Karen Gaskell
Karen Gaskell
When thinking about who I am, I realised that my journey has always been around talking and being really interested in people!
For a while that got me into trouble...
Told off for talking when at school, even had the ruler across the hand for it, yes, I am that old! That didn’t stop me though. I left school at 16 and worked for a bank, in Poole, where I was moved from a quiet, really boring office, to the front desk so I could talk to people, and be friendly. This was just perfect for me and for those who wanted quiet!
Family were my priority in my 20 and 30’s, finding jobs that fitted around my children was essential. Although, I did have many ideas of starting my own business that never came to fruition. I was too busy with the demands of a young family and at the time I was very happy with that and have never regretted that life investment.
Fast forward to my 40’s and with kids left home, I embarked into the business world with my husband Keith. Call it a mission, call it crazy but we bought our local pub and turned it into a fabulous local community pub restaurant and worked so hard for 3 years to build our dream. Trouble was, that our dream was in the hands of the economy and the pub company that owned the building.
2008 recession came along, 2009 trade dropped, rent and rates went up would you believe!! And we were forced to sell in 2010 or face the risk of bankruptcy.
Selling at huge capital loss, we found ourselves in our early 50’s with what was left of our financial pot for retirement wiped out, ill health brought on by stress followed, and desire to care for an elderly parent and need for income saw me take a poorly paid retail job, plus doing whatever I could like ironing for friends, cleaning offices in the evenings, to keep our heads above water.
No benefits either, as we didn’t qualify!! Don’t ask, its just the system we live in I guess.
We were renting a damp flat, and things definitely had to change. Well, they did, in 2011 a business came across my path that changed our lives...
Utility warehouse.
Introduced to it by a friend, he explained it could help save money or make money, what was I interested in? Well, I wanted both, and when he told me the business plan, literally the hairs on the back of my neck stood up!! Why hadn’t anyone told me this before! I rang my husband and remember being so excited about what I’d found and that this would be our salvation and future. Keith, being of an engineer’s mindset however, was slightly less enthusiastic and cautious, and I understand that, because it did seem too good to be true.
However, we are both open minded enough to look at something and make up our own minds, and so the following week, with Keith having done his due diligence, we signed up as partners with this incredible company.
I committed in my mind to giving it a year and see what happened, and here I am nearly 12 years later, still loving it, still helping people either save money on their bills, or do what I did and start their own businesses,. The difference with this business is it is my dream to fulfil, it’s in my control, and my reward comes from my efforts and nothing can take that away from me. There is no financial risk only reward, and the lifestyle choices and financial freedom it can bring are unlimited.
My Core Values
We practice what we preach