Warran-Smith Susie Warran-Smith

Swimming on my own Warran-Smith Susie Warran-Smith

Born into inner city poverty against a backdrop of racist and misogynistic 1960s Britain, Susie finally 'made it' becoming a self-made multi-millionaire at 58 years old. Admittedly slower than some entrepreneurs, but she got there in the end.

Sick of working for bullies and misogynists she decided to set up her own company with her best friend's daughter, Brady Last. They started in her small conservatory on two laptops and with a large stash of Yorkshire tea bags. The kids had left home so she thought she should do something risky for once in her life.

She put her entire savings into starting a business even though there were no clients in sight. Susie wanted her own brand, one that had design and her quirky humour at its heart. She wanted to create a company culture based on respect and kindness and managed to convince Brady to join her in this one last hurrah.

Competitors laughed at them, banks wouldn't give them an overdraft (never mind a loan), and rivals tried to put them out of business. Five years later it was sold in a multi-million pound deal to a blue chip multinational. How did she build a buy-out in such a short time and from scratch?

Susie has made waves as a woman in business, and here she sets out the things she learnt along the way and with a bit of luck, if she can do it, why can't you?