RAGS TO RICHES
I grew up living in a ‘rough’ council house – now I make seven figures a year and take my wife on SIX holidays a year
Scroll to reveal how Karl made his fortune
A MAN who grew up living in a "rough" council house and later became a millionaire explains how he manages to take his wife on six holidays a year.
Karl Hudson, 33, from Newcastle, sometimes works 18-hour days and is such a workaholic he even took his laptop on his honeymoon.
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The entrepreneur built his SEO successful business by launching a website from his parents' bedroom.
He created Searcharoo back in 2008 and has been "involved with multiple businesses to help investors get their websites ranked.”
Karl, a proud Geordie who still lives in his home town, lives in a £350,000 house with their two Yorkshire Terriers with wife Charlotte, also 33.
The Geordie credits his ambition to "growing up in a rough area in a council home";.
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Karl said: "Despite the area we lived in, I had a great upbringing and my SEO journey actually started in that house.
"My dad, who worked as a life coach, needed help with designing a website and with 14-year-old me being a big fan of computer games, he called on me for some help.
"Back in those days it was a lot of trial and error, with a big emphasis on error – it was the perfect way to learn."
He also said that when he started his career he "didn't need much in terms of financial backing".
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Karl said: "When I started SEO, it was hugely different [to how it is now].
"You were capable of just spamming and things would rank, the trickiest part is all of the algorithm changes and trying to test what is working, because Google doesn't tell you.
I’m from the UK’s most ‘deprived’ crime capital – I was a millionaire by 30, own £60k in handbags & bought a Lamborghini
Ex-homeless man who runs a multi-million pound property business
By Louisa Gregson
A MAN who found himself homeless and living in his car as a teenager now owns a thriving business worth £5million helping other people to buy homes easily.
Kieran Witt, 31, is one of seven and when there was no space left for him in the three bed council house he shared with his single mum and six siblings he was forced to move out and sofa surf with friends.
His ordeal trying for years to get a roof over his head led him to set up a business making the process of home buying easier and it now has a valuation of £5 million.
Kieran says. "We were quite a poor family. I'm the eldest of seven siblings.
"My mum never worked and we were on benefits. We were in a small three bed council house and there's rules around teenagers sharing bedrooms with young kids. And you can't have mixed gender sharing.
"That forced the situation where I needed to move out of the property.";
Seventeen-year-old Kieran was in his first year of college studying for his A levels and despite having a part time job, he did not have the means to pay rent.
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"So networking with other people, testing and sharing ideas, is what I’ve done for many years to help give me the edge, which has definitely helped contribute to my success."
The couple live in a and are travelling in Australia and Bali during a four-week honeymoon, following their wedding in July this year.
While Karl reinvests much of his earnings, he occasionally likes to treat himself to fun toys, too – his latest purchase is a £35,000 Ford Ranger Wildtrak, while his wife drives a £55,000 BMW X5, which the entrepreneur paid for.
His success grew through various investments and agencies, as well as the entrepreneur's own personal website.
The 33-year-old lives a luxury lifestyle but admits his career takes a toll on his marriage because he can never really switch off.
Karl said: "We’ve had six holidays in this year alone – visiting places such as Thailand, Poland, Vietnam, Spain and the Philippines.
But the work doesn’t stop. If I have to jump on the laptop while we’re out there, then I’m going to do it because that money means the next trip will be even better.
"My work allows us to have the finer things in life, which she definitely enjoys. I’ll never change."
"My constant working can cause issues and arguments,” said Karl, who got married earlier this summer.
"My wife knows that I can get absorbed in the job but that this is a sacrifice we have to make to live the life we now have."
Karl says extreme dedication is necessary for anyone who wants to succeed in business.
While he has been with Charlotte for the past eight years as a partner, he’s also her employer - she's a content manager at Searcharoo.
Karl believes his financial success is down to his resilience, something he thinks today’s generation struggle with.
He said: "I’ve had some days in my career where I’ve been working for 18 hours straight but it doesn’t phase me.
"I find it impossible to switch off as I love what I do. I’m not one to flash the cash, though – I’m actually quite a reserved person.
"The harder you work the more you get. Unfortunately, with how easy technology has made everything, I fear that the younger generation has lost that fire.
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"Gen Z expects everything to be handed to them but that’s not the real world – I’ve got out exactly what I’ve put in.
"Younger lads wouldn’t dream of working on holiday but if they want a life like mine, it’s part of the grind."
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