Smethwick businessman gives 42 young traders free stalls

Forty-two young entrepreneurs, all under 18, will get free stalls to sell their own products next Sunday, thanks to a Smethwick businessman who took over his father's firm as a teenager and wants to give the next generation the start he never had.

Mohammed Junaid, 28, manager of Junaids UK Distribution Ltd on Heath Street, is turning the car park of his cash and carry into a market for the day on Sunday 1 November. He will also give away 600 packs of chicken burgers and cans of drink to families who need them.

A start in business at 14

Mr Junaid started working at his father's firm when he was just 14, and took it over at 18. He has since built it into a successful cash and carry, supplying food and drink to the takeaway and restaurant trade, but he says he often struggled along the way and would have benefited from a guiding hand.

"I had it hard and when I was growing up, I didn't have a platform. I had a lot of struggle coming up," he said. "My challenges were understanding business, challenges in the market, exchange rates - I had no one to help me."

No fees for the stalls

The young traders are all local, and will be selling cakes, food, clothes, jewellery, cosmetics and more. Nobody running a stall will pay a fee: Mr Junaid and his sponsors, Meat and Eat, Junior Wafflicious, Smashing It and Ice Drinks UK, are covering the £12,000 cost of running the day.

"This event is to showcase their products and everyone running a stall is under the age of 18," he said. "It is to give them a platform and for them to learn how business works."

He added: "I want to give back to the younger community, they support me, I want to support Birmingham as it is my home."

Food for families

Each of the 600 food packs contains a dozen halal chicken steaks, which usually sell for about £8, and they will be handed out on a first come, first served basis. Mr Junaid said he also donates to the charity Blessed 2 Bless, and that "the feedback I get is that it is the children who need help."

There will be plenty for families to enjoy on the day too, with face painting, visits from the Omar and Hana characters, alpacas, 15 per cent vouchers for Sam and Harry's, and free cans of drink.

Learning by doing

For the young people taking part, a day behind their own stall is a chance to learn things no classroom can teach: pricing, talking to customers, handling money and working out what sells. It costs them nothing to try, which removes the biggest barrier for a teenager with an idea and no savings.

It is also a reminder of the family firms, like Mr Junaid's, that are passed from one generation to the next and stay rooted in the streets where they started.