A BUSINESSWOMAN has told how she went from finding out she was £1.5 million in debt to now running aKatie Lopes, the founder and creative director of sustainable underwear brand Stripe and Stare, may run a company that makes a whopping £6 million a year, but things weren't always looking so bright.for a year, she was eventually offered an incredible promotion that would've made her the youngest producer at Channel 7 at the time.
After living with her sister in Australia, the pair realised there were so many brands that weren't available in "Women were coming in and buying armfuls of this product," she recalls. "They weren't cheap - they were like £18 for a rolled up ball of lace. After getting her mum to make the first prototype, named Cheap Frills, on her sewing machine, the popularity grew from there.
She describes how this all happened in the "week from hell," which also saw her father tragically die following a long battle of cancer, and her house burgled from "top to bottom" while she was at her father's funeral.Based on new research from Finder, an estimated 22.8 million Brits are using side hustles to top up their income.Millennials aren’t far behind, with 65 per cent having an additional source of income.
"I just remember all my friends and family around me like how are we going to help her? What are we going to do? There was just nothing anyone can do."