George Howell is a 17-year-old boy from Devon, England. He spent his teenage years around cars at a local dealer and dreamt of being a car salesman for an exotic car company such as Porsche or Ferrari. He grew up watching the legendary BBC TV show Top Gear. We have a surprisingly large amount in common. He has created a business from an experience that he and I have both been presented with many times. One day, one of George’s friends approached him asking for some advice buying his first car. This has happened to me numerous times. George contacted the seller of the car in which his friend was interested. George used his automotive knowledge and experience to find problems and favorable aspects of the car.
He haggled and negotiated a price for his friend. His friend paid him £20 to thank George for his work. I can relate to this situation very frequently. My friends and I send car listings to one another all the time. Every single day, my friend’s group chat will have a listing from Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, or Craigslist for a car, truck, or automobile parts. I have had my friends send me hundreds of car listings to ask for my opinion. That is not an exaggeration. I just never thought of a way to monetize it.
George then came up with the premise for his business. He would create a program for finding young people their first car. Reputable sellers can post listings to the marketplace and users can use search tools to find cars that match criteria they are looking for in their first car. His company is called “Ideal First Car” and he started by pitching his idea to friends, then to student representatives, and then to business leaders who took interest in George’s new idea. This boost helped George get his idea off the ground and into the market. There are now over 20,000 cars for sale through George Howell’s idea.
https://www.business-live.co.uk/professional-services/entrepreneur-set-up-first-business-16888718
I love this business idea! There was a clear need of young people struggling to find their first cars, and George stepped in and found a way to fix this. I have yet to buy my first car, so maybe I’ll take a look at his company for ideas!
I could foresee George’s idea for “Ideal First Car” becoming very useful for young people. Often times, less experienced people with cars look to others that know more about cars than they do to get advice especially because it is known that car salesman try to get the most money out of a car deal. Although many younger people may tend to look to older family members or friends, I think this would be very helpful to have multiple difference opinions to look to. I admire how George took his personal experience with his friends and found a way to shape it into a business because he recognized the opportunity. I am inspired by this story, and I will be more on the lookout for these types of opportunities in the future.