Lisa Johnson went from being £30,000 in debt to becoming a multi-millionaire.
The 43-year-old Hertfordshire-based mum to nine-year-old twins grew up on a council estate and was bullied because of how poor she was.
But, she says, those experiences spurred her on to carve out a successful career.
You grew up on a council estate, what was your attitude to money back then?
I thought it was this elusive thing that you either had or you didn’t. And we happened not to. I didn’t know anyone that had money up until secondary school and I actually thought people that did were bad people because if someone came past in a nice car, everyone I knew would roll their eyes or call them a show-off.
Did you ever think you would be financially secure?
No I didn’t. I couldn’t see how people got to be unless they were born with it. I had no frame of reference for people who had started with nothing and then made money so I didn’t know that was even possible.
Money always felt like something you argued over, wished you had or that you lost.
You were bullied for being poor, what happened?
I got a scholarship to an all-girls private school when I was 11. Up until that point I thought most people were like us and didn’t have much and I was OK with that.
From the first day the other girls could tell I was not like them. I had a second-hand uniform, I had free lunch tickets and my Dad, who was a single parent, picked me up on the back of his motorbike. Some of the girls were being picked up in Bentleys.
How bad did it get?
It got pretty bad. At the girls school it was mainly verbal. I was always the one left out, I didn’t eat lunch most of the time so that I didn’t have to be laughed at sitting on my own, I was the one never invited to parties.
It had a real impact on what I thought people with money were like and that took years to change. In the end I begged to change schools and eventually did but it actually made things worse.
Then I was the new kid at a mixed school who came from the ‘posh’ school and the bullying became more physical. I left school the second I could and didn’t fulfil my potential in exams simply because I didn’t want to be there.
What kept you going back then?
When I look back to those times I’m not sure what kept me going. The bullying continued into early adulthood. I think I attracted it as I had no self-worth. Even in my first job I was bullied by a gang of girls.
I possibly came across as awkward or aloof when actually I was just terrified of girls. But something inside of me wanted to prove others wrong. I wanted to show that I was worthwhile – I just had to give it one last chance, so I studied in my spare time for a law degree.
What was the lowest point?
The boss in my first job called me in and fired me. He said he did it for my own good because he could see how bad the bullying had got and he was worried for my safety and couldn’t sack his entire workforce.
I went home to my bedsit that day – I was 21, divorced with huge debts and no job and thought about ending everything. I didn’t see how I was going to cope. But there was still a tiny bit of me that thought everyone could be wrong. I thought I’d test it…
How did you do it?
I gave myself a challenge. I told myself that if I could get a full-time job and do a degree whilst working full-time then they were wrong and I’d never listen to anyone’s opinion again. I got a job as an admin assistant and did a law degree.
Every night after work for four years I’d go and study in my room. Every May I’d go and sit a load of exams. Four years later I got a 2:1 in law.
How did you come to start a wedding business?
I had spent a few years climbing the corporate ladder. I realised law wasn’t for me but went into investment banking first as a PA and then working hard to become a risk analyst. I was enjoying it when I unexpectedly fell pregnant with twins.
I left my well-paid job and got a job close to home as a PA again so I could see the babies before and after I was at work. While there I realised that I could start a business on the side and chose wedding planning…
Did you make any mistakes?
That first year in business I made all the mistakes. I had no idea what I was doing. But I learned so much from them. We worked out at the end of the first year that I had made no money despite all of the work because of marketing costs and I was £30k in debt.
I decided to start learning everything I could about business and how it worked. Within five months I had turned the business around to be profitable.
And that then led to you becoming a business strategist…
So many people asked me how I had made the wedding business work and organically I started to teach others all of the things I’d learned about business.
Then just over three years ago I realised that was my passion – helping people grow their businesses and scale them online. I gave the wedding business away and opened up my coaching business. This time I knew how to run a business.
Within the first six months I’d made £100k in profit, £220k in the first year and over a million by the end of year two. I’m just at the end of year three and have brought in £3million in sales this year.
You proved people wrong…
I thought about people who told me I couldn’t do things and it spurred me on.
What has money given you?
Freedom. Until the pandemic I was able to work from anywhere in the world and spend a lot of my time travelling the globe in luxury resorts and showing my twins everything I didn’t get to see.
I don’t have to work at all during their summer holidays and that for me, as a mum, is everything.
What’s the biggest misconception about money?
That you have to work hard for it. You don’t have to work harder, you have to work smarter. I spend 30 hours a month working now.
What would you buy now, money no object?
A tropical island. I’m heading to Necker Island to meet Sir Richard Branson in September, restrictions permitting, so I’ll be looking for pointers then.
Find out more at Lisa Johnson Coaching.
MORE : Student turns shopping bags into incredible high-fashion outfits
MORE : Nearly 400,000 small businesses to get payouts for lockdown losses
How to get your Metro newspaper fix
Metro newspaper is still available for you to pick up every weekday morning or you can download our app for all your favourite news, features, puzzles... and the exclusive evening edition!
Download the Metro newspaper app here.
0 Commentaires