After changing schools in her teens to escape bullying, Liv Conlon went on to start a million-pound business before she turned 20.
From a working-class Scottish background, it all began with £300 she'd earned from doing chores for her mum.
“I was bullied at school for getting good grades, and had to move to a new high school because of it," Liv told The Sun.
"While it would have been easy to believe I was worthless, my mum Ali helped me realise it was not my fault, but a reflection of the bullies’ own insecurities."
The enterprising schoolgirl from from Bothwell in South Lanarkshire, used that £300 to buy fake nails from China and sold them for £5,000.
But while it was a nice little earner, it was a second piece of inspiration from her mum that saw her start a second business at school - the one that's now raking in more than a million a year.
"The inspiration came when mum struggled to sell a flat she’d bought as an investment, so I suggested I style it to make it more attractive. Three days after I transformed the flat, it sold," Liv explained.
"I attended industry events and spoke to people about what I’d done and realised I’d found a gap in the market."
But that didn't mean it wasn't without risk - or easy money.
"Teachers said I was ruining my life by not applying to university and choosing to start my own business, despite achieving five As. Mum was supportive, but some friends and family believed it was just a phase," Liv said.
“I found my first client in 2015 through networking at property events. I was worried my age would be a hurdle so I cut my hair short to look older," she eaxplined.
“I was a one-man band, carrying and building furniture, making up beds and hanging artwork. It was exhausting but exhilarating as more jobs came in.
"Working 18-hour days, my life became different from my friends’. They were out clubbing while I was doing my accounts, and over time we drifted apart."
But her hard work paid off.
In the first year the firm - The Property Stagers - made £30,000, enough to pay herself a salary on top of cash spent running it.
The second year it made £1million, and she could pay her mum back for the money she'd got for chores by putting her on its payroll.
"Mum plays a major role in the company and I couldn’t do it without her," she said.
And things just kept getting bigger from there.
“I now have a team of ten people in Glasgow and Manchester," Liv - named UK Young Entrepreneur Of The Year in 2019 - said.
"I also work with homeless charities styling temporary accommodation for them."
“When people discover I’m 21 and have been running a million-pound business for five years, they’re usually stunned," she said.
"But I’d like young people to realise, if you have a great idea, age isn’t a barrier. If you believe in yourself, anything is possible.”
