When many of us were kids, the only worries we had were how much candy we could buy for a pound and get home in time for our favorite shows.
But Jasmine Shum was busy running her own entire business, one she started when she was just 12 years old.
The Bolton teenager decided to sell slime for the first time after watching a video on YouTube. The toy, a putty-like substance consisting of glue, borax and water, exploded in popularity in the late 2010s and has been a favorite with children ever since.
Jasmine, now 17 and enjoying a burgeoning career as a fashion influencer, posted about her drool on Snapchat and her friends immediately wanted to buy something, then sold their creations on the school playground.
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But the teachers soon found out about his dealings and forbade him from selling slime to other students. It was then that he had the idea of operating on Instagram, and thus his business was born.
“I just watched a YouTube video on how to make slime and thought, ‘I want to try this,’” he told the magazine. Manchester evening news.
“I posted on Snapchat and my friends wanted to buy it. My school banned me so I thought I’d find a way around it and make an Instagram account and sell it there.”
Jasmine’s shop, which she called Slimey.squish88, began to take off quickly, and her Instagram account eventually amassed 34,000 followers.
The entrepreneur, who is studying business administration at Xavier College in Rusholme, sold her products through Shopify and regularly had to restock her products due to out-of-stocks.
Jasmine even won a contract with WHSmith and the American company Elmers Glue to hold a slime event at the Trafford Centre.
Overall, Jasmine estimates that her business generated between £20,000 and £25,000 in revenue. “In 2017, social media marketing was really becoming a thing. I ended up with 34k followers at the end,” she said.
“I used Instagram as my main form of marketing. When I did a massive replacement, my sister helped me”.
When Jasmine turned 14, the slime fad began to fade. She stopped selling it and decided to work at her family’s restaurant to earn extra money.
And when the world went into lockdown in March 2020, she decided to draw on the influence of social media, using her TikTok account to focus on creating content.
“When we went into lockdown, I really missed having a platform,” Jasmine continued. “As much as it was a slime business, I shared a lot of my daily life there and behind the scenes. People really liked that.
“I already had TikTok, so I thought I’d try to put more effort into creating content. I didn’t really focus on one thing in particular, at first I just posted a bunch of content and then I realized there was a key interest in fashion.”
Once Jasmine began to focus on fashion content, she was soon noticed by big brands and contacted her to showcase their clothing.
Since then, she’s collaborated with companies like Boots, Skinnydip, Motel Rocks, Oh Polly, ellesse, Superdrug and H&M, had work experience at TikTok head office, attended London Fashion Week and even launched her own line of clothes called Niam.
Although she has applied to university, Jasmine plans to defer a year to gain work experience and hopefully launch another business in the future in the mental health sector, inspired by her own experience.
“Coming out of college, I want to get a head start on my career and gain a solid background in public relations and marketing,” he said.
“I was just on TikTok this week helping them with an event. I just want to try to get another year or two of experience.
“Eventually, I want to have my own social enterprise that helps young people access the support and resources they need as they move through this important stage of development in their lives.
“While the conversation around mental health has opened up a lot over the last decade, the resources currently available often come from schools and universities and older people.
“This is still beneficial, however, through my own experiences and many conversations with other teens my age, I have found that they are less likely to accept help and advice.
“It’s all just ideas right now as I’m not at the right stage in my life to put them into action, but I think something like a brand incorporating a podcast, online resources and social media graphics and targeted events specifically to young people. would work well. The key focus above all else would be to build a community and hub for all things teen wellness.”
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