I started £250m side hustle aged 17 with borrowed cash – I sell a dress every 30 seconds & even Beyoncé wears my frocks
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ARMED with her book bag and a love for clothes, five-year-old Conna Walker didn’t mind helping out on her parents’ secondhand market stalls in East London after long days at school. She might’ve been young, but she was learning how to negotiate, as well as the fundamentals of running a business. This experience is what helped her become the owner of a £250 million fashion label.
![[Fashion entrepreneur Conna Walker founded House of CB when she was just 17-years-old]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/www-instagram-com-p-c3gppzprf2l-958312447.jpg?strip=all&w=827)
The 32-year-old is the founder and CEO of world-renowned fashion brand, House of CB (short for House of Celeb Boutique). The label which initially started as Conna selling clothes on eBay, turned over £250 million last year and has a celeb-worthy five million Instagram followers.
![[Her brand turned over £250 million last year and is loved by Hollywood's elite]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/www-instagram-com-p-c3gppzprf2l-919052719.jpg?strip=all&w=768)
Aged 17, Conna borrowed £3,000 from her parents in 2010 and began selling readymade clothes purchased from clothing markets in China. She travelled there with her parents who were buying furniture for their business, and brought back a suitcase of garments for her to flog on eBay.
![[Among House of CB's celebrity clients are the Kardashian sisters, Beyoncé and J-Lo]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/khloe-kardashian-conna-walker-house-874553564.jpg?strip=all&w=739)
She continued doing this for a year or so, before deciding to start designing her own dresses (which were also manufactured in China) and set up her own website. The entrepreneur, from Chigwell, Essex, taught herself basic coding to be able to log pictures on her website.
![[Conna started off packing orders in her parents’ home and posting them herself at the local post office]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/www-instagram-com-p-c3gppzprf2l-958312443.jpg?strip=all&w=768)
“I just learnt from trial and error,” she revealed on Exhibit A, a podcast hosted by Abbey Clancy. “I didn’t try to get really big straight away. “I decided that I didn’t want to go to university and wanted to carry on with House of CB.”. She was packing orders in her parents’ home and posting them herself at the local post office.
![[House of CB products are globally hailed for fitting like a glove]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/www-instagram-com-p-c3gppzprf2l-958312449.jpg?strip=all&w=768)
