I was homeless at 17 with chicken shop shifts – now I earn £10K a month & have Poundland’s make-up aisle to thank
WHEN Shantania Beckford moved to Birmingham from Jamaica, she went straight into working an after school job to help her mum pay the bills.
And when her mum returned to Jamaica, she had no choice but to sofa surf at family, friend’s or colleague’s homes – often sleeping on a mattress on a floor.
But, after being homeless at the age of just 17, she’s managed to turn her life around and now makes a whopping £10,000 a month – and it’s all thanks to Poundland.
During the tougher years of her life, Shantania worked 45 hours a week in her local chicken shop while studying full time at college.
In a YouTube video published on Shera, (@shera_oficl ), a digital platform dedicated to empowering women, the now 30-year-old spoke out about her experiences and how she managed to turn herself into an entrepreneur.
“After college I would take an hour bus from Dudley, back home and then work till 1am, then go home,” she explained, adding that would make just £400.
Sometimes, Shantania had no electricity where she was staying either, which meant she had no choice but to stay in college until it closed before showering in the cold water.
Make-up was her coping mechanism, she used it as a way to “escape” and it didn’t hurt that it gave her some extra money on the side.
After moving into a hostel, she found herself giving some of the residents makeovers, which earned her some cash while she also worked shifts at Wagamama.
In January 2014, she was given her own council flat, which meant she finally had her own space to breathe – not to mention decorate to her own taste and style.
It was here that she took the plunge and created her own YouTube channel, where she could share her make-up looks with more than just the people around her.
Speaking to http://NeedToKnow.co.uk in a previous interview, she explained that she saved up for a Canon camera, a lighting system and laptop before teaching herself how to edit videos while learning how to navigate YouTube.
“The first thing that I ever did was a zombie make-up tutorial,” she went on. “I went to Poundland and bought all the zombie make-up stuff which cost me about £6.
“It was finally a chance for me to be myself and show who I am. I started with pure intention to just have focus and do what I can.
“I was doing about 50 hours a week work plus doing my YouTube – I was on a mission!”
Within the space of six months, she managed to grow her channel to 10,000 followers. Since then, she’s continued to grow and has a loyal fanbase of over 300,000 subscribers.
“It was very different to have all these people like you and think you’re funny and like your personality – it made me feel accepted and seen,” she said.
After a year at Wagamama, she decided to try to go at it on her own and became self-employed at the age of 23 as an influencer and make-up artist.
She now makes £10,000 a month after having been able to monetise her content.
“It hasn’t stopped, I just kept moving out of different homes and slowly building myself up, whilst living within my means,” she explained.
Shantania continued: “The one thing I learnt about social media – I don’t need to fake anything for attention, I just need to be myself.
“Because of my background, I’ve always had the awareness that I need to always help no matter what situation or position I’m in.
“For me, I don’t really post what I do for people online, I want to help people who were in a similar situation to me.
“The life you have is yours and you don’t want anybody else’s life.
“Make yours great, that’s your mission for this lifetime – to learn, love, grow and make your experiences beautiful.”