What Money Taught Me About Business, Loss, and Rebuilding Financial Security

Money has taught me many lessons over the years.

I grew up with very little. We had the basics, and we were loved. At the time I did not realise how important that foundation would be. Looking back now, it taught me early that money and wealth are not the same thing.

At 26, I became self-employed and started my own recruitment agency. Very quickly I realised I had a natural ability for business development and building trusting relationships with clients. Telesales and cold calling never intimidated me. In fact, I enjoyed the challenge of connecting with people and building a client base.

Within a short time I had built a solid recruitment business with loyal clients. Many of those same clients continued supporting me even after I sold my agency and moved into the environmental services sector.

That next business, which I co-founded, grew quickly and became financially successful. It afforded me a lifestyle that felt secure and generous. I could travel whenever I wanted, often flying business class. I could buy things without hesitation, eat out during the week, and enjoy the convenience of having a housekeeper.

About 19 years ago, I started my own consulting company and began working as a solo entrepreneur. My work focused on coaching, training, strategy facilitation and helping businesses build stronger leadership and communication within their teams.

For many years, money created freedom and comfort.

Then life changed in my 50s.

I went through a divorce and relocated to Cape Town to start again. What I did not expect was how long the emotional rebuilding would take. Starting over in a new city and rebuilding a business network proved far more difficult than I had imagined.

I found work, but not enough to sustain the lifestyle I had previously known. Slowly, everything had to change.

The comforts I once took for granted were no longer possible. I had to cut back on almost everything. And somewhere along that journey I learned something powerful.

I learned the real value of even R100.

When you have experienced both financial abundance and financial constraint, your perspective on money changes. You begin to understand that financial success can come and go. Markets change, life circumstances change, and sometimes you simply have to rebuild.

What stays with you are the skills you developed, the relationships you built, and the resilience that allows you to start again.

Today I am rebuilding my consulting business and my financial security. I know that I will reach that place again.

But this time my perspective on money is very different.

I will never again forget the value of money, or how much you can actually do with R100 when you truly understand its worth.