A 21-year who used the pandemic to grow her side-hustle into a fully-fledged business has said the experience has shown her "anything is possible".

Hannah Clark, from Wood Dalling near Reepham, started The Scented Barn in 2020 not long after she was made redundant from her job in a holiday park due to coronavirus.

The experience taught Ms Clark that she "hated the insecurity of working for someone else".

North Norfolk News: The Scented Barn's wax melts are made using 100% eco soy wax which is vegan, sustainable and biodegradableThe Scented Barn's wax melts are made using 100% eco soy wax which is vegan, sustainable and biodegradable (Image: The Scented Barn/ Hannah Clark)

Luckily, she was not out of work for long and was able to find employment at her family's farm and haulage business. It was while working for her father's firm that she set up The Scented Barn, a business selling sustainable, vegan wax melts.

She said: "I had the initial idea to start my own business one day at work when I was bored and lost in thoughts.

"I knew I had potential to do more than just work for someone else, and that sitting behind a desk was not me. So I took the leap."

North Norfolk News: The Scented Barn's wax melts are made using 100% eco soy wax which is vegan, sustainable and biodegradable. Pictured is Hannah Clark the owner and founder of the business.The Scented Barn's wax melts are made using 100% eco soy wax which is vegan, sustainable and biodegradable. Pictured is Hannah Clark the owner and founder of the business. (Image: Rachel Clark / The Scented Barn)

Ms Clark said her first thought for a business was to do what she "[loved] the most."

She said: "I wanted to create a product I loved, and to share the same excitement with everyone else during such a glum and lonely period of time."

Ms Clark said the pandemic gave her the "boost and the kick" she needed to make a change.

She said: "I wouldn’t say I’ve had it easy, I have worked extremely hard for all that I have.

"I put a large amount of my savings into my start up, which to many would have seemed a huge risk but I knew I had the determination to make it work."

Ms Clark said from an initial six scents The Scented Barn now stocked more than 80 different wax melts all of which were made from eco-soy wax.

"If you had told me at the start of 2020, that I would be owning my own business at 21, I would have laughed.

"Yet here I am, having turned my life around, anything is clearly possible.

"Eight months later I have no idea what a day off is and my brain is filled with new ideas for the business constantly but I am the happiest I have ever been," she added.