Fields Lodge is for Sale

I’m often asked why I came to own and run a B&B and now,  as Fields Lodge is for sale, it makes sense to make sure that it’s written down in the internet universe for perpetuity-if there is such a thing.

I was lucky enough to be able to put my hand up for voluntary redundancy from my Banking Career. The world of Banking had changed, we were being ‘guided’ by Americans who seemed to have no thought for customers and brought over to the UK the financial games of their country, which sat less and less well with me. (More of that another time)

And so, I found myself with the opportunity for another ‘Career’ in my middle forties-waaaay to young to retire, and, at this point, I still harboured hopes of becoming a Mother and potentially having a child to look after financially for many years to come.

What shall I do?

So, I sat down and thought what I would like to do. One thing was for sure…I did not want to work for another Corporation. I was so disillusioned by being directed to work in ways that did not sit right with me, I had a large team I was responsible for and managed directly and via a matrix and apart from how colleagues were being instructed to sell to customers, the way, as Managers, we were being told to manage our staff was really out of alignment with me. Never mind about how awful I was being managed-I think it would be called out as Bullying these days. (More on that another time too!)

So, long story short, I decided I wanted to be my own boss.

So, now what to do…

I looked at several business opportunities around me, and did my research about each. I wanted to be sure, that if I turned down an opportunity, that I would not regret it further down the line.

I also needed to make sure that what I did for income would meet my still large household expenses- I was divorced, I had bought out my ex-husband, as I loved Fields Lodge,  and so my income needed to cover all my expenses and some.

After looking at many businesses, I started to realise that maybe a B&B would be an option. This idea was like a dripping tap, where several pieces of information fell into place to make it seem like the sensible thing to do.

Historically, I loved entertaining friends, cooking for them and enjoying company. Many said I was a good cook and with the layout of Fields Lodge, many friends had said in the past, ‘oh, you ought to do B&B’, this was when I was working full time, in a stupid hour job, getting in very late and leaving very early in the mornings to get to Branch Team Meetings. And so, when ever this was said, I scoffed and forgot about it.

I remembered that one day a few years earlier,  I went to a psychic (my mother and her family were big into this, seers, healers and similar) and she told me that she saw me using my hands, maybe waiting on people or making things…..I thought she was mad, I was a mathematician in banking, I did thinking and I certainly would never be waiting on people…what rubbish.

And here, all these years later, I can say, she was right…I wish I could remember what else she said now!

Anyhow, all these things dripped into my memory as if putting the pieces of a jigsaw together and finally it started to dawn on me that turning my home into a B&B may well be the answer.

Years before that, I had had an annexe built in the garden, with the thought that my Mother would come to live there when she was ready..it was always assumed she would outlive my Dad(how life surprises you)but now it was currently being used as a stables for my horses, although by now I had sold my horses as part of the marital divide, so the stables were sitting empty.

I am surprisingly to some, an Introvert, and so, I knew if I was to turn home into a B&B, then I could not live in the same area as the guests, I would need to have my own space to re-charge and so, the idea came that I would convert the stables for me to live in and turn the house over to my guests.

That way they would have the run of the house, could come & go as they please, without worrying about disturbing their host, which I think adds to help them feel more at ease straight away.

So, living in the lovely village of Herbrandston, we had a very good builder right in the village, who also did work for the council, who knew everyone that needed to be involved to turn the stables into an annexe for me to live in, whilst the house was turned into the B&B.

Will I earn enough?

Now, being a financially minded person, I was starting a B&B from scratch in a town that was now known for attracting visitors. I was infact the only ‘nice’ B&B in the town…there were plenty of budget, workers accommodation and at one point, Visit Wales suggested I just open a 2 star B&B ‘and see how you get on’!!

Well, that’s not for me… I liked nice things, my home was nice and I was certain I wanted a Boutique B& with the lovely guests that come along with it. (Hopefully!..’Build it and they will come’..famous film quote from Field of Dreams(1989), was one of my favourite films anyway…..and look Field of Dreams, how apt is that!, was my mantra).

 

So, here I am creating a 4 Star Boutique B&B in a town that apparently didn’t get tourists and starting COMPLETELY from scratch. I look back now and I’m so proud of how brave I was then. But, I was starting fro scratch and at this point I wasn’t confident that I would have enough income coming in to meet all the expenses, so I thought I’d better get something else together to back up my income, particularly in the winter months.

I was a Mathematician, I had my banking exams(back in the day this was a degree, I don’t think they do them any more these days, as it’s all dominated by the computer making the decisions) and part of this was double accounting book keeping, in some of my past roles in the bank, I had advised Businesses and created accounts analysis, cashflow projections, and was able to pinpoint weaknesses in accounts and advise corrective action. In fact I loved doing this analysis.

So, I decided (there was quite a lot of thinking behind this too) that my back-up role should be a Bookkeeper for small businesses- hence Jayne’s Book Keeping Services, Doing the paperwork so you don’t have to!

Here I am now, after being in corporate for all my working life, I have now opened 2 new small businesses, and alongside that I was also letting an apartment, and, in the short term, was also a Schools’ Exam Officer. Looking back, that was too much to be doing all at the same time, but I was in need of some financial security after all those years of just being sent a cheque every month without fail.

And, that’s the story of how I came to run a B&B.

I had some fun along the way creating the B&, and maybe those stories are for another day.

Of course, Fields Lodge took off, becoming Multi-Award Winning,  and after a while I closed my Bookkeeping practice, handing my clients over to other bookkeepers, and I concentrated on creating memories to last a lifetime for our guests, and I’m still doing that now with the Marina Apartment, 28 Smokehouse Quay. Along the way creating an Award Winning Fudge Brand and other delicious food offerings for our lovely guests to take home as mementos.

Fields Lodge is now for Sale

Today, now that I have decided it’s time to downsize and do more travelling, with Fields Lodge for sale,  is hugely bittersweet, but I saw so many people leave it too late to downsize when I was in the bank, and so I have been able to learn from this, and that’s helped my decision. There’s a few more reasons behind it too, as you might imagine-health and wellbeing one of them, with me having an autoimmune disease and not wanting that to get any worse, if I can help it in any way.

Fields Lodge is now for sale as a Family home, for multi-generational living (as it was planned with my Mum) or indeed with the stables as a studio for a hobby or business-Pilates, Yoga or even a cookery school- the choices are endless really. The choice lays with the next custodian of this fabulous home.

Stick around for more of the story, until then,

From my home to yours,

Jayne

 

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If you’d like to stay at our sister accommodation, then check out the Marina Apartment and choose your dates!