A LighterLife franchise owner used being made redundant as the starting point to retrain and own a weight loss consultancy business. Having benefited from the results of a LighterLife programme firsthand, Debbie Blackburn decided to join the franchise after being made redundant from her high-powered job.

Debbie said: 'I was made redundant from my job as a Senior Account Manager for a global IP Video Conferencing solutions company. When I was first told I was being made redundant I took it as a personal attack and was very upset. It was a total surprise and I was in shock.'

Once she had recovered from the shock, Debbie used her redundancy as the starting point to think about her next step. Drawing from her successful experience on a LighterLife programme she decided to train as a Counsellor and help people in a similar situation to what she had been in. 'Having successfully lost four stone on the LighterLife Programme I decided to use my experience of the programme to retrain and become a LighterLife Counsellor. Losing weight helped me regain the confidence to change the direction of my life and set different goals in line with my dreams, and being made redundant was the catalyst for all this fantastic change. It just goes to show that redundancy is not the end, and can sometimes be the beginning.

'I initially decided to train as a LighterLife Counsellor as a result of my own success on the programme but the more I investigated, the more attractive the idea became. Not only would I be able to help others achieve similar weight-loss success, but high potential earnings, the support of a well-established umbrella company, ongoing training and professional development along with extensive central office and field-based support made the opportunity a bit of a no brainer.

'I have recently taken on my first group of clients and I couldn't be happier. I no longer have to make the dreaded commute into London and have a much better life/work balance. Now all my job pressure is self inflicted and I love being my own boss. I really feel like I am doing something worthwhile for a change and I am really upbeat about my future. Losing my job has definitely opened more doors than I could have imagined.'

Published: 9 July 2009

Back to news