This is a version of the article Single mum’s lockdown business coaching people on LinkedIn lets her ditch renting to buy her first home that first appeared on The Metro website 25 June 2022.
Lea and her son
Lea Turner, a 37-year-old lone parent, is chatting with her 6-year-old son, Dexter, whilst lovingly decorating her home, bought in March this year. They talk about his new private school, where he is thriving, having qualified for the rugby and football teams, doing well academically and making lots of new friends.
It wasn’t always like this. This is the first place Lea has truly called home with her son. Having only ever lived in several rentals until now, she had never felt secure. Enduring a slug infestation, a broken boiler that a bad landlord would not replace, someone wanting their house back – they had lived in five different houses before Dexter was five years old. Each time they were forced to move, incurring huge unbudgeted additional costs.
Now closer to friends and family in Greater Manchester, having moved from Northampton where she lived for 8 years, she says “Knowing we now have a beautiful home that’s much larger than the small rentals we used to be in and it’s all ours, feels like we can finally set down roots and exhale…”
Lea’s previous business
From 2011 until April 29th 2020 Lea ran her own small transcription business averaging 60-70 hour weeks. Working mostly for building surveyors, market researchers, doctors, and legal professionals, she typed various documents such as medical reports, legal papers and interviews.
In a bid to attract new customers and grow the business, Lea started regularly posting on LinkedIn. This was October 2019, when she wanted to take on freelancers and work fewer hours. The plan was successful. Within a few months she had attracted many new clients and was regularly working with five freelancers. Her network grew exceptionally fast, too. In just two months she went from around 400 to over 10,000 LinkedIn followers. Things were looking up.
Then COVID hit.
The affect of COVID on Lea’s business
In March 2020 the country locked down. None of Lea’s customers could see their own clients, and so very little work was being generated for her. Her freelancers had their children at home, and there was no work for them in any case.
With no childcare help, no family nearby, nor partner to help with the bills, Lea needed to act quickly to bring in money. People had noticed her LinkedIn network growth and had asked her how they could do better and attract more followers for themselves.
Lea started a new business
In a leap of faith Lea decided to give a free LinkedIn training session to one of her business contacts. She wanted to see if it was something she enjoyed doing and from which she could create enough value. She got her answer when the client said it was fantastic, and so she started charging for sessions. £99 for the hour was a big step up from the £10 an hour she used to earn in her typing business!
Lea soon got booked up fast, making more in a week than she used to earn in a month.
Having grown her Lea Turner business from these training sessions, Lea now offers training for individuals and companies, helping them to improve how they are using LinkedIn. She advises on generating inbound leads through network building, content marketing, social selling and improving their personal and business brands. She expanded to offer digital resources plus one-to-one corporate coaching and webinars.
Her clientele varies from corporate firms, such as law and HR, to marketers, coaches, barristers and more.
Lea’s finances
Lea has seen huge financial benefits to her new career. In 2019 she was earning £12,000 a year. Her new business saw her turn over 500k, making profits of 200k in the first year and 300k in the second.
But the journey from earning 12k to 500k was not an easy one. Trying to keep all her new clients happy, as well as looking after her son, house and dog was challenging. It caused a lot of stress and anxiety. Lea says that she is quite introverted and anxious sometimes. So, although being visible is an imperative part of the job, dealing with a sudden and growing amount of attention can be overwhelming.
Leas’ advice for people wanting to start a business
Looking back, Lea says she wishes she had taken on help much earlier “I was so sure that it was just luck, that it wouldn’t last, that I was terrified of investing in my business, I just hoarded profits, convinced I’d never make that much money again. I wanted to ensure I kept money aside for taking care of my son if the success left.”
She advises others starting a business not to do it alone. “Ask for help from people around you, listen to advice from people who are where you want to be, and create a strong network of other professionals who understand the grind it takes to start something brand new and make it a success. Being around other people who ‘get it’ makes you feel less alone, and they’ll lift you when you stumble.”
Lea’s new second business
Following her own advice, Lea is investing in other professionals from the start, to help her grow her second business, a membership community, more sustainably than the previous. She is definitely doing something right. Now achieving 1-2 million weekly views on her LinkedIn posts she’s looking to wind down her one-to-one training in favour of reaching more people. She seeks to make a larger impact on a bigger scale, using the influence and trust that she has already built.
Lea’s resilience (“being visible on line is a target for unkindness”, she notes) and confidence have grown over the last couple of years. She has surprised herself at her ambition, saying “Now I know how capable I am, I want more, and to see how far this can go. I’ve learnt tech skills, marketing skills, writing, graphic design, financial skills… the list goes on. My brain feels constantly full of new information, but I absolutely love it. Helping people makes me happy, and when I’m happy I’m a better mum, and my son is happier. More important than the perks of more money and getting out of the benefits trap.”
The future for Lea
So what are Lea’s hope for the future? She wants to continue making regular savings for her son to secure his future. But as well as looking after him she has taken part in charity fundraisers, including one to help Ukrainian refugees, making more than £40,000 in a week. The resulting publicity has attracted donations in food, supplies and cash totalling nearly £200,000 to date. She also walked 50 miles and raised £10,000 for Derian House Children’s Hospice.
But it’s not all work for Lea, paid or voluntary. She has friends around the world and looks forward to travelling even more with Dexter, creating adventures and memories. Her next stop is Bali, Indonesia, for three weeks to explore the jungle, feed monkeys, and play on the beach.
Helen Dewdney commissions.
