I escaped Britain's 'biggest hellhole', now I'm a multimillionaire

Jessica Crane, 36, is a business coach. She lives in Bristol with her husband Jordan, 37, a rugby coach and their daughter Harley, nine, and son Hunter, eight. After a difficult childhood blighted by poverty, she was determined to build a successful career in adulthood and has become a self-made multimillionaire.

Walking up to my mother’s flat on the seventh floor of her high-story building, I was terrified. As usual, the lifts were broken and as I held my mum’s hand, we weaved our way up the stairwell, past strangers taking drugs and swigging alcohol.

I was only six years old but as faces looked at me as I walked past, I remember feeling tense and scared, praying that there would be no confrontations before we reached the front door and the relative safety of the flat.

I could hear voices of people arguing in the corridors, see fights spilling out into the streets, cars set on fire and even pit bull fighting in the car park. I lived in a constant 'fight or flight' mode that has left a legacy – even today, I will always check out where exits are in buildings in case I need to make a quick escape.

I always say I grew up in three environments. My parents split when I was very little and although Dad had custody of me and I stayed with him sometimes, he had remarried and gone on to have more children with his new wife. I went to live with my paternal grandparents for most of the week but every other weekend I’d visit my mum in Birmingham.

During the week, Mum and I would speak on the phone every night and she’d send me sweets in the post. I couldn’t wait to spend time with her, just the two of us, going swimming and to the cinema. She hardly had any money and we had no luxuries at all, but what little money she did have, she would spend on me.

A traumatic childhood

I missed my mum dreadfully but she had made a life for herself in an area of Birmingham sometimes called 'the hellhole of Britain'. She was an intelligent, driven woman but every time I visited, I’d be tense with fear that something bad would happen. I’d see so much poverty and violence on those streets and in those estates and although none of it was ever directed at me, it was an incredibly stressful environment for anyone, let alone a young child.

It was a stark contrast to the peace and gentleness of my grandparents home. Of course, my grandparents were nervous of sending me to my mum but they had no real power to stop the visits and felt it would make the family dynamic more strained if they did.

My dad's side of the family were particularly cold with me, telling me that I’d never really make anything of myself and would turn out just like my mother. It was belittling and cruel and I knew I had to prove them wrong and become more independent.

Escaping poverty

I knew that money was a way out so at the age of 10 I started a car wash business, earning a few pounds to help myself buy toiletries and essentials, things that were never bought for me. At 12 years old, I got a job at a local hair salon, earning £20 a day on a Saturday and £10-£15 a night after school. My goal was to be self-sufficient and not have to answer to anyone so I would never be trapped.

At 14, I lined up an apprenticeship at a salon in Leicester which I took up after taking my GCSEs at 16. I was fairly academic but knew that I wanted to leave school and forge my own path. I was living with my boyfriend by that age and earning £48 a week, which just about covered my bus fare and basic needs.

By the time I was 19, I was managing a salon and earning a decent salary but still making sacrifices. Friends went into jobs in banking and sales, earning thousands of pounds a month. They encouraged me to do the same, to earn good money and be able to have a social life, but I knew that my heart was in hairdressing where I’d be able to progress.

A brighter future

At 20, I met my husband Jordan who was playing for Leicester and England’s rugby teams. We’re both passionate about ambition and doing the best in life and we’re totally on the same page when it comes to family. We married in 2013 and I had my daughter Harley the following year.

But it was while I was on my maternity leave in 2013 that I knew I wasn’t going to go back to my usual job, managing a hair salon and helping to train other salons. I simply felt I’d reached the end of that particular role. So while looking after my baby, I did a consulting degree because I knew that salons still needed my advice about marketing, pricing and managing their team. I started taking them on as clients.

Building an empire

Hunter was born in March 2016 and it was at this point that Jordan left his local team Leicester and joined the Bristol Bears. That’s how we ended up living here in Bristol. It was probably one of the most stressful times of our lives. I didn’t know a single person, I was left to arrange the house move all on my own as Jordan had to commute to his new job and on top of everything my beloved nana died. That’s the point where I stopped speaking to my dad’s side of the family. I didn’t need their negativity in my life and wanted to move on.

But I found that although I was moving away from Leicester, clients still wanted my advice. It was the main reason why I took my whole coaching programme online and it took off in a way I couldn’t imagine.

We now have hundreds of salon owners worldwide seeking my advice and have now opened up a new side of the business to female entrepreneurs who work in areas such as property and e-commerce. I also started a property business which focuses on buy-to-lets but this is on the backburner at the moment as our main income is through coaching.

Balancing work and family

My life could not be more different from those days in the high-rise block with my mum. Although we turn over more than seven figures a year, the biggest change from when I worked in the salon is I now have more time and freedom – I’m able to work only from 9am to 3pm during the week so I can be there for both my children at school drop-off and pick-up.

My son has just signed for Bristol City under nines and they have a game every weekend so often we make a weekend of it, travelling up and down the country staying in four and five star hotels. We have nice holidays abroad too, often flying business class when it’s an option.

A dream lifestyle

In February, we went to Dubai with friends and in June we’re going to Greece. My children want to go to Barcelona and Paris soon too – Hunter wants to see the big football stadiums while Harley wants to go to the museums and shops. We live in an amazing house, drive nice cars and our children have everything they could want.

But my husband and I are very aware that with those luxuries comes a price – because how do you instil grit and drive into children when they haven’t had any kind of hardship? It’s for that reason that we always make them do chores if they want to earn pocket money, making them aware that they have to work for something if they want it.

I’m still close to my mum, who has now found contentment in life. I look back on those days when I lived with her and saw the most horrendous things and in some ways, I’m grateful. It gave me a drive to thrive and escape the high-rise flats and those awful situations. It showed me that if you’re willing to work hard and stick to your morals and values, then life will work out.

Read more

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