My husband's aunt had her first child aged 17 in rural England in the the mid-1960s, she was asked to leave her family home before her daughter was born. Lived in one room with the baby in the nearest town, no support, shared facilities, pretty grim surroundings. Got a job as a receptionist in a local insurance firm once daughter was at school, learned the ropes, became the boss' right hand woman/PA - saved up £500 to put down on a house (money saved from additional cleaning jobs she would go to at night and bring the daughter with her) and now is a property tycoon. 70 years old and owns homes all over the world, has property managers to run them all so has stepped away from it for the last 15 years.
I know she's not the only person in the world to have been shrewd like this, but her selling on once a decent profit had been made whilst juggling single motherhood and a demanding job(s) at a time when the world/general attitudes towards single mothers was very different always astounded me. Went on to have 3 more children; is very humble and had no grudge against her parents who basically dis-owned her.