Back in 2013, I learned that lesson in the most painful way. What started as an exciting property opportunity ended in a devastating loss, financial, emotional, and mental. Yet it also became the foundation of the businesswoman I am today: one who never skips due diligence, no matter how confident the other party appears.

The investor who wasn’t

In 2013, I met someone who seemed like the perfect property investor and owner. He had the business talk, and a 9-bedroom, three storey Victorian house that he was eager to sell to me.

He told me I could refurbish the property, increase its value, and then finalise the purchase for a profit. It sounded like the perfect arrangement. We agreed to a six-month lease option, giving me control of the property while I completed the refurbishment. My parents and I put in time, savings, and heart as I transformed the place.

Then, just two weeks before completion day, my phone rang. It was a solicitor. His words shattered everything. He told me the man I’d been dealing with was bankrupt and legally, he was never allowed to sell me the house. The house didn’t even belong to him anymore. All the money my mum, dad, and I had poured into the refurbishment was lost. I was told to hand back the property immediately.

The legal battle and the breakdown

I spent the next four years fighting my case in court. Not against him, that fraudster disappeared the moment the truth came out, but against his Trustees in Bankruptcy, who now controlled the property. It was an exhausting, soul-crushing process.

The financial hit was devastating, but the emotional toll of four years in Court was worse. I spiralled into depression. I felt completely broken, by the fraudster and the system. During that time, I learned what it really means to hit rock bottom. But I also learned that from the lowest place, you can rebuild stronger, if you choose to.

The hard-earned lessons

That experience changed everything about how I do business, and it’s why I insist due diligence to every entrepreneur and investor I train. Here’s what I learned:

1. Check the Bankruptcy Register, every single time. It’s free, it’s fast, and it could save you hundreds of thousands of pounds. If I had done that in 2013, I’d have seen the red flags immediately.

2. ⁠Check Companies House. Look up their company history, directorships, and any dissolved or liquidated businesses.

3. Get to know them beyond their pitch. Fraudsters and manipulators are often incredibly persuasive. Never allow anything to cloud your judgment. Spend time observing how they behave when they’re not trying to impress you. Character always reveals itself in the small moments.

4. Speak to their former business associates. Don’t just take their word or their handpicked references. Ask the real questions: Did they deliver? Were they honest? Would you work with them again?

These steps are about protection. In business, trust is earned and verified.

The power of resilience

Today, I look back and realise that experience didn’t destroy me, it refined me. I became wiser, stronger, and far more discerning. That £100,000 mistake became my greatest teacher.

So if you’re raising capital, forming partnerships, or seeking investors, do your due diligence. Never rush the process just because the opportunity looks shiny. Use A C C –  Ask, Check, Confirm, because your money’s on the line.

Pain can teach us what profit never will. My story is proof that even from loss, you can rebuild, with more wisdom and a far stronger foundation than before.

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