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"This little gem of a book offers sage advice..."
Too Young to Retire,
the perfect retirement gift for those who aren't calling it quits, is
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Larry and Cathy
Sklar:
"We are in our fifties. About 3 years ago, we took a trip to Asheville, N.C. just to look around and stayed in a B&B, our first time in one. Normally, we would have stayed in a hotel. But friends recommended a B&B as a way to meet people, and get feedback about the area. We checked the AAA Guide and Albemarle was the first on the list." The innkeepers just happened to be a couple from Westchester, New York, about their age, with similar backgrounds, who had taken early retirement from IBM. "We were ready to get off the fast track," Cathy said, but the idea of becoming innkeepers hadn't surfaced. Her specialty was portable, and she originally wanted to continue in the law. In fact, both Cathy and Larry were on a round of interviews when, returning to the Albemarle one evening, they were surprised to be greeted by two friendly strangers: "Welcome, we are your hosts, Tony and Diana." The Albemarle had changed hands that day. "That got us thinking. Seeing people our age, with similar corporate/professional backgrounds, doing something that seemed a whole lot more fun, was inspiring," Cathy recalled. In addition, "Larry loved Asheville. He was ready to move." So a few months later, the Sklars flew back to Asheville, but with a different set of goals. They stayed five nights in five different inns, and worked with a real estate agent who specialized in inns. To their surprise, they learned that the Albemarle's new owners were interested in speaking to them. The inn was available. "We came back to the Albemarle and looked at it with a new eye; it had everything we wanted: a large inn, with good cash flow. All it needed was some freshening up," Cathy said. "Within 7 months we had sold our house, left our law practices and within 9 months, owned the inn." "We had registered for a seminar in innkeeping, but it was after the fact," said Larry. Between March and June of 1998, the Albemarle got a facelift, using local artisans like an 85-year-old wood restorer. The Inn remained open the entire time. Fortunately, the experienced staff of eight "got us through the first few months. I didn't have a clue where anything was. I didn't know how to make breakfast for 20 people or how much food we needed," Cathy said. Almost two years later, the Sklars "couldn't be happier. I love not being cooped up in an office or having any deadlines except those we set ourselves. I haven't worn a suit or panty hose in two years. We work long hours, perhaps longer than before, but it doesn't feel like work. It seems as if innkeeping taps most of the things I do effortlessly," Cathy said. The biggest change is "the environment in which I spend my day. My work used to be stressful, clients, the IRS, the opposing attorneys. Here my job is to make people feel comfortable and relaxed. I get immediate feedback. "Larry and I used to go off in different directions every day. But this has been an amazingly easy adjustment here. The books say you should set down all the required tasks, but our inclinations and abilities were so clearly defined. It's never been a problem." Cathy is in the kitchen and with the guests; Larry spends most of his time in the garden and grounds. "It's important to examine yourself, take an honest assessment of what you like and don't like when you are making a radical change," Larry said. "A sense of humor doesn't hurt either. This is a very satisfying way to live. It feels like an endless weekend." Update: The Albermarle is getting recognition!
Next Steps Professional Association of Innkeepers
International So You Want To Be An Innkeeper: The Definitive Guide to Operating a Successful Bed-And-Breakfast or Country Inn, Mary E. Davis, et. al, Chronicle Books, 3rd edition (April 1996) Albermarle Inn
Copyright 2006 2Young2Retire.com, All Rights Reserved
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Some things are just meant
to be. At least, that's how it seems to Cathy Sklar when she considers the circumstances
that led her, a trusts and estates attorney, and her husband, Larry, formerly counsel to a
Fortune 500 company, to quit their jobs in Stamford, Connecticut, and become proprietors
of the Albemarle Inn in Asheville, N.C., "a magnificent Greek Revival mansion (looks
like Tara from Gone with the Wind) on the National Register of Historic Places."