4 Girls Who Failed Their GCSEs Inform Us How They Discovered Success In Enterprise

THIS week hundreds of thousands of teenagers will get their GCSE outcomes. Some might be ecstatic but others face disappointment and should not know the place to turn. But in case your outcomes aren’t what you had hoped, don’t despair. They are not the be-all and finish-all, as these 4 girls present. They all struggled with exams but discovered success within the enterprise world via onerous work.

CLARE O’REILLY and LOUISA GREGSON find out how they did it. JODINE BOOTHBY created teething mitten Gummee Glove, which is now offered in greater than 20 international locations. Jodine, 38, had 27 jobs in lower than a decade, earlier than beginning her enterprise empire. She lives with partner Steve, 41, son Jimmy, seven, and daughter Charlie, 5, in Calstock, Cornwall.

She says: I obtained my first half-time job as a Saturday woman at a hairdressers when I used to be 15. I struggled with confidence in school and fairly than say I didn’t understand one thing, I’d muddle by way of pretending. When i acquired my GCSE ends in 1995, I obtained a few Ds and the rest were Fs and Us.

My dad and mom had to plead with the college to let me stay on for an NVQ in business, which I additionally failed. I began a journey and tourism course the following 12 months but dropped out after six months. Aged 19, I started working for a bank in the cheque-processing centre and from there had jobs in pubs, at a food preparation wholesaler, fruit picking and as a chambermaid. I had no tasks so it didn’t matter that I flitted from job to job. I got a job crimping pasties on a factory production line and beloved it however in 2011 once i went on maternity depart, I wanted a job that let me be dwelling with Jimmy.

That’s after i got here up with the concept for Gummee Glove, which helps with babies’ teething. I made trial ones which I gave to pals after ploughing what little savings we had into it, borrowing money from household and promoting jewellery. That was seven years in the past and we now turn over £500,000 a yr.

I didn’t expect the success and whereas it’s been a tricky seven years - with numerous onerous work and a lot of sleepless nights - I’ve stunned myself in so many ways. I assumed I used to be bad at learning yet I’ve taught myself net design, advertising and marketing and social media administration. I remember the disappointment of my exam outcomes. But my advice could be to stop, take inventory and realise there are different paths to success than academia. VIKKI THOMAS, 44, from Hereford, left school at 15 with one GCSE, but now owns or half-owns 5 companies, having started them from scratch.

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She says: My dad and mom got divorced when I used to be in secondary faculty and that i ended up living on my own at 16. I went to catering school and labored in lodges, however the unsociable hours made me need a change. Despite having just one GCSE, I acquired a job as an operations manager for a national contract cleansing firm.

I finally grew to become responsible for more than 500 staff. I had my son James in 2001 and went again after maternity go away, however once i had Alisha in 2003 I determined I wanted to do one thing for myself to safe my family’s future . I borrowed enough cash to invest in a small property, do it up and rent it out.

Inside the subsequent few years my property portfolio grew. I was then accepted as a mature pupil to do a degree in Industrial Property Administration at Bristol University. It was an hour and a half commute for lectures, which was powerful combining it with the school runs, but I got a first-class honours and educated as a chartered surveyor. Having juggled all of it with younger children and a husband in the Army serving in Afghanistan I turned more curious about private improvement.