Holiday rental
Old job Speech and language therapist.
New job Renting out her converted barn.
Start-up costs £140,000.
First year’s turnover £30,000.
Last year’s turnover £40,000.
Best move Only offering one-week or four-day breaks, with changeover days on Mondays and Fridays. It means less work because you only have two changeovers a week and you aren’t left with odd nights when the accommodation is empty.
Worst mistake Not realising how stressful the conversion would be.
Top tip Do your research and decide who you’re aiming at. Look at your competitors. The Cumbrian Tourist Board advised us to go top-end, as there weren’t any other five-star properties in our area.
“Mark grew up in Cumbria and I grew up in Northumberland, so we always fancied the country life. Neither of us knew anything about renovating a building, but we moved to Brook House because we wanted something with development potential. With two empty barns, this seemed perfect.
We knew the Lake District was tightening up its planning laws on barn conversions, so we applied for planning permission soon after moving in. We were successful, so then got a mortgage agreement in principle, before returning with a detailed business plan.
Standing in the empty barn, we came up with our dream plan. We didn’t employ an architect or project manager – we did it all ourselves, with the help of a well-known local builder who became our mentor. We employed nine local people – from builders to put the roof on, to a team of plasterers. Even the kids helped lay the gravel, with their little wheelbarrows.
I was surprised to find how much help was on offer. I did a free, six-week business course through the Rural Women’s Network and they sent a business adviser out to visit me twice in our first year. We also got a £1,000 grant from the West Cumbria Development Agency.
We paid £350 to advertise on boutiquegetaways.co.uk, and £300 to appear on Alistair Sawday’s site, both of which come round to vet you. Most of our business comes from Google, though, and we pay to appear under certain keyword searches, like ‘romantic getaways’.
Towards the end of the conversion, I was scared, as we’d borrowed so much money. I thought, ‘What if nobody comes to stay?’ But we’ve been fully booked for the past year. I think with the Euro how it is, people are choosing UK breaks at the moment. In fact, we’re so busy, if there’s ever a free night, we can’t wait to stay in the barn ourselves – and jump in the hot tub!”
For more information, go to thelazyfish.co.uk.
