With no suitable premises immediately available in the Lancashire town of Ormskirk, Beard had a month to find a new site from which to run his agency. So in his hour of need, he said a few quiet words to his late mum Joy, who always told him he was “the best travel agent”.
"We were doing really well at the chapel," Beard tells TTG. "We had got to a stage where we needed to expand, but then this issue cropped up – I couldn’t believe it.
"I needed to find somewhere else quickly. I had a month’s notice so I would have had to work from home if I didn’t find somewhere else to run the business. I said to mum, ’give me some guidance – what am I going to do?’."
Beard decided to honour his mum, who passed away in December 2022, in the agency’s name – Pure Joy Escapes – when the shop opened on the site of the former chapel last September.
Beard later chose to vacate his regional sales manager role with JTA Travel Group in July 2023. “I couldn’t really be away from my family any more," he said at the time. "My mum always said I was the best travel agent."
However, the day after Beard whispered his plea to his mum back in June, his luck dramatically changed. “This is a true story – the very next day, I went online, and another shop had become available,” he explains.
"It’s a proper shop and it looks amazing. Shops in this area do not become available very often.”
Beard spent £3,000 doing up the shop in Church Walks – a five-minute walk from Pure Joy Escapes’ previous premises. “I was able to use a lot of the stuff from the other shop."
The fairytale was complete when more than 100 people flocked to the new Pure Joy Escapes shop when it officially opened at the weekend (Saturday 3 August).
“I worked until 11pm on the Thursday and the Friday [1-2 August],” Beard reveals. “The footfall is immense. I reckon we’ve had 40 people a day since. I’ve been overwhelmed but I’ve managed to service everybody. I’ve not missed any business but moving forward I need to grow.”
Beard says he has had four CVs from agents wanting to join him at Pure Joy Escapes despite the fact he has not advertised the vacancy on any job sites or on the agency’s website. With the new premises secured for the next three years, Beard knows that he needs to find staff soon.
"I’m now properly in Ormskirk in a shopping arcade," he says, proudly. "And I’m going to be here for a long time so I do need to grow and find staff."
Beard did take on and train a member of staff earlier this year, but they left after month to return to Leeds.
Despite having no staff, Beard’s business is booming. “People love my story – I do get a lot of referrals because of it. I’ve got 250 customers and I would say around half have rebooked with me,” he explains.
“We’re offering totally different things – tailor-made cruises and holidays, and ex-UK sailings. Alaska and Far East cruises have been popular, as well as US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand tours.
"I’m so happy with my decision to open [Pure Joy Escapes]. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done. I’ve had people coming into the shop I’ve never met saying that to me. I’ve had dozens of emails too.
“Everybody tells me that my mum would be proud of me."
