ZAMBIAN BRITISH MILLIONAIRE

Caroline Marsh is one of Britain's leading female property investors and an inspiration to thousands. In Autumn 2008 Caroline was catapulted into the media limelight, when she was featured on prime-time Channel 4 television as a philanthropic 'Secret Millionaire'.
Flying High: Caroline's Early Days

I was born in Lusaka, Zambia's capital city, in 1976 and had a privileged and happy childhood growing up there. We lived in a nice house, my three brothers and I went to good schools, and our family enjoyed life at the higher end of the local society.

I remember seeing an advertisement on television for British Airways when I was about ten years old and, like many other girls at that age, I was instantly completely enraptured by the dream of living the glamorous life of airline cabin crew, travelling the world.
But then when I was 13, my father died and it was like my world had fallen apart. Our family had lost not only a husband and father, but also its main breadwinner and my own utter inspiration.

My mother was working as an accountant, so we weren’t on the streets, but the fact that our income was suddenly slashed meant we had to move house and move schools, all luxuries were cut off, and life became something of a struggle for us all.
I left school at the age of seventeen, trained to become a travel consultant and worked in a travel agency for a year, until I found out one day that the airline Zambian Express was recruiting for crew. I got all ready for the interview but felt totally deflated when I arrived and found out I was one of five thousand people applying for just ten positions! I knew this was my big chance, though, so was determined to do my very best, and it paid off because I was selected! The next three years was like a dream, flying throughout Africa initially and then when the company went intercontinental, taking trips to Europe. I was seeing new places, meeting new people and was finally able to help support my family....I thought life couldn’t get much better, but suddenly the company went into liquidation.

At that point, everything for me hung on getting my last redundancy cheque, so when the liquidators dragged their feet, I decided to go to their offices and demand to see the person in charge! It took me a while, but I finally got in to see the senior liquidation handler and clearly made an impression because he personally delivered my cheque that evening to the pub I was then managing. Not only that, but he asked me out to dinner, we started to date, and two years later on a holiday in Capetown, Michael the liquidator proposed to me!

We got married in Zambia in 2001, then in 2002 moved back to Michael’s hometown of Swindon with his two young sons, mainly to take advantage of the better opportunities available in the UK. Michael continued to work as an accountant, and I became an administrator and promoter for a marketing company, before going self-employed a year later and movng on to promoting everything and anything, from cars to cereal bars. Michael also went self employed and set up his own accountancy business, and our happy family was completed in 2005 when our son Ashley was born, a new brother for my two step-sons.
My Property Investment Journey with the Platinum Partners Group…

In 2006, Michael and I went to the Business Achievers Conference in Alicante, and because we had inherited a few properties, we were keen to listen to a presentation about property investing. Our portfolio was giving us quite a poor return, with some properties actually in negative cash flow, so when I heard Steve Bolton speak about his business model, the systems he had in place and the high returns he was achieving as a result, I knew I needed to speak to him as quickly as possible! I wanted to be actively involved in building my portfolio, so agreed a mentoring programme with Steve, focusing on a cash positive strategy of investing in Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).

In March 20o7 Steve came to Swindon to work with me and after and after the end of the second day of being mentored by him, I was sale agreed on 2 properties which would both give fantastic returns exceeding my expectations! That was the beginning of my success in business, and thanks to the business model, I was left with a system and support network that enabled me to acquire 4 more properties by December 2007, something I'd never imagined I'd do.

I realised that if I was going to continue to invest aggressively and creatively I needed some long term support, so thank God, that was right at the time that Platinum Property Partners was formed, and I was immediately signed up as a foundation Franchise Partner. As well as getting the business support in expanding my UK portfolio, I can also take advantage of great capital return opportunities overseas.

In October 2007, Michael and I bought an apartment in Bucharest, Romania, which offers an exceptional return on investment and will bring us a good cashflow boost at a time when the UK market is not appreciating. My goal is to have purchased four more HMO’s, four below market value properties and invested in more international deals by March 2009.

Every two months I and the other PPP franchise partners come together for workshops, which is like the best networking club I could imagine. I really feel like I'm operating with the best systems and strategies, thanks to these regular information injections on where the market is, creative financing, working with Passive Investors, BMV deals, Land and Development and international investments.

I don't have to worry about changes in the market, because I know PPP will always be there with the best solutions.
Early on I realised that in order to be a successful business owner I needed to understand business fundamentals would probably benefit greatly from paying some attention to my personal development.

I started to read and listen to motivational speakers - teachers such as Robert Kiyosaki, Brian Tracy, Tim Redmond, Brian Klemmer and Mike Murdock - just to help me think differently and get different results. Even over a short period of time, this has certainly helped me have higher expectations in running my business and reassured me that I can and will achieve my goals!
I am proud to be a part of an organisation that has not only helped me set up a successful business, but that also wants to make a difference in people's lives and truly enable all Franchise Partners to be more, do more, have more and give more. UK ZAMBIANS.COM