IMAGINE quitting your high-powered job to launch a thriving business that turns over almost £80,000 a year – enough to be financially independent?
Well that’s exactly what mum-of-three Vicky Quirk, 43, did when she ditched her role at a finance firm to sell pies from a converted caravan.
She had worked in the industry for six years overall – including three years at international firm KPMG – when she decided she wanted to be her own boss.
Though Vicky, from the Isle of Man, admitted her road to success has encountered a few bumps.
She told The Sun Online: “I just hated working in an office. But I had a comfortable salary, a private pension plan and private healthcare when I left.
“So, I did feel like I was risking a lot financially.”
A passionate cook, Vicky admitted that she always loved the adrenaline of being in the kitchen.
She said: “I worked as waitress when I was a teenager. I think there’s just something special about people who work in the kitchen.
“I love the fact that you work tightly as a team to pull something incredible off in a short space of time.”
How to get a start-up business loan
IF you need financial support in setting up your business, you can get loans of up to £25,000 to help along the way.
- Virgin Start Up offers government-backed loans from £500 to £25,000 to help entrepreneurs launching or growing a business that’s under two years old in England or Scotland. It has a rate of six per cent interest.
- The Start Up Loans Company, which lends government subsidised loans of up to £25,000 at a rate of six per cent.
- The Prince’s Trust also offers loans of up to £5,000 at a rate of 6.2 per cent.
She started Betty Pies with a £3,500 grant from the government-backed Start-Up Loans Company, which offers a six per cent fixed rate on borrowing up to £25,000.
And business has grown considerably since she first launched it five years ago, with turnover increasing from £18,000 in 2014 to a comfortable £76,000 last year.
Vicky now makes around 300 pies a week, selling them for £4.50 to £8 a pop, and caters for events including the TT races, which sees 45,000 people descend on the island for the two week period.
The pie fillings are made using local ingredients, including meat from the six-horned Loaghtan sheep which are native to the island.
The cheese in the macaroni cheese pies is Manx Cheddar from the island’s creamery.
Vicky said doesn’t regret the decision to launch her company – even though she’ll probably never manage to match the salary she had in her previous job.
“I don’t earn as much as I used to, but I am in control of my own life,” she said.
“I have more flexibility and I am always home when my kids are back from school.
“Last year, we just went four weeks in Bali. We are planning to do another big trip this year. This would have been impossible in my previous job.”
Businesses on the island pay zero per cent corporation tax, zero per cent stamp duty and zero per cent capital gains tax – an important consideration for a young business owner looking to start up something.
The Isle of Man Government also introduced a scheme worth £300,000 of grants for small artisan food businesses.
Vicky said: “A lot of new producers are popping up around the island, which is exciting, but it also means that I have a lot more competition!
“That’s why I am finding the decision to expand so difficult. I want to progress, but one step at a time.”
Follow Betty Pie Co on Instagram and Facebook.
The Sun Online also spoke to cousins who quit their high-flying jobs in London to launch their own popcorn business.
We also interviewed Mechelle Clark, who launched her own toastie business after being made redundant twice.
Bored of your current job? This dad-of-two quit his banking job to set up children’s hairdressers and it now makes £650,000 a year.