A MUM who left school at 16 has revealed how she turned her side hustle into an international business which bought her a mansion and a Lambo.
Maxine McCarthy, 43, started out as a pro boxer before creating Cosmetic Couture, which has grown into one of the largest providers of beauty and aesthetics training in the UK.
Maxine, from Salford, Greater Manchester, has helped trained thousands of beauticians over the years.
Despite leaving school with just six GCSEs fewer than 30 years ago, she now owns a multi-million pound house in Cheshire, complete with a fleet of luxury cars.
She told Manchester Evening News that she has made thousands from what was once just a side hustle and has even gone international, setting up a business in Cyprus, where she owns a gorgeous second home.
After leaving school she went to Spain to live with her dad, before returning to the UK to join a girl band, touring the North supporting chart-topping acts.
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It was during that time that she discovered her love for glamour and beauty.
She left the band over musical differences and began training at a boxing gym in 2007.
Maxine went professional at the encouragement of her trainers and enjoyed an unbeaten career, eventually retiring in 2013.
On her fight career, she said: "It gave me discipline. It empowered me. I was in a male dominated world and I earned a place within it. It transferred onto every area of my life.
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"Looking back boxing was the hardest days of my life but the best days of my life. It gave me the skills required to make it big in the aesthetic industry as it has been a fight from start to finish in this crazy world of aesthetics."
Her journey into the beauty industry began when she saw an ad for botox and dermal filler courses aimed at non-medics in 2009.
After the three-day programme, the bookings began to flood in.
Maxine recalled: "I was doing treatments and learning things about the industry.
"I enjoyed doing it and I understood it. I always had a passion for aesthetics and looking good."
The next year, Cosmetic Couture was born and she hasn't looked back since, with the company being voted the Best Training Provider in the UK in The 2022 International Aesthetics Awards.
She added: "It’s like a domino effect. It’s massive everywhere.
"Every girl who does aesthetics and replicates my pathway goes on to become very successful. Not only have I done that, I’ve empowered other women to do the same.
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"I’ve gone on to become very successful. When people see my story, it’s inspiring. I fought against all odds.
"It’s a lot easier for people now. I took the brunt. I get called the queen of aesthetics and that’s because I am."
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