For years I was a hotel-hopper with every visit to London. In my quest to find a reasonably priced hotel, I ended up staying in plenty of shabby (but not chic) hotels that were well past their sell by date. That frustration came to an end four years ago when I decided to sample the offerings of At Home in London.
Although I wasn’t sure I’d feel comfortable staying in a private home, my apprehensions were dispelled on my first stay. Owner Maggie Dobson has gathered a pool of homeowners, many of them empty-nesters who have cleverly turned a spare room into a profit center. Since Maggie vets every home she represents, there’s not much chance of an unpleasant surprise.
On my recent trip, I stayed in two different homes and enjoyed them both. The first weekend was a return visit to the home of Angela and David Inman. Angela is a woman who understands multiple profit centers. In addition to her affliation with At Home in London she also has a business marketing wellness products. Her primary business, however, is as a decorative artist. She showed me photos of a 7-story house she and four other artists spent 14 months covering in extraordinary murals. During my stay, she spent a night doing repair work on the Mama Mia! set. The next day she was off to begin a botanical painting class.
When I returned from Rome, I headed to the charming and lively suburb of Chiswick where I moved into Valerie & David Yates-Green’s Wellness Home. I had been warned that shoes were not allowed in the house so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I was greeted by my hosts at the front door and invited to have a cup of tea with them. “So where do you live in Las Vegas?” David asked me. When I said I was out on the west side in Summerlin, he broke into a grin and said, “That’s where my daughter lives.” Then he added, “Valerie’s aunt lived there so she’s made three trips to Las Vegas.” We bonded on the spot.
When I studied the bookcases that were located throughout the house, I saw many favorite and familiar titles. I knew I was in the right place—even though I’d left my shoes at the front door.
The next morning I was heading out to my What Would an Entrepreneur Do? seminar. Valerie asked me about the seminar and then said she’d love to tell me her story about how she went from years of being an unhappy corporate employee to being an enthusiastic entrepreneur. I couldn’t wait to hear.
That evening, I joined her in the tv lounge and she shared her journey which began with a diagnosis of breast cancer a decade ago. That led her to wonder why she had gotten ill and she began exploring the subject of wellness. Along the way, she had the vision of creating a wellness bed and breakfast somewhere in a countryside. One day her sister pointed out that she could open such a business right in the city. The tranquil Welness Home has been welcoming guests from all over the world for the past four years.
Since connecting with Joyfully Jobless strangers is one of my favorite travel rewards, I came home with plenty of evidence that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well almost everywhere. I’ll be sharing more of those stories in upcoming posts.
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You would do well to fail frequently so you can learn a great deal more than someone who is afraid to fail and therefore takes little risk. If you have passion for what you are doing and aim high, good things will happen even if it takes a lot of failing to accomplish them.~ Bernie Siegel
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