A former shop assistant has revealed how she turned £100 into £100,000 in just six months after launching her own swimwear range.
Briony Gorton, 23, from Burnley, who used to work part time in Pandora, was just 21- years-old when she decided to embark on her own fashion venture.
After investing £100 into fabrics, she turned her bikini designs into real-life products, before launching an online range of clothes under the brand name Talliah Rose.
Now, the young businesswoman is reaping the financial benefits of her success – and not only owns a Range Rover, but has bought her mum a car and is set to build her own dream house later this year.
‘I was working part time at Pandora and was at university when I realised that one day I wanted to become my own boss,’ explained Briony. ‘I used to sit in lectures thinking I was being taught how to work for somebody else – and that wasn’t what I wanted.’
Briony Gorton, 23, from Burnley (above), turned £100 to £100,000 in just six months by launching a swimwear range. She built a website under the brand name Talliah Rose and eventually started selling clothes and accessories, too
Businesswoman Briony models a pale pink bikini from her Talliah Rose label on Instagram
The entrepreneur strikes a pose in a £26 swimsuit from her brand on Instagram
The young entrepreneur was working part time at Pandora when she realised that she wanted to become her own boss
Briony, who was studying fashion, buying and merchandising, was sat in her lecture hall when she had the light bulb moment about starting her own brand. Pictured, in an Instagram snap
Briony, who was studying fashion, buying and merchandising, was sat in her lecture hall when she had the light bulb moment.
‘I decided I wanted to set up a small swimwear brand designing my own pieces, so I took the £100 I had in my account and bought some fabrics from a local shop in Burnley,’ she explained.
‘I then took my ideas to a seamstress who was family friend and she made my designs come to life.’
Hoping to gain further interest in her products, Briony started fashioning her own designs, before uploading them to her social media pages.
Briony (pictured) is now reaping the financial benefits of her success. She owns a Range Rover, has bought her mum a car and is due to build her dream house this summer
Deciding to set up a small swimwear range, Briony bought some fabrics from a local fabric shop in Burnley and asked a seamstress to bring her ideas to life. She then fashioned them on Instagram to try and gain further interest (above)
The 23-year-old now lives the high life after raking in £500, 000 in just six months after launching her official website – talliahroseuk.com
‘I then decided to create a Depop account – a new selling platform similar to eBay but targeted at a younger generation,’ she explained.
‘I modelled the samples made and posted them on Instagram, where I had about 4,000 followers at the time, and the reaction was incredible.’
It wasn’t long before the orders came rolling in – but her first sale was a particularly memorable one for Briony.
‘I started taking orders from my samples and had them made up, packaged and distributed from my mum’s kitchen at home,’ said the full-time influencer.
‘I’ll never forget my first sale. It was the day after I listed my first design. I couldn’t believe that not only did other people like what I’d designed, but that they actually wanted to wear them on their holidays.’
Briony’s first design (pictured) which was mass produced. Speaking of the hurdles she’s encountered along the way, she said: ‘My images had been taken from my Instagram account and my designs had been replicated, and mass produced by a factory in China, and were being sold on eBay for a fraction of the price’
But the success of Briony’s swimwear range wasn’t without its problems.
‘Everything was amazing for the first year or so until I hit my first hurdle,’ she said. ‘My images had been taken from my Instagram account and my designs had been replicated, and mass produced by a factory in China, and were being sold on eBay for a fraction of the price.’
She continued: ‘I was devastated and had no idea what to do or how to protect my brand. I turned to legal advice but was told as I hadn’t patented my designs that I didn’t have a leg to stand on – basically I could do nothing.’
‘I was new to this and it was my own fault but also a huge learning curve which I will never forget.’
With summer coming to an end, Briony then started looking for factories and suppliers for clothing and footwear – and she hasn’t looked back since.
Within six months, she had launched her official website – talliahroseuk.com – and turned her £100 investment into £100,000.
‘Last month we hit a milestone of 20,000 orders since our official website launch in February 2017,’ she said. ‘I knew I could make this bigger and bigger and that is exactly what I’ve been doing over the last three years.’
The full-time social media influencer uses her Instagram page to promote ‘girl boss vibes’ and hopes to encourage young girls to chase their dreams
Briony (above) is on track to make her first million by the time she hits 25 in 2020 and even has her own management
To date, Briony has made over £500,000 and is on track to make her first million by the time she hits 25.
‘Along the way when I was promoting my own brand, I was spotted and picked up by some big clothing companies who asked me to do some paid promotions, which I quickly turned into another business,’ she said.
‘I have now grown a following of over 150,000 followers on my personal Instagram account and am a full-time social media influencer with personal management – alongside running Talliah Rose.
‘I have the perfect platform to advertise my brand and boost my sales, but I also try my best to promote girl boss vibes on my Instagram and encourage people, especially young girls, to chase their dreams. There is no limit to success!’