'I turned £30k of debt into a £5m business'

Four years ago mum-of-two Lisa Johnson, 43, was £30,000 in debt and struggling to pay her bills. Now her business is on track to make £5m this year.

Her company provides budding entrepreneurs with advice on business strategy and, more recently, how to take their work online through the pandemic.

Lockdown presented an opportunity for Ms Johnson. Not only have her online courses and memberships raked in millions, she has changed her work-life balance and is now teaching others to do the same.

Many people have been tempted to start their own business, but the number of women following in Ms Johnson’s footsteps is comparatively small. In May 2021 there were 2.8 million self-employed men compared to just 1.5 million self-employed women, according to database Statista.

Some may have been deterred because of the debt crisis looming over many British households. Advice centres have been inundated over the past 18 months by desperate requests for help as households faced by financial ruin.

The Government estimated more than 11 million jobs have been spared by its furlough support scheme, but there are warnings of a “tidal wave” of impending debt problems once this is withdrawn in September.

But for others, the future is bright despite the wider economic fallout. Telegraph Money has spoken with three women who used the past year and a half to cement the success of their businesses, marking a comeback from thousands of pounds of debt.

Many have achieved a lifelong dream. Even as a child, Joanne Fisher knew she wanted to be a lawyer. She worked full-time throughout university and spent years as a commercial lawyer at a global firm.

But, after setting up her own company in 2013, her plans were thrown into turmoil when she became seriously ill while pregnant with twins. Health complications continued after the birth and, unable to return to work, bailiffs were soon knocking at her door.

This changed in January last year when Ms Fisher, now 41, spotted a gap in the market for legal advice. Her firm is set to exceed six-figure revenue this year.

For Tanya Ibberson, from Lincolnshire, it completed a remarkable turnaround. She set up her accountancy business in 2010 when she was £30,000 in debt and following a controlling relationship. Ms Ibberson, 42, now runs a successful practice, helping others tackle the stigma of debt.

'The world changes and we have to adapt’

Lisa Johnson: "After a year in business I had made £220,000, but I was working 80 hours a week. I had to adjust my business model, so I pivoted from one-to-one business consulting into memberships and group courses.

By the end of the second year, just as lockdown started, I was making £1m annually, but working 30 hours a month.

I am earning more and working less, but I’m also teaching other people to do the same. I have used the pandemic to show people the importance of diversifying. The world changes and we have to change with it."

‘We need to talk about debt, there is nothing to be ashamed of '

Tanya Ibberson: "I got into accountancy straight from school because I didn’t want to go to university, where I knew I would rack up debt.

At home we didn’t grow up with much money around, so the thought of going to university terrified me. So I found a job with an accountancy firm weeks after finishing my A-levels.

I hadn’t planned it as a career, but I had a knack for helping people who might otherwise be intimidated by money make financial decisions.

It was ironic really that I avoided university because of the risk of debt, to then end up with a mountain of it anyway. I found myself in a very financially controlling relationship which put me in a position where I was paying a lot of bills and was no longer financially secure.

It took a long time, but when I eventually did leave, I took the next step on my money journey and set up my own accountancy firm.

There is so much stigma around debt that it took me a long time to admit the situation I had found myself in. But ultimately, it doesn’t matter where you are now, or how you got there, or what made you lose control in the first place, it is never too late to turn that around. Which is what I did.

I paid the debt off, put money in the bank and I am now in a happy relationship. Anyone can do that, but it starts with taking control and not burying your head in the sand.

Sometimes you need someone to hold your hand whilst you do that, and that is the type of work I am now getting into. I am still an accountant with my own practice, but this is the cause I am really passionate about.

Let’s talk more about debt, there is nothing to be ashamed of."

‘It’s tough as a woman when you physically can’t go back to work’

Joanne Fisher: "When my twins arrived they were premature and it was incredibly stressful. I was trying to communicate with the landlord of my business premises to allow me more time to pay the rent whilst I recovered, but it fell on deaf ears.

A lot of people can’t appreciate the position a woman is in where you physically can’t go back to work. The situation exacerbated my post-natal depression, which meant I was off work for longer and incredibly anxious.

Faced with the ongoing costs, I made the tough decision to close the business down. It was incredibly hard, as a woman who had spent my whole life being financially independent, to then have to completely rely on my partner.

But in January 2020 I returned to my career after I saw a gap in the market for other women who needed legal support in their business.

It makes me feel good to know these amazing entrepreneurs are protecting themselves, because I felt so vulnerable when I had to give everything up and didn’t feel I was protected.

I am a year and a half in and the business is well on its way to generating a six figure sum this year, and I would ideally like to double that."