok live and speaking to hundreds of people every night is amazing,”
Support has also come from his family, as his mum Michele helps him to re-stock over the weekend and pack the parcels for shipping.
A senior NHS manager, she is referred to jokingly as 'admin' by Callum’s customers and is paid in sweets.
Discussing the effect of the online shop on Callum’s mental health struggles, she said: “It’s just changed him and I often wonder, would he be here now if it weren’t for this business? I think it’s really saved him. He gets excited now and he talks about the business and has something to look forward to.”
Callum is also looking to the future and is studying public services at Cardiff and Vale College, with an eye to joining the police one day.
For now though he is fully dedicated to taking his business to the next level, and hopes soon to enter the export sweet market.
