Ex-specialist lender BDM bounces back with own business during lockdown

By Bridging Loan Directory 8th December 2020

This year has made casualties of many talented financial services professionals who have faced furlough and even redundancy.

These individuals have had no choice but to shrug off the doom of redundancy and re-shape their careers.

One such talent, Rosalia Lazzara, pictured above, an ex-Specialist Lender BDM chose to rise to the challenge.

For Rosalia, this was one of the hardest experiences to date in her professional career. Losing a job and a team she loved was not a joyous occasion.

We’re here to share the story of how she bounced back with not ONE but TWO new businesses in the middle of a pandemic. We’ll examine how she did it and what lessons she learned during this experience.

Rosalia entered the financial services industry in 2015 and decided that in an industry where women were underrepresented she would stick it out and make something of herself.

She saw it as an opportunity to empower women and to be a strong female representative in this industry.

With that in mind, Rosalia went on to be a finalist in the Rising Star category at the Financial Reporter Women’s Recognition Awards in September 2019, just a few months before her 30th birthday.

She also became a mentor in her previous employer’s women’s mentorship programme where she could positively influence and support women colleagues with their own personal development.

Needless to say, the redundancy came completely left field during a time when everything seemed to be going so well in her career. It was not in her master plan to launch a business in 2020.

Lessons Learned

1) You don’t know what is round the corner

Rosalia had to learn this the hard way. Her redundancy couldn’t have come at a worse time.

It is critical not to dwell on what you cannot change but to quickly brush it off and strategize a new plan of action. For Rosalia it was to live out her lifelong dream which was to have her own business.

2) More little plans are better than one big one

Not every plan you start with is going to be the one you stick with. When she started her BDM role, Rosalia parked her entrepreneurial aspirations for approximately 2 years, so that she could put her all into it.

This however left her with no backup plan when redundancy knocked on her door.

Luckily she dusted herself off and picked up where she left off 2 years prior. Lesson: have a plan B always up your sleeve.

3) You’re worth more than your job title and pay cheque.

Rosalia was on a rising trajectory in her career. To lose it felt like she was being stripped of her identity and progress.

The lesson here for her was that no amount of money or job title is worth more than your own true value. Don’t lose sight of this especially during dark times like furlough and redundancy.

4) When everyone goes left, you go right

The most recent unemployment rate for July to September was 4.8%, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

That is an increase of 0.7% over the previous three months, and meant that 1.62 million people were unemployed.

Rosalia decided that the safest option was to hire herself. In this video, she tells her story of why she decided to bet on herself and be in control of her future.

5) Option A is not easy, but neither is option B

Starting a business is not easy. Being on furlough is not easy. Taking a pay cut is not easy. With 1.62 million unemployed people in the UK, finding a new job is not going to be easy.

In Rosalia’s mind, you might as well follow your dreams. There will always be struggles, whatever path you choose. Therefore, you might as we choose the more fulfilling path for you.

Rosalia launched her businesses towards the end of September 2020 and is now enjoying a variety of customer projects ranging from working with a MP, recruitment agencies and estate agencies to mortgage brokers.

Her passion is to elevate people, boost sales, instill confidence in people and also help financial services professionals get the best out of social media.

She has created her dream role which marries together her sales knowledge, financial services experience and social media expertise to help businesses today thrive in the new normal.

The two businesses are called Elevici and The Content Hive.

Rosalia welcomes you to connect with her here if you would like to discuss your 2021 sales and social media strategy for 2021.

She would like to use this communications channel to share her words of wisdom:

“I know what it feels like to feel like you’ve lost it all. I know what it feels like to be in a dark place without a glimpse of a light at the end of the tunnel.

But it will come. You too, like me, will find things falling into place if you combine hard work with mindset and personal belief. Focus on what you CAN do rather than on what you cannot. Focus on the future not the past. Know this… this too shall pass”