Liv Conlon
By Staff Writer, écoute moi
Liv Conlon, The UK Young Entrepreneur of the Year, is a speaker, entrepreneur, a leader in the Home Staging Industry & in leveraging that expertise to build & monetise a personal brand. She’s the founder of ‘Personal Brand Accelerator’, a platform that supports entrepreneurs going from unknown to Industry Leaders. She grew her company from scratch to the 7 figure business it is today and she teaches others how to do the same.
Tenacious and entrepreneurial to her core left school aged 16 and first business ThePropertyStagers. Liv often pops up on TV & radio as an influential young entrepreneurial expert and has spoken (regularly appearing on BBC News and ITV) about building a 7 figure brand at a young age, overcoming bullying, and how she went from being a completely unknown 16 year old to an Industry disruptor & leader. At 19 she built a £1m brand in an industry that hardly existed- so Liv knows a thing or two about building a scalable internationally recognizable business & personal brand. She beat the odds & turned her vision into a profitable reality.
Liv Conlon
Six years later, Conlon had made her first million. Here, she reveals how she at the age of 13 went from selling fake nails on eBay to running a property furnishing firm.
Working-class lass Liv, who ran a million-pound company by age 17, says: ‘I’ve earned every penny’
Lying by the pool in Marbella, it felt good to relax. To the outside world I looked like any 20 year old on holiday, but I’d actually been busy all day running the million-pound company I set up at 16.
From a working-class background, I’ve earned every penny I have.
Liv Conlon
I invested £300 I’d saved from doing household chores and made £5,000.
In 2015, I set up my next business, The Property Stagers, which temporarily furnishes empty properties before they’re sold or rented.
The inspiration came when my mum Ali 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 Conlon
At that time, I was doing an internship at a lettings agency while studying for my Highers – the Scottish equivalent of AS levels.
I attended industry events and spoke to people about what I’d done and realised I’d found a gap in the market.
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.
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.
I had zero funds to begin with, but with the upfront £1,000 fee I was paid for my first job, I bought second-hand and Ikea furniture, and began building up my stock.
Liv Conlon
Despite getting her first client after attending networking events in 2015, Olivia was worried some people wouldn’t take her seriously at such a young age.
“I was worried my age would be a hurdle so I cut my hair short to look older,” she said.
From her first year of trading, Olivia saw great success transforming 25 properties across Glasgow and Edinburgh – but with a lot of hard work.
The business owner described her initial days, saying: “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.”
Liv Conlon
However, she did find her social life paid the price for her business ambitions.
She said: “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.”
Liv Conlon
The business turned over £30,000 ($39,600) within its first year, and by the second year it turned over £1 million ($1.3m).
It has since become a family affair as Olivia’s mum left her job as a training consultant to join the team, and Olivia now has a team of 10 people in Glasgow and Manchester.
It’s not all work and no play though, as Olivia has found time for holidays in the sun and a few splurges.
Liv Conlon
She said: “I bought my first property at 18, which I’ve since sold, and I now own the house Mum and I live in and my Range Rover Evoque.
“I also have a long-term lease on an apartment in Marbella and spend 70 per cent of the year there, working remotely.”
Olivia added: “I don’t really spend on things, preferring experiences, and I’ve been able to travel to places such as LA and Nashville.”
Liv Conlon
Since gaining recognition for her business efforts at such a young age, Olivia has also stepped into the world of PR and social media to help other business owners market themselves.
She’s also launched a podcast, called The Hustle Podcast with Olivia Conlon, interviewing leading figures to find out their advice for those keen to start their own business.