Welcome to My Whistle-Stop “All About Me”
I’m Danielle, though most people call me Dani these days. I happily answer to both, so take ya pick!!
I was born in Barnsley South Yorkshire, and raised down south in Berkshire. I detoured to Skegness somewhere in the middle before returning to Berkshire where I finally found my home.
Growing up, my family didn’t have much, and life was simple. I never went without essentials, but everything we had was the most basic of basic.
Education wasn’t a priority in my childhood. I never sat an exam. My first job was loading a dishwasher in a local café, and at the time, that felt like enough just because it gave me a sense of freedom and independence.
I met my husband
My best friend
My pal
Our backgrounds were similar but his was far more stable than mine.
By twenty, we had our two boys, and they became our whole world. They had the best of everything we could possibly give but in exchange, we had very little left for ourselves. Once we'd provided for them, there was no money left. The debts began to creep in, not because we were reckless, but because no one had ever taught us how to manage money. Growing up hand-to-mouth meant there was never anything to manage.
I’d already seen my fair share hardship long before adulthood. At eleven, when my parents divorced, life changed quickly. We ended up in poor living conditions, bed and breakfasts, temporary rooms, a damp cold caravan, drifting from one school to the next. By sixteen, I’d attended three infant/junior schools and four secondary schools, sometimes bouncing back and forth between them with barely enough time to settle.
But in my twenties, something shifted. I developed a quiet hunger to learn. I sat my first GCSE. I began imagining a future where I could build a career instead of just falling into the next thing. I moved into more professional settings like nurseries, schools, and it felt like I was slowly stepping into a version of myself I hadn’t met before.
In 2015, at thirty-five, I learned to drive. I became a family support worker, only to be made redundant six months later. Somehow, that led me into adult forensic mental health, where I stayed for five years, with a brief detour into residential care. Each step taught me resilience, compassion, and the value of steady courage.
In 2017, I began my higher education journey. In 2018, I started at Winchester University, and I later qualified with a BSc (Hons) in Social Work. I always felt a quiet bitterness that I never had a social worker of my own growing up — and if I couldn’t change my past, I wanted to change another child’s future.
Now, I’m pouring everything I’ve lived and learned into building an online coaching business. A place where I can help you navigate life’s challenges, build confidence, and create the kind of financial freedom that once felt impossible to me.
What I’ve Achieved Along the Way
✨ A deep sense of confidence and self-belief
✨ A good income that allows me to save every month
✨ Holidays I never dreamed were possible
✨ Freedom to live on my own terms
✨ Peace of mind about my children’s future
And so much more.
And it all began with a small spark of self-belief… and the courage to take one quiet, brave step forward.