Life dealt Nicole Farmer a hand many of us would have folded immediately. When Nicole was just 13-years-old, she found herself pregnant and living in a group home on the city’s east side.
"The day I had to leave my grandmother's house, she picked everything up in a corner. She went into the bedroom and closed the door," Farmer said, reminiscing about her rough past.
Farmer bounced around between different foster homes before eventually finding herself living a car. It wasn’t long before she had to give up custody of her baby.
"I didn't care about myself. I didn't respect myself. I didn't love myself, to be honest and transparent, I didn't love myself," Farmer said. "I couldn't imagine myself past 30."
Farmer did indeed make it past 30, and not only that, she is now a business owner with a corner office in downtown Detroit.
What happened in between? According to Farmer, it was a combination of lifestyle change and one lucky chance that led her to the success she has today.
When Farmer was 26, she was approached by the owner of the mechanic shop which her husband worked.
He offered her the opportunity of a lifetime.
"And one day the owners of the shop walked up to me and said you know you can own this. That was the day that changed my life," Farmer said. "I told them I don't have the same color skin you have. What are you saying to me? I can't own this! They're like, yes you can! You can put your children through Harvard like we did! You can take care of your family like we did! I looked and I said, no!"
After months of tough love and hard work, Farmer became the first African-American woman and youngest person to own a Tuffy Muffler shop.
After four years, the business failed but that’s when Farmer says she found her true calling.
"To see that I am gifted, I love to serve people. I love to help people. I started Lifeline the very next day," she said.
Lifeline is a business based on Farmer’s life. She has taken every lesson she has learned in life and has now helped over 1,800 people who have a dream of a better life as she once did.
"Because how many other girls are going through this process as well? How many other girls are having children at a young age and don't understand how much they are truly loved? How many girls are going through these tough challenges and they don't get to see someone like me?" Farmer said.
For more information about The Lifeline Network, click here.