ONE definition of an entrepreneur is someone who always has an eye open for a business opportunity.

So it is little wonder that, having started his first business at the age of 16, and currently involved in running two others, Richard Adams-Mercer was voted North Manchester's Young Entrepreneur of the Year in June.

Internet auction site eBay is not a way of making lots of money instantly, but Mr Adams-Mercer said if you work at it, there are profits to be made.

Mr Adams-Mercer, aged 23, and his partner, Steven Kramer, aged 28, run two eBay-related businesses and, with a turnover of £250,000 would appear to have got it right.

Parcel Store is a selling operation offering - so far - mostly products from failed companies. In two years, the business has grown to number 15 in the list of top sellers on eBay in the UK.

"You can't stand still though, and we are now working on tracking down new products," said Mr Adams-Mercer. "We've even been as far as China talking to manufacturers."

One item they have discovered is the trike scooter - a three-wheeled scooter. "It could be the next big craze, it could replace the mini-scooter," Mr Adams-Mercer added.

"There is not a huge profit margin on eBay but it keeps us going while we establish products. It's turnover that we have to go for."

Mr Adams-Mercer's main involvement with eBay is another company, Parcel2go.com. The idea for this company came to him while working for his family's core business, logistics.

His father, Phil, has the Manchester DHL delivery franchise and Richard spotted the opening for eBay sellers.

"Parcel2Go.com basically offers a collection and delivery service for anything that will not fit into a postbox.

"For people selling regularly on eBay, delivery and postage can be the biggest headache, particularly if they are selling from their home. We can solve that headache with collection and delivery.

"We offer an ad-hoc service or, if someone is selling enough, they can open an account.

"With six million regular eBay users in the UK, this is a huge and developing market - our monthly growth is between 15 and 20 per cent."

Mr Adams-Mercer, Bolton born and bred, joined his father straight after his A-levels, although he had already been running businesses for himself before that.

His first business, run from the family garage while he was still at college, supplied fresh fruit juice.

"I knew that a box of 100 oranges could be bought for less than £5 and that a litre bottle of freshly squeezed juice sold in supermarkets for more than £2. Somewhere in the middle was a profit of £1 a litre!"

By his own admission, Mr Adams-Mercer's A-level grades suffered as he became more and more involved in this business. But there was nothing wrong with his grasp of basic economics.

He sold the business after two years for about £10,000 and reinvested that money in commercial property.

This has been a constant for Mr Adams-Mercer, who describes investing in commercial property as "my quest for financial freedom". He estimates his current property portfolio as a net worth of £200,000.

His second business in partnership with a friend was a lawn-mowing company, which he eventually sold to his partner.

It is in the phenomenal growth of eBay that Mr Adams-Mercer currently sees his future.

"eBay has changed the face of internet business. It's a lot of people's first point of call to find the price of anything and it establishes the price structure of many products.

"Larger companies such as Thomson Holidays and Hewlett-Packard now use eBay.

"What makes it work? Common interest, the fun element, the ability to find an elusive item and making a little bit on the one hand and saving a little bit on the other."

And that is also a pretty fair summing up of what makes Richard Adams-Mercer work as well.