Caroline Marsh Franchisee, Platinum Property Partners
A highly successful buy-to-let property investor, Caroline Marsh is currently making a name for herself in the media as an inspirational speaker and philanthropic entrepreneur, combining family life with a rapidly expanding business. From a rollercoaster childhood in her native Zambia to local celebrity in her present hometown of Swindon, Caroline has consistently demonstrated determination, resilience, generosity, capability and integrity, and it is these skills and values she is now sharing with others.
When she was ten years old, growing up in Zambia, like many young girls Caroline dreamed of living the glamorous life of airline cabin crew. Her world fell apart when she was 13 and her father died and she lost not only a parent but a mentor and an inspiration. The family struggled for a number of years, but at the age of 19 her childhood dream came true, when she was one of ten selected from five thousand applicants to become a flight attendant with Zambian Express, and that was the point at which Caroline realised that if she set herself a goal, she could achieve it.
She moved to the UK with her husband, Mike, in 2002, and worked as an administrator and promoter for a marketing company, before going self-employed a year later, promoting everything from cereal bars to cars. She had her first child in early 2005, and then in 2006 accompanied Mike, a self-employed accountant, to a business conference in Alicante, where she heard entrepreneur and property investor Steve Bolton talk about cash-positive property investing in the UK.
Caroline & Mike already had a few investment properties, but they were breaking even at best, so in March 2007 Caroline undertook two days of one to one mentoring in Swindon, which led directly to her acquiring a buy-to-let house, which cashflowed a pre-tax profit of £1,250 a month. By the end of 2007, Caroline and Mike had joined Platinum Property Partners, the world's first property investment franchise, and bought four more highly cash-positive properties in Swindon.
In early 2008 Caroline was screen tested & selected for C4's ‘The Secret Millionaire', and spent a week being filmed in Toxteth, Liverpool. The programme aired in September 2008 and as a direct result of her experience, not only has Caroline given money and ongoing business support to two community projects in Toxteth, but she was inspired to get to know her own local community in Swindon and make a real difference there as well.
In the past 9 months Caroline has done a large number of radio interviews - both local and national, and her speaking engagements have ranged from inspiring young people to be more entrepreneurial in their thinking, to encouraging other businesspeople and property investors, and giving inspiring motivational & after-dinner talks.
Says Caroline, "The PPP franchise has exceeded my expectations. Not only have I built a substantial, income producing, multi-million pound property portfolio but I am now recognised as one of the UK's leading female property investors, having been featured on Channel 4's ‘The Secret Millionaire'. None of this would have been possible without PPP..."
She has been involved in the national campaigns and awards judging for ‘Make Your Mark', alongside Alistair Darling and Peter Jones; was on the judging panel for ‘Enterprising Britain', to find the most enterprising place in the UK; has appeared on BBC and ITV news; is working alongside Esther Rantzen as part of the Family Commission with the ‘4 Children' charity - an 18 month campaign focused on families; is an Ambassador for the Have a Heart charity in Wiltshire; and is establishing a coaching businesses business herself, ‘..creating a world of possibilities..' for which she has already held coaching sessions and given numerous talks.
Caroline is also continuing to build her property portfolio in and around Swindon, working with passive investors and is moving her own speaking and coaching business forward by working closely with nationally recognised leaders in the field.
