Single mum-of-two Datsa Gaile had always had dreams with running her own business - but with two young sons and just £1.50 in her pocket she feared it would never become a reality.
Fast forward just two years and the 47-year-old is now making a whopping £40,000 a month and has A-list clients like Amanda Holden, Marvin and Rochelle Humes, Dawn Ward and Gemma Collins clamouring to use her services.
And for Datsa, this is only the beginning as she plans to expand her empire even further.
Her company, Solaair Sequin Walls UK, provides sequin walls for the rich and famous and it all started one Christmas with a piece of ribbon and two batteries.
Datsa said: "I spent many years trying, crying and surviving. So to have this success now is lovely and my family is very proud of me.
“It’s important to me not just to promote my product but to know also that I am bringing happiness to my clients and that they are pleased with our service.”
The divorced mum, from Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, started small but quickly realised she was onto a very good thing.
Datsa explained: "One Christmas, I bought a ribbon for a pound and some batteries for 50p and started making light-up bows. I sold over a hundred just over Facebook and it really got me thinking – what can I do next?
“I wanted to work in the events industry.”
In January 2019, she spotted a sequin wall on Instagram and discovered there was nothing like it on offer in the UK.
She used her savings to buy one wall from the Russian-based manufacturers and was commissioned for an event in London last May.
Four weeks on, she was asked to set up walls at a make-up convention in Los Angeles – where Kim Kardashian ’s brows artist Kelly Baker was guest speaker.
Datsa said: “It was whirlwind. All of a sudden, I was flying all over the world, setting up sequin panels. I began selling them too, and I was given exclusivity to sell in the UK.
"The walls are environmentally friendly, so perfectly safe to have installed in a home, which was vital to our ethos.
“One night at 11pm I got a message asking me if I would like to decorate Amanda Holden’s BGT dressing room. I replied, saying ‘is this a joke?’ but it was for real!
“I’ve worked with Amanda twice now. I’ve also set up events for Marvin and Rochelle Humes, Dawn Ward, Gemma Collins, and other stars from TOWIE.
“Our panels are sold all over the world. My sons help with the business and though we’re small, we’re growing all the time.”
Datsa also offers masterclasses in business and interior design and has plans to expand further this year. Her Tik Tok account has amassed over 7million views and she has 55k Instagram followers.
She has also been nominated in the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, the results of which will be announced next week.
