I ditched my busy £26k a year job after my kids called nanny ‘mum’ – I made £64k using secret website & YOU can too

WHEN busy working mum Abbie Cornall heard one of her children calling their nanny ‘mum’, her heart shattered.

In that moment, she knew she wanted to ditch her busy £26k-a-year job and spend more time with her little ones. And, after discovering a secret website, she’s made £64k from home, working hours around her children and even moving them into a posh house in the Lake District. Here, she reveals her secret money-maker and tells Sun readers how they can do it too.

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Less than a decade ago, Abbie Cornall, 47, was earning £26,000 a year as an immigration lawyer for Citizens Advice Bureau and working all hours.

The busy mum says she barely saw her children Grace, now 13, and Isla now 21.

She says: “I’d pick them up from the childminder, put them to bed and feel enormous mum guilt,” recalls Abbie.

“I was unhappy and felt guilty as I hardly saw them. Then one day, my youngest called the childminder ‘mum’.

“The heartbreak I felt was immense. The next day I packed up my desk and left my job with no plan.”

Abbie tried various ways of making money over the next seven years, including network marketing and several online businesses, but nothing was successful.

Desperate, she began writing short coaching courses and sold them via Facebook, being paid via PayPal. But she needed a better system for her business to grow, which is when she discovered Stan Store.

Stan Store is a US-based platform which helps entrepreneurs launch their own business online. On signing up, you get your own bio page where you can have your own store front to sell things like e-books, templates or even offer online courses.

The site now has 70,000 users and an annual revenue of more than £22.1 million.

Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett invested in the company in May and described it as the “biggest deal of his life”.

Abbie says: “I noticed other entrepreneurs had Stan Store links in their bios on Facebook and Instagram. I’d never heard of it and usually any new tech or software, I didn’t want to know.

“I”d tried learning other platforms but I never used them properly as they were too complicated to carry on with.”

Abi began using the site two years ago to sell business e-books – as well online coaching membership courses which teach others how to create simple books of their own to make a profit.

In the first year, the business turned over £22,000 and in the past year it made £44,000 – in total she’s made £64,000 in under two years.

It’s allowed Abbie to upgrade from a small three-bed terrace house in Bolton, where she was paying £74 a week in rent to a large three-bed house with ensuite bathrooms overlooking Lake Windermere, which costs £460 a week.

“It’s dead easy and I’ve made pots of money,” Abbie says. “Any time I post on Facebook or Instagram I just say click the link in my bio for more info and that will direct people to my Stan Store.”

However, there are fees to pay for using the platform.

It costs $29 (£21) a month for the basic ‘Creator’ plan and $99 (£73) for ‘Creator Pro’, which offers some extra features such as email marketing, discount codes and pixel tracking. Over the year, that could mean you’re forking out up to £878 ($1,188).

The family home is perfect for her husband Ford, 49, and two daughters Isla, 21, Grace, 13.

Abbie pays £878 a year for her subscription, but thinks the investment is worth it considering how much it has grown her business.

I’ve made £75k profit since starting my Stan Store

Maddy Alexander, 41, from Southampton is a money expert and ADHD coach, who has also made £75k using Stan Store since setting hers up in May 2024.

“I have a membership, courses and a workshop on Stan Store for people to buy,” Maddy says. “You can also offer free digital downloads for customers.”

“I have a website but I don’t use it any more, I only use Stan Store. In the last year alone, selling my membership has generated over £40,000.

“Everything is really simple to set up.  You can get started and launch in less than a day – building your own website is expensive and can take forever.

“As someone with ADHD who is terrible with technology, I find it really easy to use.”

There are a few downsides. You are not able to use your own branding or logos on the site.

Maddy warns against ‘master resale rights’, which is where you can sell courses created by others – but this is usually not a good way to make money.

This is because you will need to buy the course before you are able to sell it. This can cost around $200 to thousands of pounds.

How to be a successful entrepreneur

Want to build your own business? Don’t be afraid to run with your good idea and be your own boss.

Almost one in three adults now either run their own business or plan to start a company within the next three years, according to the research programme Global Entrepreneurship Monitor.

But how do you go from a good idea to a successful business?

The key is to start with a clear vision.

Write down a clear simple explanation on why you’re starting the business, who your customer is, why it is needed, and what makes it unique.

Next, do your research. Who are your competitors? What gaps can your business fill? The more you know about your industry and your customers, the better the chance of success.

Next, how will you finance your business?

Know where the money is coming from, how much you need, and how to manage your cash flow. Have emergency funds in place in case you need to tap into them.

Then, make sure you get proper legal and tax advice when necessary. It can be a minefield navigating all the rules and regulations when running a business, so get clued up to avoid any issues.