From Nana's House to £10M: How Olivia's Fashion Dream Took Off

Olivia Prince has always had a passion for fashion. Growing up in Conwy, Wales, she enjoyed experimenting with different styles and outfits. This love for clothes led her to study fashion buying and merchandising at Manchester Metropolitan University. While she was there, Olivia landed a placement at Boohoo, a well-known international fashion brand. She was excited about this opportunity, especially since she came from a small town. To stand out, Olivia created a unique CV by putting her information on the back of a leather jacket, which helped her get noticed by the company.

After her placement, Olivia stayed at Boohoo for six more months, learning valuable skills that she felt were even more useful than what she learned at university. When the Covid pandemic hit, Olivia worked as a receptionist in an empty building. This gave her time to focus on her side hustle: buying and reselling clothes online. She used her grandmother's house in Manchester as her base, packing and shipping orders herself. Olivia decided to rebrand her business as Murci, focusing on unique designs with special placement prints that made her clothes stand out from those found in regular stores.

Murci's big break came when Millie Court wore one of Olivia's outfits on the popular TV show Love Island in 2021. Suddenly, hundreds of people wanted to buy the same outfit. Olivia, with help from her mum and nana, spent hours handwriting labels and packing orders. As sales grew, Olivia realized it was time to quit her receptionist job and focus on Murci full time. Her family continued to help, but soon she needed more staff. Today, Murci has 35 employees and a new headquarters in Manchester. Olivia's brother Thomas, a former accountant, helped the company expand into the US, where they now do 30 percent of their business. Olivia believes that passion and a supportive team are key to success. Her story is part of a larger trend in the UK, where many people are starting side businesses to earn extra income and try out new ideas. Experts say that while it's hard to achieve big success, stories like Olivia's inspire others to follow their dreams.