A lot of people ask me how I did it. How did I get from where I was to here, an entrepreneur with my own 6-figure business? It’s as if they think that I’ve arrived somewhere and that’s it. I’m a success by society’s standards so I’m done. Journey over.

But if there’s anything I’ve learned along the way, it’s that the journey is never over. 

And it’s not been the most direct journey so far – that’s for sure.

Rocky Beginnings

I spent my 17th birthday in the Priory Hospital. I remember the party – well, a party of sorts. My parents came at some point but it is more my gang of fellow patient pals that I remember clearly though it was over 20 years ago now. I also remember the smell and the pale green walls. Calming, apparently.

I was admitted to the Priory when I was 16 because I was so severely agoraphobic I was unable to leave the house. I had slowly lost the ability to function through a complete fear of fear itself. 

I had started high school a year early. I did OK for a while, but around age 13 I fell out with some girls and that was that. I was bullied mercilessly. Thank God there was no social media. I dread to think what the snapchat equivalent is of writing horrible letters and spitting in them then handing you to open, singing songs about you, and constant name calling. 

At least I got home, shut the door and had a lovely normal life with my amazing parents and 4 older sisters. Talking of sisters it was the smallest and toughest one, Liz, who got a grip of one of the ringleaders and it just kinda fizzled from there. 

But, by 16, I was riddled with anxiety and panic attacks. I had no confidence at all. Then the agoraphobia started. I started to have panic attacks everywhere so I started saying no to things, refusing to go to places and – slowly, but surely – my world shrank right down to what was behind the front door. And even there I didn’t feel safe. 

The Priory did what it was designed to do: get me home better than I went in. Slowly I weaned myself off the meds and into a semblance of normal life.

Fast forward 10 years: I was married to a builder, two gorgeous children under 5 and a lovely semi-detached house in my home village. What a journey that was. A transformation story of sorts in itself..

And Crash!

But then the 2008 crash happened and it took the building business, my marriage, and a whole lot of my personal debt with it. 

Suddenly I was a single mum in serious financial crisis with two small children and a house to worry about. 

I was absolutely skint. And I mean seriously. You know we talk about ‘6 figure businesses’? Well I was close to minus 6 figures. 

I wasn’t in a great place mentally. I was slipping back into my illness. 

Having transformed my holistic therapy business into a Digital Marketing business (that’s a whole other story in itself). I was desperate to get more business and quick.

I looked at the traditional ways to market my business: networking, advertising, talking to people…

Problem was, I couldn’t go to a networking meeting. Why? I could feed us all for a couple of days on the £15 it cost to go. I couldn’t get to a 7am or 8am meeting with two small children to get where they needed to go. I wasn’t in the right headspace for talking in front of a room of strangers. 

The answer came online: LinkedIn.

I set up my profile with who I wanted to work with in mind: small businesses in my local area. I was direct. I was clear. I was focused.

Suddenly I had more leads than I had even seen.  

A year later, I was sat on the stairs, surrounded by children’s coats, bags and shoes. I opened the letter from the accountant. I had made £50k. This was more money than I had ever seen before. 

LinkedIn had saved me. 

It gave me a way, against all the odds, to generate leads and therefore income to provide for my family. I had grown a business from nothing, with nothing, just from using the platform in a specific way that made complete sense to me, and it worked. 

And Twist…

Over the years my business has changed massively: from a social media agency to a FB ads company to an Employer Branding & Recruitment Advertising agency. Turnover was good. Profit was not.  It is only now, looking back, that I can see just how much I was struggling.

In 2017, I was clinging on to what was left. I was stood in the garden eyeballing my ‘patio area’: a wasteland, half built by my ex and then abandoned. I had big plans for an outside space the girls could use and where we could have BBQs. I reckoned £2k would get it done. I needed to raise the money. 

I thought about what I could sell. The contents of the garage? A kidney? Consultancy? 

I formed a plan. It wasn’t particularly sophisticated. I needed £2k, I would offer a 1:1 Zoom Session to show someone how I got leads from LinkedIn. And I would charge £99 for it. I needed to sell 20. 

Word spread fast. 

I ended up doing hundreds of these sessions! I was working with business owners all over the world and everyone was going on to get results.

I gave up the agency and launched the LinkedIn Mastermind teaching others how to use LinkedIn to transform their own businesses.

Arrival?

5 years and £3m+ later – it’s been a wild ride that shows no signs of stopping. 

We built a community around my training and have worked with thousands of entrepreneurs over the years. From 30,000+ going through my free training, workshops and challenges to 20,000 in my free Facebook group and 2,000+ in my paid programme. 

LinkedIn completely changed my life for the better and I am now able to provide an amazing lifestyle that was beyond my wildest dreams, whilst helping so many people along the way.

But there is still a lot to learn and achieve. Arriving is one thing. Staying is another.

Looking back at that 17 year old celebrating her birthday in hospital, I know I’ve had quite a journey. Now, with my wonderful soon-to-be husband and four incredible kids between us, I know whatever the next journey holds, it’s going to be pretty amazing.