INTRODUCTION: A SELF-MADE JOURNEY

If you've picked up this book, you may be curious what the title means? Perhaps you, yourself, are looking to become self-made, or maybe you were intrigued by what makes me, the author of this book, self-made.

Let me start by sharing the Oxford English Dictionary definition of self-made:

made by oneself

having become successful or rich by one's own efforts

Throughout this book you will discover what it is to be self-made, and how you, too, can become your own version of self-made. But before you read on, I want to say straight up that being self-made isn't just about a measure of financial success, and becoming self-made doesn't mean you have to aspire to having more than seven digits in your bank account. Heck, it doesn't even mean you have to have six! (Spoiler: it is possible though, irrespective of your current financial situation.)

Who am I?

First, let me introduce myself. I am Olivia Carr?-?mother, founder, philanthropist, mentor, keynote speaker, community builder, author and a self-made woman.

In this book, I share with you all of the tips, the lessons, the secrets, the stories and the tools that I have used to help me overcome hardship, adversity, financial struggle, relationship breakdowns, mental health challenges, and personal and professional setbacks and then go on to achieve my version of success and to become self-made.

Most traditional business books often start by showcasing the author's impressive credentials?-?their prestigious university degrees and their list of accomplishments. But not all successful people have followed this path, and I certainly have not had a typical path to success.

While I don't hold any university qualifications, I have certainly earned a master's degree in life experience, and that is something that cannot be taught inside a university lecture hall. Both my diverse life experience and strong mindset are what have allowed me to go from being in over $100?000 in debt in my 20s to building and growing a multi-million-dollar global brand. I started my business Shhh Silk in my spare room in 2015, and our products have become loved and adored by customers, retail outlets, hotels and A-list celebrities worldwide.

I wrote this book to not only serve as your very own personal guide to business success, but to help you achieve greater mental strength and, in turn, greater overall success in your life.

This book is full of practical, honest and actionable steps you can take right now to become self-made, no matter your current life or financial situation. How do I know this? Because I've been there. I have experienced my own version of rock bottom. And in this book, I share with you what those moments have taught me about mental strength, resilience, determination and tenacity. Learning to master these traits has helped me climb my way back up, and achieve more success and personal growth than I ever dreamt possible. This was my driving force for writing this book: to help you achieve more success and personal growth than you have ever dreamt was possible.

Finding strength from within

My biggest rock-bottom moment in life was when I was facing serious financial trouble. The lowest point was when I found myself standing in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court facing potential prison time for six years of unpaid CityLink fines, over 200 enforcement warrants, as well as multiple maxed-out credit cards, putting me at just over $100?000 in debt in my 20s.

How was this possible at such a young age? The cost of raising a child as a young, single mother, and falling into the trap of living beyond my means had caught up with me. I didn't know how to work my way out of it, and I felt like I would never get ahead. My financial problems felt too big and too hard to handle. I didn't know where to start to begin to turn my life around, or how I would ever be able to get ahead. The thought of one day owning my own home or building a successful business seemed like impossible dreams.

I eventually did turn my life around, and I share all of these lessons with you in this book so that you have the insights and strategies that I wish I had sooner when I was going through the very real struggles of financial pressure. We'll go through personal finance and professional cashflow lessons to help you turn your personal financial position or your business cash flow position around a lot sooner than I did.

Among all of the lessons and tips in this book, I also share moments of my personal story, which is one of perseverance, resilience, mental strength and determination. It's a story of rising from the depths of despair to build a successful business from scratch as a single mother, not once, but twice. It's through sharing my story with you that I hope to empower you with the tools that you may need to turn your life around, develop your self-belief to start your own business, grow your current business, or simply experience more personal growth and learn how to become self-made.

Self-made doesn't happen overnight

Becoming self-made was not an overnight process for me. It took me 14 years of hard work, sacrifice and commitment to finally clear all of my debt, and a further five years to teach myself how to reshape my mental relationship with money, how to manage money and how to respect money.

For all the mummas (or mummas-to-be) reading this, balancing the demands of parenthood with the constant needs of entrepreneurship is a continual challenge. There are many days, still, when I feel so overwhelmed and on the brink of giving up. I have learnt through my experiences what it takes to keep going and growing in the face of adversity.

Your purpose needs to be bigger than your problems. You need to understand what drives you, and we'll go through this process together. For me, it's my desire to create personal wealth and stability for myself; to be able to have the time and money to focus on my overall mental, physical and personal development; to be able to contribute to the community and pay it forward regularly; and to continue to make myself proud.

What you'll find in this book

Self-Made is your step-by-step guide to overcoming adversity and achieving success.

Throughout the pages of Self-Made, I share insights, strategies and advice that I believe are crucial for success: from your initial decision to start your own business, to the challenges of growing and scaling it. We'll also work on cultivating a self-made mindset, and tap into your inner strength and resilience to create the life you desire, regardless of your current obstacles. Throughout the chapters of this book, you will tap into a wealth of knowledge about building and growing your business?-?knowledge that I wish I had access to when I began my entrepreneurial journey. This book is like having a mentor in your corner every step of the way sharing tips, advice, honest feedback of the highs and lows of running your own business, and giving you access to the exciting world of ecommerce.

One of the biggest realisations I've had about growing my own ecommerce business, is that it is a constantly evolving journey. I encourage you to use this book as a living, breathing resource that you can turn to at any point in your journey.

You will find this book has more impact on your life when you use it regularly as a guide as you navigate the road ahead. Have a notebook and pen handy, and I encourage you to highlight all the words that resonate with you. Most importantly, take action on the exercises I've created for you?-?after all, without action, your goals are simply wishes.

I've poured my heart and soul into crafting this book to ensure you get value and practical action steps you can apply in your life or business right away. I draw from my own experiences and share with you the invaluable lessons I've learnt along the way, as well as some I am still learning today.

Before we get into it, I want to let you know there are moments in this book where I'm also very open about my recent struggles with anxiety and burnout. It can be easy to feel like you need to have everything together all of the time; however, the truth is that building a business and raising a family is tough, and it's okay to struggle sometimes. In this book, I open up about my own battles with anxiety and burnout, and share the strategies that have helped me to manage these challenges and maintain my mental health while growing my business and being a single parent.

TIP

I encourage you to use this book as a working document that you can use to make notes to follow up on concepts, work through the activities and further develop your own ideas. One of my mentors taught me this simple formula to use when you are reading something, attending a workshop or in a meeting. Use an 'A' for any notes that require you to take action, use 'I' for any ideas you think of, and 'R' to research something later. Try using the AIR notetaking method throughout this book.

Being self-made

Running a business can be challenging and isolating?-?it's also one of the most rewarding experiences you can have. I'm honoured to be able to share my insights and stories with you in the hopes that they help you achieve the success and fulfilment you deserve, while...