Thirty-six years ago, Gill Barton started working as a bingo caller in Solihull, West Midlands. The job suited her since it gave her time to raise her five children while contributing to the economy of her house. Gill was a dedicated worker and in a few years she was promoted to staff training, a position she kept for twelve years.

However, Gill wanted more and when she turned 50 she told her husband about her new project: opening her own training and recruitment company. “My husband Frank thought I was starting the menopause and being irrational when I said I wanted to start my own business at the age of 50,” she recalls. Leaving the bingo hall was a big risk but Gill decided to take it.

In 1995 she submitted a business plan to the Chamber of Commerce to start her own company, GB Training Consultancy. Against all odds, the project that seemed to be just a wild idea, turned into a successful business and in 2001 it became a limited company.

Currently, GB Training has more than 60 employees and together with its associated recruitment company generates more than £12 million each year. Gillian, who is now 62, changed her old semi for a seven-bedroom mansion where she lives with her family. Although she could retire any day, she says she won’t. “I won't be able to ever switch off completely from my business. A lot of people slow down at the age of 50, but not me.”