April Barry runs The Barrington B&B on Park Road in Cowes. A few years ago April was at risk of redundancy in her role as a teacher. The uncertainty made her look for new ways of earning a living.
“I was still too young to retire,” April says. “I realised that living in a large house, in Cowes, I had the potential to do bed and breakfast. I looked into the legislation and regulations but I ended up shelving the idea because, in the end, I didn’t lose my job. I kept on thinking about the idea though and I got more and more excited by doing something new.”
Using local contractors April converted three of the bedrooms on the first floor of her home. She retired in the spring of 2016 and welcomed her first guests a few months later. It’s a complete change for April who had worked in education for 38 years.
“It fits in with my lifestyle in better. I can visit my daughter in London as well my son and other daughter who has just moved to the Island. When I was working full time I would find myself working evenings and weekends because I wanted to do a good job – but that can mean putting other things on the backburner, like friendships. So being my own boss is brilliant and I’m now serious about doing a good job for me, instead of somebody else.”
“I went to the business start-up day and there was a huge amount of information. It was exciting but a little bit daunting because I realised there was so much I didn’t know about running a business. The Over 50s mentoring from Lynda and Fiona has been really reassuring and has really helped me to move forward. The Over 50s network has been like having a ‘business family’, and we’re all able to support each other.”
