Dubai resident Katie Godfrey started her first business while she was a teenager. She launched a salon with £50,000 ($67,000) in debt, but it was the best investment she made, she tells The National.
“It’s created everything I have today,” she says. “If I didn't do that and I didn't take that risk, I wouldn't have grown to the chain of salons. I wouldn't have been able to sell them. I wouldn't be able to be here in Dubai now.”
Nearly two decades later, Ms Godfrey is a business strategist, author and podcaster, specialising in hair, beauty and aesthetics, helping entrepreneurs grow through one-to-one consultancies, retreats, events, online programmes and digital products.
She makes a minimum of $66,000 a month, with about $26,428 of that from passive income.
How did money feature in your childhood?
My mum and dad seemed to always have money. There wasn't ever really loads of chat about money. Me and my brother always had nice holidays, we had a lifestyle that was nice but normal. We always lived in a nice home. We always managed and were always clothed well. My friends would say we were the rich family, but we definitely weren’t.
I grew up in Luton, in Bedfordshire, it’s not the nicest area in the world.
My mum was always very good with money. She always managed the household money, so I think managing it and being good with money now definitely comes from her.
What was your first job? What did you earn?
I started in business really young, at 13. I went into the modelling world, so I was earning money from a young age, and I think that's why I love it.
I opened my first main business with overheads, my first salon, at 19 years old, and I was £50,000 in debt. The reason for that debt was to open up the salon, when it came to refitting it, the equipment we needed and all of that stuff. So, I had all of that debt, and I needed to find a way out of it. I gave myself a task to do that within five years, which I did, but it was very make-or-break.
I've always needed money to feel safe and not be in those positions. So, it has played an important part in my business life since I was young.
I would get maybe £1,000 per job while I was modelling, which back then was really good money. I actually left school at 13 due to being bullied. I had no education because of the bullying, so modelling saved my life, and then also gave me an earning. That's always how I look at that part of my life.
I remember living in London on my own at 17, and my rent then being, like £1,000, which again was so much money, but I was able to pay that.
That first salon [was my best investment]. That's what started all my wealth in the first place.
What money challenges have you had?
I was a single mum from about 24 years old, so money was very much to survive and provide for my daughter.
How do you grow your wealth?
I keep building businesses. I have several businesses, and I have shares in businesses, too, and then I'm in stocks and shares also. I did have property in the UK, but we sold that. The next step is we're looking to have more property and buy.
Are you a spender or a saver?
I would really say both. I have to have a safety net. I always say this to my clients as well. I need a safe number in my business and in my personal life. Anything above that I can spend, but I’m very, very good at saving. I can also have really good blowouts.
Would you say you’re wise with money?
Definitely. I work with hundreds and hundreds of businesses and I see some really sad stories where they are so much more in debt than the £50,000 that I started with. I've always been really careful.
Any cherished purchases?
I do have my diamonds, my watch, my car, but for me, my money has always gone on travel. I love experiences, I love memories and that's where I've always spent more money.
That's where my extravagant money gets spent. I just love the memories of my children and letting them see different cultures and the world.
What financial advice would you give your younger self?
I would have invested younger, I think. I would have bought a property, or gotten into property, a lot younger than I did.
I have spent a lot of money, especially before my daughter came along. I had a great time, I had fun and I don't regret it at all, but if I did go back and tell my younger self something, it mostly would have been save more of that.
