From an early age I had an air of determination and drive about me.
Growing up as the third youngest in a fairly large family I soon
learned how to fend for myself and not to take no as an answer;
therefore the winning spirit was awakened in the early stages of my
life.
At school I was a quiet but resourceful child who didn't get
involved in what the latest trends were because I always knew what my
goals were and what I needed to do in order to achieve them. Although I
did not reach my full potential whilst at school there was always
something inside of me that knew I could do better.
After leaving school I went on to college and on leaving college I took
a host of jobs mainly in computing but that desire inside of me to
aspire higher would not go away. The deciding factor that led me to
begin the journey towards my dream was when I learned that the company
I worked for recruited a less senior person at a salary nearly a third
more than I was earning.
My oldest brother had recently opened his own structural engineering
practice after leaving a very well paid job. He became, without me even
realizing it, my first mentor and role model in business. His example
inspired me to do the same and subsequently I left my job to the horror
and opposition of all my friends and family and went back into
full-time education to study Business Studies.
Back To The Rat Race
After acquiring a Business Studies degree I set about looking for a
position that would give me a career. After scouting the newspapers I
noticed a job being advertised by a local authority for Property
Valuers, I didn't know what a Property Valuer was but I
thought it sounded good, paid well, was local to home and they paid for
further education to qualify as something called a Chartered Surveyor.
I did some research and the idea of qualifying as a Chartered Surveyor
became very appealing when I realized that it was property related, as
I had now developed a passion for property.
The experience that I endured whilst being employed by the local
authority was to put it mildly one that tried to knock my confidence in
a profound way. I was not given the help and support that other members
of staff who were training were given but this just stoked up the
determination inside of me even more because I decided that I would
qualify with or without the assistance of my peers and management.
During this period of training and studying I had my son and this added
more pressure in terms of my time, however, in order to accommodate
this major change in my life I would put my son to bed early and stayed
up to study until 3.00am and then would be back in the office by 9.00am
the next morning. This routine continued for several years but I had a
goal and I was not going to be deterred.
On completion of the master's degree, in Property Development
and Management, and passing the Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors rigorous professional examinations I did indeed qualify as a
Charted Surveyor much to the alarm of most of my colleagues at work. A
year after qualifying a voluntary redundancy scheme was being offered
to staff and I was the first person to take up the offer. It was not
intentional, at the time, but I ended up spending several years at home
caring for my son.
The Entrepreneur Arises
After much deliberation I made a decision to return to the world of
surveying. I started working for one of the major high street lenders
as a Chartered Surveyor preparing mortgage valuations and home
buyer's reports. Within a few months I had acquired my first
investment property and even though the risks were evident the fact
that I was a single parent did not deter me and I continued to buy
investment properties until I have now built up a healthy portfolio.
During this time I bought a property related business license but this
also proved to be a non starter. I knew within myself that there was
bigger and better waiting for me so I made the decision to move on in
order to fulfil the yearning within my heart.
So yet again I made another life changing decision and left the
employment of the major high street lender to start my own property
consultancy business. I represent clients in a variety of property
related services as a Chartered Surveyor. I have also continued to
invest in property and I am now happily married but I know deep down
there is still a lot more for me to achieve.
The Journey So Far
I developed an information and education service called AFFLUENT WOMEN.
This service is specifically aimed at women who want to build a
property portfolio but lack the expertise to either start or move
forward in their property business. By providing this service I hope to
demystify and inspire women by providing knowledge, advice and
practical tips. The need for this service became obvious to me when it
came to my realization that over the years I have repeatedly been asked
the same questions over and over again by women who had the desire to
buy property for investment but lacked the knowledge of how to get
started in the often complex and male dominated world of property
investment.
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