A law graduate who used to budget on her food shop has now made her fortune selling second-hand clothes online.
Hollie Marie, 25, decided in 2014 to put her old outfits on the Depop app hoping to make some spare cash and clear out her wardrobe.
The then 18-year-old began casually using the app after getting "super bored" of the clothing she owned - but now she earns a six-figure salary and is a top seller.
Now, she's living her dream in Bali and has five employees to help her run shops in the UK.
She told the Mirror : "I’d started trying to lose weight in 2015 and by 2016 I’d dropped about 4 dress sizes so I needed to get rid of my old stuff and also buy myself clothes that fit.
"It was a godsend for making pocket money whilst I was doing my degree because I honestly would not have been able to afford to buy clothes otherwise."
Hollie extended her range of items to jewellery and designer men's clothes and even handed in her notice at her job in June 2021 to work full-time on her business.
She said: "I went to Dubai in February 2021 for a month and funnily enough I haven’t been back to the UK since.
"I think by June I was handing my notice in, I’d been able to scale my shops to a point where I didn’t need to sacrifice my hours between 9-5 every day and there’s nothing more motivating than the sun outside to make you get off your butt and try and make something of your life.
"I still one hundred per cent will one day finish my training and become a lawyer but I would love to be able to scale my shops to the point where I can work pro-bono."
Describing her day-to-day schedule, she said: "I adopted an incredibly cheeky Bali dog after a few months of living here so she wakes up at about 5 or 6 every day.
"I check in with the people who are doing the manual labour for my shops in the UK to make sure everything went smoothly that day as there’s an eight hour time difference.
"Then I’ll find a cute cafe to work in and spend a few hours checking my inventories and seeing if I need to restock anything.
"I also check any new Depop trends to make sure I’m up to date and then I make some TikToks for the week.
"At lunchtime, I go home, go to the gym and then sunbathe until people in the UK are awake. At this point, I’ll record some videos for Instagram with my daily Depop tips and then I’m done with work for the day."
Hollie has made thousands throughout the past seven years - but she nearly lost it all in 2020 when her shops were hacked.
"I can tell you that on average I make [between] five to ten times what I used to earn in a month," she added.
"I was quite surprised that my shops have taken off so much but I have a lot more outgoings now that I’ve outsourced my work to other people.
"I’ve come a long way from living off Lidl 19p pasta!"
Last year, she wrote an e-book designed to give people insider tips to find success on Depop - it details how she built up her business to the point she didn't need another job.
For those keen to sell their own clothes, she advises: "Most importantly - do your RESEARCH.
"I can’t explain the amount of money I lost buying random things to sell and having none of it sell.
"I always tell people that their starting capital is in their wardrobe but honestly it is.
" Declutter your wardrobe and shop sustainably, this is the future! "
For any further tips, follow Hollie on Instagram and TikTok @hollieamc."
