AN inspirational business owner, who left school with no GCSEs, now owns a £400,000-a-year firm at just 22-years-old.
Jayson Churn, who was born and raised in Southend, was told he was “done for” as he left school without any exams results to show potential employers.
Now, he owns a logistics company which achieves a £400,000 annual turnover.
Mr Churn said: “I left school with zero qualifications, and now I run my own company at 22.”
The young entrepreneur is an ambassador for the industry awareness campaign Generation Logistics and a member of the Road Haulage Association council.
He hopes his story will inspire others who want to head straight into the workforce.
Despite failing all his exams, Mr Churn was determined to succeed.
He said: “I found school abysmal; it really wasn’t for me.”
With dreams of becoming a truck mechanic, he sent his CV to local transport companies the day he left school.
He landed his first job as a yard hand, earning £3.30 an hour and cycling six miles daily to work.
As he built his career in logistics, Mr Churn discovered he had been living with undiagnosed dyslexia.
After initially failing a test, he was given a chance to retake it verbally and achieved one of the highest scores they had ever seen.
This led to his diagnosis and allowed him to leverage his strengths.
Once his dyslexia was recognised, Mr Churn started racking up the qualifications, including an apprenticeship, a Level 2 qualification as an HGV Technician, a Class 1 License, and a Transport CPC.
He encourages those struggling to make connections within the logistics sector, saying: “Opportunities are vast, and passion, integrity, and pride in your work will always propel you forward.
“Hard work beats talent, so apply yourself 100 per cent and you won’t go wrong.”
Bethany Windsor, programme director of Generation Logistics, said: “Jayson’s journey is a powerful testament to resilience and hard work and a fabulous example of the type of hard-working and passionate people that we employ within logistics.
“Jayson’s story offers hope and inspiration, proving that success isn’t linear, and is absolutely possible no matter your skill sets or academic qualifications.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here