A former adult learner who was struggling to find a job and raise a child on her own decided to set up her own business, which is now thriving.
Rebecca Taylor received a start-up loan from The Prince's Trust to enable her to put her beauty therapy skills to work.
She left school without obtaining any qualifications and was made redundant from her former job after becoming pregnant two years ago, reports the Yorkshire Post.
After a difficult period in which she was out of work and having to raise her child on her own, Ms Taylor managed to impress a panel of business experts to obtain a £500 grant and £3,000 loan to start her own company.
Locks and Lashes has now been running for two years and Ms Taylor has expanded her business across the Yorkshire region.
She revealed that while she had studied beauty therapy, she had never been given the opportunity to make use of her skills.
"When I did some market research I found there was a gap in the market and there was nobody in the area providing what I do," she said.
Ms Taylor might benefit from further training to enable her to run her business even more efficiently, according to one expert.
Nick Sturge, chairman of the Bristol branch of the Institute of Directors, recently claimed in an article for Bristol 24-7 that leaders can benefit from learning through training as well experience in the workplace.
He said investing in a training course could prove to be a worthwhile decision for those, such as Ms Taylor, who run their own enterprise.
Thinking about what your future holds and what steps to take next? Why not kickstart your career and search for a course suited to you by visiting our courses section.