Миллионерша, выгнанная из школы за торговлю одеждой в шкафчике, вдохновляет молодежь

Essex mum thrown out of school with one GCSE became millionaire at 30 after 'seeing that vision' Charlotte Body, 52, was expelled from school and left without qualifications - but she has since made millions and believes 'anyone can run a business' A self-made businesswoman who was thrown out of school for selling clothes from her locker and left without any qualifications has gone on to earn millions and insists "anyone can run a business". Charlotte Body, 52, a company founder and mother-of-two, explained she found school challenging because of her dyslexia, but admitted she was "naughty" and skipped lessons and didn't apply herself. When the chance to sell clothes for commission presented itself, Charlotte and her mate operated the "fashion business" from a school locker and the nearby pub, aged 14, which eventually resulted in her expulsion. Click here to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter Charlotte was packed off to boarding school but quickly left to begin her first job at 16 and, following the launch of her own magazine at 28, Charlotte said she "became a millionaire" at 30. Following the sale of the magazine, she semi-retired at 40, experienced a divorce, battled with perimenopause and later returned to work – this time focusing on cosmetics and women's health. She said she now operates the "UK's largest women's health event" through her latest venture, Pause Live, and is committed to empowering and inspiring others. "I've been knocked back three or four times and told I can't do certain things... but it's just having that desire and seeing that vision," Charlotte said. "Looking back, I've had to do a lot of personal forgiveness, and I wish I'd worked harder at school, that I hadn't done this or I hadn't done that, but I own it. I would tell my younger self: 'You might be scared now, but it is going to be OK'." Born in Brentwood, Charlotte said she was "one of the original Essex girls". She described herself as mature and independent, and said she "sailed through" primary school, but in secondary school she faced challenges due to her dyslexia. "All of a sudden, I'm at senior school and I'm hiding behind the fact that I've got dyslexia by being the clown," she said. "Then I meet my best friend, who's still my best friend to this day... and she's like my little partner in crime." Although Charlotte was "bright and switched on", she said her peers started to notice she was dyslexic and they bullied her. She started to disengage from her schoolwork, and when a family friend said she could sell some clothing for commission, Charlotte jumped at the opportunity. Charlotte and her friend then started selling fashion pieces from a locker at school, aged 14, and were earning around £25 a week in cash. "We had this business running from our locker and the pub. You could get into the pub at that age, in our school uniforms," she said. "So, we'd sell this stuff, and then I got my school report, which basically said, 'I have not seen this child'. "Then I was called in for truancy and things, so me and my best friend got expelled at the same time." Charlotte, from Southend, Essex, said she left school with one GCSE in English, along with a geography qualification, and she had to be "educated again" at a new boarding school. While she "worked really hard", she ended up leaving after 18 months, as she did not have enough qualifications to take her A-levels. She said she was then recruited to start her first job in sales, aged 16, working for a baby magazine for the National Childbirth Trust. "It was brilliant and I absolutely loved it," Charlotte said. "The faxes would come in to tell you you've done a two-and-a-half grand deal, and it was all commission, so I was earning around £500 or £600 a week. It was crazy. It was crazy times." Charlotte worked in other publishing companies in the sales departments, covering topics such as fashion, lifestyle, cars and electronics, and moved to London before having her first child in 2001. After returning from maternity leave, Charlotte said she was "let go" from her job – and she believes this was due to sexism and having children, as she was "their top salesperson". However, rather than feeling defeated, Charlotte, aged 28, made the "brave" move and decided to launch her own car magazine from her spare bedroom "in between changing nappies". With a £10,000 loan from her father, she later set up an exhibition for the magazine, which she said was "really successful". "It was a B2B publication for anything that goes into the car, so you were dealing with Kenwood, Sony, electronic companies," she said. "Then, the car market crashed... so we had a planning meeting and said, 'What's happening now?' I said, 'Oh, cosmetic surgery is a big thing, aesthetics', and then at one point, we had (the idea for) a funeral magazine that was going to be called Embalming Weekly or something." With Charlotte wanting to focus on the concept of a B2B magazine with an exhibition attached to it, she "launched into the aesthetics market with cosmetic news". She said she sold the car side of the business, which was turning over just under £1 million annually, and focused on cosmetics, for which she held an exhibition and won awards. At 39, she sold this cosmetics company, which she said was turning over £1.2 million annually, and then semi-retired at 40 as she wanted to spend more time with her two children. Charlotte then got divorced from her husband, which she said was one of the hardest times in her life. "We were very much in love for a very long time and it's very sad," she said. "I was devastated. It was leaving the family home, downsizing, the kids being affected by it. It was probably one of the worst things to deal with in my life, but you get through it." During the divorce, Charlotte said she was experiencing "every symptom that you can imagine" of perimenopause, but she was "in denial" at first. She said she had visited the GP four times and doctors suggested antidepressants, but after pushing for further testing privately, she was prescribed hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Following this, Charlotte set up Menopause in Practice (MiP) – formerly known as Menopause in Aesthetics (MiA) – which is a B2B conference and exhibition for healthcare professionals. She then founded Pause Live in 2023, an organisation which holds "the UK's largest menopause and women's health event" every year. "Us women, we put everyone else first and we don't see those signs," she said. "It's not for profit. We put everything back into it because we want to help other women that were like me, that were really lost and didn't know where to go. The atmosphere in that event is just electric. If you could bottle it up, you would be a billionaire because it's women really supporting women and there's no judgment." Charlotte plans to launch a men's health event, too, as she feels there are "gaps in the market" for this. While she used to be "cutthroat" in business, she is now focused on "empowering" others and she is keen to inspire young people with her story, especially those who may be struggling at school. Charlotte said: "There's a whole generation, unfortunately, that have been let down because they can't get apprenticeships, they can't do these things, so I believe we need to be inspiring these young people. "I think it's really important to say to young people that you can do whatever you set your mind to. It's not about manifesting; it's about believing in yourself. "If you look at the journey of what you've achieved and what you've done, you have to give yourself a pat on the back and say, "Well, actually, anyone can do it' – and I do believe that. "I still believe that anyone can run a business if they put their minds to it." To find out more about Pause Live, visit: www.pauselive.com.