TO celebrate the Year of Young People, every week in 2018 The National is giving a platform to young Scots. This week, 24-year-old Gavin Bell
THERE'S more to life than the traditional route. On Wednesday, an event called Fire Up Scotland showed young people of Scotland exactly that. 12,000 youngsters from schools all over the country filled the SSE Hydro for a day of inspirational speakers and artists.
It’s days like those that I wish I had when I was at school. A day of inspiration telling the audience that the traditional route isn’t the only option.
I grew up in the Shetland Islands. A small community of around 20,000 people. A place where everyone knows everyone. When students reach the age of 18 in Shetland they typically move “down south” to Glasgow, Edinburgh or Aberdeen for university.
I knew from a young age that going to university wasn’t the route for me. It just didn’t sit right with me because I knew from a young age I was more entrepreneurial-minded. At the age of 14 I built my first website and I was always trying to make money by cutting the neighbours’ grass or selling products I purchased from China on eBay. I wanted to run my own business. But there was no real support for that.
So when I reached 18, I felt stuck. External pressures were telling me to go down the traditional route, but I wanted to go into business.
Thankfully, I came across a less traditional route that suited me – The Peter Jones Enterprise Academy. Headed by the star of the BBC’s Dragons’ Den, the programme was designed for young people who wanted to start their own business in a safe environment. Perfect.
At 18 I moved away from all my friends and family to make my dreams a reality, in Manchester. I had an incredible year, meeting amazing people and trying a few ventures. But it wasn’t till I moved back to Scotland that things started to take off.
When I moved to Edinburgh in 2013, I launched a Facebook advertising agency. Since then it’s been an incredible journey. I now have a team and we’re working with clients across the world, helping them to grow their businesses online.
With the travelling and amazing opportunities that have come my way from running the business, I thought it would be great to document some of these adventures on video. I wanted to show people what it was like to run a business as a young person. For the last two years I’ve created weekly vlogs sharing my life online and they’ve been viewed by more than two million people worldwide.
When I grew up in Shetland, I was a shy guy, so those numbers blow me away. When I started videos, I wasn’t good either. In fact, I was pretty terrible. Which goes to show, if you put in the work, you can make anything a success.
The fact that Fire Up Scotland put on a day to show people that the traditional route isn’t necessarily the right route for everyone is special. I think it’s the start of a shift in the way we think about education and young people. I have nothing against university, but we can’t pressure young people into that route. It’s not right for everyone.
Days like Fire Up Scotland are helping the young people of Scotland see that’s there a many more opportunities now. Wanting to be a YouTuber, or wanting leave school and learn how to code, are viable career paths.
If you’d like to see what Gavin is up to, you can find his website at mrgavinbell.com, or follow him on Instagram @MrGavinBell
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