While most teenagers use TikTok for entertainment and filming dances, Fife teenager Freya Tyson found inspiration to start her own business.
The 13-year-old from Cupar was looking around for a new case for her phone.
In her search, she came across a small business selling cases on social media platform TikTok.
Freya was astonished to realise the girl running the business was around her age.
The revelation set the youngster to thinking – with other people starting a business in lockdown, why couldn’t she?
The High School of Dundee student made a big decision to scrape together her savings to buy a sublimation printer.
The £420 printer transfer motifs to special sublimation paper. Freya also invested in a £170 heat press that transfers the motifs on to the products.
The purchase was the start of her business journey.
Freya says: “I was quite nervous about buying the printer at first, just because it’d mean I’d have to spend most of my savings on it, but I just went for it and I’m glad I did it.”
Justencaseit shipping around the world
At the end of January, she set up her shop Justencaseit on the online marketplace Etsy.
In nine months, she has made almost 500 cases.
Freya’s phone cases come in a variety of different designs and the option to have a custom design printed on them.
So far she has shipped to different countries in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii.
Last week she also dropped of a large business order in Edinburgh for property company Graham + Sibbald.
The whole company now uses Freya’s custom cases, which took her six weeks to make.
All of Freya’s friends also have a Justencaseit case for their phones.
She says: “They’re really supportive, they say they’re proud of me.
“When they’re out they say ‘my friend made this, do you want one’ when we meet new people.
“So they’re good for advertising as well I guess,” laughs Freya.
Expansion plans for Justencaseit
The teenager also gets support from her mum with her business, mostly to go to the post office and drop cases off to be sent to customers.
Freya goes herself on the weekend, but mum Sally makes runs before going to work in the morning.
Sally says: “I can’t believe at 13 she’s doing what she’s doing.
“She’s communicating with people from all over the world and sending cases out left, right and centre.
“It’s quite amazing for our generation to think that’s what these guys are doing now.
“And if this is what they’re doing at 13, what on earth are they going to be doing when they get to our age.”
The young entrepreneur already has plans to expand her business.
Freya aims to increase the amount of designs on her website, expand beyond iPhone cases and bring in new products such as AirPod cases.
All the new products will be created after school, homework, sports and when the computer is free.
Sally says: “If the business goes well, she might be able to buy her own laptop, because she keeps having to borrow her dad’s every night to connect to the printer.”
School, sports and running a business
As well as running her business, the teenager plays hockey and netball, and does Highland dancing.
Freya is in her third year studying economics, maths, PE, English, French and triple science.
She says: “With school it’s been manageable so far.
“I tend to come back from school and do my homework first and then I’ll go on to making cases, but mainly it’s the sports that I’m struggling with.
“Sometimes I have to miss one session, but it’s fine because I’m tired anyway, since I play sports every day of the week.”
The Cupar teenager is enjoying being a business owner and learning along the way.
Despite not knowing everything yet, she sees it as a future career option.
Mum Sally is happy to see Justencaseit do well for several reasons.
She says: “I’m quite in awe about what she’s doing.
“And it also means I have to give her less pocket money because now she can buy her own clothes, so that’s quite nice as well.”