Charlie Hyett, a young entrepreneur from Cardiff has successfully set up his own vehicle valeting business alongside his A- level studies at Llanishen High School.

The initial inspiration for setting up his business stemmed from watching tutorials on YouTube during the first lockdown in 2020, which equipped him with the skills and expertise to offer low-priced car valets to close friends and family.

From humble beginnings, Hytech Detailers has continued to grow and now has multiple employees across Cardiff and Swansea offering fully mobile cleaning and valeting services. Charlie has since completed his studies, and now prioritises his time to manage his business.

Realising the importance of brand in the current marketplace, Charlie has also created a strong online presence for the company, utilising the power of social media and the website to further promote its services, and has developed a line of branded merchandise.

Like many young people, and with relatively few options open to him during lockdown, Charlie was sceptical about the potential career pathway he wanted to pursue during his time at sixth form.

Since taking a university degree or entering an apprenticeship programme didn't appeal to him, he decided to turn his initial idea into a business with ambitious growth plans, although there were some initial challenges he needed to overcome.

Charlie explained:

“There were a number of issues that I hadn’t even considered when I first set up Hytech Detailers especially around the finance element and the day to day admin tasks. I was faced with quite a daunting task but the path ahead became much clearer after I sought some business advice.”

By taking the plunge in setting up his own business, Charlie explains that he learnt a lot about the fundamental aspects of business in real-world practice, including finance, taxes and insurance.

Charlie said:

“When I first set up Hytech I realised that I would need a business bank account. Although I’ve held personal accounts for a couple of years, many of the main banks refused my application without any explanation. I found this very frustrating and it is an issue I think the banking sector should review when looking to support young people in business.”

Charlie’s advice to any young person who is currently undecided about pursuing their business idea would be:

“Being my own boss has been very rewarding and challenging in equal measure, I would really encourage other young people who have an idea to just go for it as you're never going to succeed unless you actually try!”