I've gone from school drop-out at 16 to running a £250k business – you don't need a degree with my no-nonsense strategy | The Sun

THERE are no limitations on what you can achieve if you're willing to put in the hard work and you don’t need to have an educational background to be successful.

One woman is running a £250,000 business despite leaving school without getting a single mark. 

Jade Arnell from Portsmouth runs the UK's most Rebellious marketing agency, delivering no-nonsense marketing strategies that actually work. 

Jade and her team provide a range of marketing services such as website design and build, PPC, and social media management.

The entrepreneur finds herself doing something she never thought she would do as she left school the "class clown".

Jade explained university was never an option for her as she was never a fan of academics. 

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She explained: “I always loved school but more from the social experience than the learning element of it, as a teenager I really struggled to focus in class and I was the class clown in every lesson.”

Jade admitted she struggled with the structure and independent work required to complete exams at school.

She added: “I had to repeat year 10 with a new set of GCSE options, which were a far cry from anything I actually wanted to do.

“I managed to sit my mocks and achieved a good result, but by the time my actual exams rolled around, I'd had enough and by that point was spending most of my days drinking and having fun in the sun.

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“So, I left school with nothing. I didn't even attend my exams, so not a single mark was awarded to me.”

With very limited options Jade started work as a bartender earning a measly £3 an hour.

After the birth of her first child, Jade found a sector she really enjoyed and worked her way up to a managerial role. 

“I started out as an administrator in the apprenticeship sector, back then I was on about £16,000," she said.

"Slowly I worked my way up to sales as a marketing manager where I was on £40,000.”

A risk worth taking 

Jade explained she enjoyed working in the apprenticeship sector but felt her work was underappreciated. 

She said: “I had been working internally for a national apprenticeship provider looking after their sales and marketing."

“When one day after explaining for what felt like the millionth time, why automation and digital marketing were essential for growth, process improvements and efficiency, something switched.”

“I thought ‘Why the hell am I here trying in vain to help this business grow when I could just do it for myself?’.

"With that revelation, mixed with my frustrations of working with external marketing agencies, I knew I had to do something for myself.”

“A few weeks later, I met with a friend who had also been working internally as a frustrated marketing manager, and after a few vodkas, we both decided to start Rebellion Marketing.”

Jade knew that leaving her current job was a huge risk especially while she had three kids to support.

She said: “When I started the business, I had no savings or financial investment, so it was a huge risk.” 

“My husband Andrew's earnings could just about stretch to supporting us for six months, but if I hadn't made it work by then, I'd have to throw in the towel. "

"So the pressure was on to get out there and get some clients through the door.”

Covid strategy 

Jade launched Rellion Marketing in December 2019 and though she put a lot of work into the business she soon faced her first hurdle. 

She said: “Business trickled through slowly at first and then, Covid hit three months in. I thought the business was doomed for sure.”

She made the effort to adapt her business to the digital requirements that the lockdowns demanded.

“Essentially we had to change our strategy of sourcing clients," Jade said.

"Before Covid we were talking and events and holding face-to-face meetings in co-working spaces.”

“But we started focusing on our social media channels and building networks there.

"Our LinkedIn in particular grew massively in such as short space of time. “

“Plus it tied well with the services we were providing as a lot of other businesses were switching to digital, but didn't have the skills they needed internally to do it themselves.”

Loss of a partner 

Jade soon faced her next hurdle when her business partner unexpectedly decided she didn’t want to help lead the business anymore. 

She said: “My business partner decided that she wanted to join the police force and leave the business."

"It was a tough blow, it was like starting again from scratch.

"I had to find the funds to buy her share of the business and then plan for growth on my own.”

With the help of her husband Andrew, Jade was able to buy out her business partner and take on the responsibility of running the business on her own. 

She said: “I quickly hired some experienced marketeers who could deliver what the clients needed, so I could continue to work on the sales and marketing for the business.

"I planned to not take an income whilst I grew the business, and it paid off dividends."

 “I was determined to make the business a success.

"So I grafted, went to as many networking events as possible, invested in our marketing to drive inbound leads and massively grew my LinkedIn presence to over 25,000 followers.”

A return to university 

Jade actually went back to at 34 to complete a marketing degree. 

She said: “I felt having the formal qualification would help to give me more clout in the industry and I wanted to see if there was anything new to learn that could support me in growing my business and in my career.”

"It was tough managing a full-time degree whilst running a business. But I was able to pay for the full course outright."

"Everything I was learning reaffirmed that my business was on the right track and that I had all the tools I needed to make my business a success. 

She concluded: “I think I may have followed an entirely different path had I gone to university after school and I potentially would not have found my passion.”

“On the flip side, my husband went to Cambridge and got a degree in teaching.

"But now he’s followed a completely different path in transformational technology."  

Now Jade and Andrew are each taking home £125,000 a year from Rebellion Marketing and Jade believes anyone can do the same if they are willing to put in the hard work. 

She said: “I believe anyone can start their own business if they have the drive and ambition to do it.”

“I don’t think you need a degree to be successful in life, maybe once upon a time but now everyone has one, so it’s about setting yourself apart from other people." 

“I think young people are forced to make big life decisions way too early as most have no idea what they want to do outside of an educational environment."

“I think allowing people time in the workplace to find themselves and their passions before making a decision on University should be encouraged.”

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Although Jade warned any smart business person will always have a strategy.

She warned: "Make sure you know what you're getting into, you understand your target marketing and know there is a need for what you're offering.”

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